Lib Dem Councillor resigns over £1,200 charity theft

Lib Dem Cllr Peter Brock has announced his resignation from Yeovil Town Council after being convicted of stealing £1,200 from the local branch of the Royal British Legion.

Brock, who has been suspended by the local Lib Dem group, said his was ashamed and embarrassed by his actions.

There are no front page stories about this in the national press or 24 hour rolling coverage by the news channels like there is when a UKIP councillor is involved but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

This councillor's not for turning

Conservative Home's Harry Phibbs had been emailing UKIP Councillors asking them to join the Conservative Party after Cameron's pathetic EU speech today.

Dear UKIP councillor,

As some of you know I edit the Local Government section of Conservative Home and would be interested in your reaction to David Cameron's speech this morning.

In particular if you feel that the offer of an in/out referendum on EU membership from the Conservatives means you feel Conservative victory at the General Election would be preferable to Labour victory and if so if you will consider joining the Conservatives. Or if not what would be required to persuade you to join.

I would like to write a blog with comments so please let me know if they are on the record or not for attribution.

Strangely, I didn't get this email despite being a UKIP councillor and even being on Conservative Home's mailing list.  Perhaps their generous benefactor, Lord Ashcroft, has a target list of UKIP councillors as well as constituencies?

In case you're wondering Harry, I'd rather poke my eyes out with a spoon that join the Conservatives.  I've never voted Tory in my life and I certainly don't intend to start just because David Cameron has made another empty promise of an EU referendum after the next election that he won't win on the ridiculous premise that he would somehow renegotiate our relationship with the EU when the only legal basis for doing so is invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which gives notice that we intend to leave.  David Cameron has made it very clear yet again - as he did before the Conservative Party membership voted for him as leader - that he is committed to the UK's continued membership of the EU and clearly isn't going to entertain the idea of invoking Article 50.  There is very little difference between Labour and the Conservatives and whichever of those two authoritarian, economically illiterate, europhile parties manages to secure a majority in 2015 really doesn't matter because without UKIP MPs in Parliament this country isn't going to get back on its feet.

Peterborough LibLabCon taking councillor allowances

Prospective LibLabCon councillors in Peterborough are being told to give part of their allowances to their parties to help pay for campaigning if they get elected.

Labour are telling candidates they will have to donate 10% of their allowances to their local Labour Party if they are elected, the Tories expect their candidates to give a minimum of £300 per year if elected and the Lib Dems advise their candidates (it's not compulsory but the application form asks if they will so it's obvious which candidates won't be selected) to donate unspecified amounts.

The Peterborough branch of UKIP doesn't ask candidates to agree to donate part of their allowances and its Chairman, Robin Talbot, told Peterborough Today that if councillors don't need all their allowances then they could take less and council tax could be cut.

Three more councillors join UKIP

Three more councillors have joined UKIP, following the lead of the former Conservative councillor for Little Thurrock, Steve St Clair-Haslam, who defected to UKIP on Saturday.

The latest three councillors to join the UKIP fold are all independent councillors for Ramsey & Parkeston, Essex.  Councillor John Brown is a district councillor and Councillors Martyn and Lesley Donn are parish councillors.

That's four new councillors in three days for UKIP.  This is good news indeed.

Perhaps our new councillors will get the Ramsay & Parkeston Parish Council website sorted out?  Just a suggestion. 

One defection and one election

UKIP has gained two more councillors over the past week or so - one in South Ribble and one in Shropshire.

A Conservative councillor for the Leyland ward of South Ribble, Councillor Dave Duxbury, defected from the eurofederalist Tories last week because he believes in withdrawal from the EU and small government while the Tories ... well, they don't!

Roger Smith has also been elected to Market Drayton Town Council in Shropshire bringing the total number of UKIP councillors in Market Drayton to three.

Interesting Times ...

A Labour councillor told me today that he would be voting UKIP in June. He said it will be a vote against the EU and a protest at the expenses corruption.

A Tory councillor friend has posted a note on Facebook encouraging people to vote UKIP in June - again, a vote against the EU.

It seems that everyone is voting UKIP in June, no matter which party they normally support.

Congratulations Councillor Fowler

Congratulations to Bloggers4UKIP contributor, Steve Fowler, on being co-opted onto Dordon Parish Council.

Councillor Fowler joins the steadily increasing number of UKIP councillors representing their communities, showing the electorate that UKIP isn't a single issue party.

Councillor Knight

Telford got its second UKIP parish councillor the other day after outgoing Telford & Wrekin branch chairman, Ray Knight, was co-opted onto Hollinswood & Randlay Parish Council.

Ray contested the last borough council elections for Hollinswood & Randlay and narrowly missed out on getting elected. When a vacancy became available on the parish council and nobody asked for an election, Ray applied for the vacant seat and was co-opted onto the parish council on Monday.

Congratulations Councillor Knight.