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Big three welcome Turkey into EU

The Foreign Secretary, William Hague and the Lib/Dems, Ed Davey have all agreed Turkey should join the EU.

"They seem to care more about the Levant than they do about the UK", said Nigel Farage.

"In order to appear inclusive they reject the opinion of a vast majority of their own country.

"Between them the three establishment parties show yet again the utter contempt they feel for the people of Britain. No poll has ever suggested that Turkish entry into the EU would be anything other than wildly against the wishes of Britain".

"To witter on about immigration policy in the EU as Ed Davey did is absurd, and if he doesn't know it then he should resign from his post. The fact is that the UK can do nothing about immigration from within the EU, and if Turkey was to join then 74 million Turks could, if they wished, move here. The provisions available to stop them are meaningless as the evidence from Bulgaria and Romania has shown." he went on.

"Milliband says it is 'remarkable' that there is agreement amongst the three establishment parties. It is not remarkable at all. They all believe that Britain should cease to be a self governing country, just as they agree we should remain in the EU. They are a shower who deserve to be thrown out of all their offices as soon as this election finally comes."

The three establishment party Foreign spokesman were talking at the Chatham House on Friday.

EU is killing car industry

UKIP MEP Mike Nattrass has welcomed a report which claims the EU is killing Europe’s automotive industry.

In a report which was published yesterday (March 8) on The Wall Street Journal website, Neil Winton, who writes the European Perspective column for Detroit News Online’s Automotive Insider, claimed the EU is imposing an ‘eye-watering array of fuel efficiency hurdles for car makers to clear in the next 10 years’.

As a result of these hurdles the columnist says European car makers will have to raise, in stages, the fuel economy of the vehicles they manufacture to the equivalent of 43 miles per US gallon by 2015 and to around 60mpg by 2020.

This, according to the Deutsche Bank, could see the cost of cars manufactured in Europe soar by between 500 euros and 1,000 euros as a result of the 2015 fuel economy standards.

Mr Nattrass says the British automotive industry has suffered as a result of costly EU interference.

“In 2005 Peugeot closed its Ryton plant in the UK to move to a purpose-built facility in Slovakia – this was financed by EU grants,” said Mr Nattrass, who is a member of the EU’s Transport & Tourism Committee and is UKIP’s Transport spokesman.

“Looking at even more recent history, last November I warned of how EU governments have a financial stake in exporting the jobs of British General Motors’ workers to Eastern Europe and how the EU provided €70m in loans for the construction of a greenfield plant near St Petersburg in Russia.

“Effectively what we are talking about here is British taxpayers actually subsidising the export of their own jobs.

“Now, new fuel regulations will force the British car industry to increase the price of vehicles on the forecourts at a time when our economy is already struggling.

“EU meddling equals loss of jobs and rising costs to businesses and consumers in Britain. What a great way to stifle the economy.

“We are bombarded by a deluge of expensive EU directives and laws and the LibLabCon just stands by and allows this political takeover to continue at an alarming pace.

“UKIP is the only party committed to standing up for Britain and its interests. It is time for Britain to pull out of the EU,” he added.

Mike Nattrass MEP was formerly Group Property Manager for Quinton Hazell Plc the UK motor parts manufacturer, when based in Leamington Spa.

Cricket Plan Backed

Euro MP Paul Nuttall has thrown his weight behind campaigners who support an indoor cricket centre on the Wirral. The proposed centre at Candy Park in Bromborough would be the only such centre in the North West but Wirral planning officers have recommended that permission is refused. The development application is due to be heard by the [...]

Election Watch

Apologies for the lack of an edition for a couple of weeks, both election matters and other matters had been catching up on me. So here is a run down of our results since last time. February 18th Evesham Town Council, Evesham South Ward Con 432 66.6% UKIP John White 217 33.4% Turnout 16.16% Wychavon District Council, Evesham South Ward Con 358 52.3% [...]

Tebbit on collision course with Dave

Conservative activists should be free to campaign for UK Independence Party candidate Nigel Farage in Speaker John Bercow's Buckingham constituency in the upcoming general election, the party's former chairman Lord Tebbit has said.

The Conservative Party is officially backing Mr Bercow for re-election, but as he is standing as the Speaker there is no official Tory candidate in the Buckingham poll.

Read what Lord Tebbit said here.

The Man on the Clapham Omnibus

This week I took part in a three sided meeting (called an unofficial trialogue) on the AIFM or Hedge Fund Directive. It was the first face to face exchange of views between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The principal parties were Jean Paul Gauzes, the AIFM rapporteur, that is the parliamentarian in charge of writing the report, a representative from the Council, more specifically from the Spanish Presidency and a representative from the Commission. The main points of difference between the Parliament and the other side were the scope of the directive, third country access, delegation, remuneration and depositories. The discussion was lively enough with everyone stating their positions on the points of difference. When we came to discussing some aspects of the depositories I felt I was looking at the difference between the continental mindset and what they called the Anglo Saxon.
 This point came up when we tried to resolve the issue of the liability of depositories. The two positions discussed were "reasonable care" and "unlimited liability". Here we could see English common law rubbing up against what I will call positive Roman law. It may sound legalistic and even abstract, but what it meant in easy terms was: would the depository be responsible for losses unless they could PROVE they were not negligent or would a common law standard of reasonable care be applied.

None of the continentals could work out how a "reasonable" standard could be established if it was not defined and written into law. They had to have a positive prescribed definition of responsibility and could not see how to apply the easiest of standards for us, that of reasonable care. They were unable to formulate the question (let alone envisage the answer): "Did the depositories take all reasonable care...." Yet in Courts in England, The USA, Ireland and the Commonwealth such questions are posed day in day out and answered easily by Judges and Juries.

In other words they could not understand that the man on the Clapham Omnibus was perfectly capable of making a reasonable judgment that is acceptable by his peers.
 This was such an exquisite illustration of the problem the British have with the EU. The British people have an own evolved legal system that is not only adequate, but is good enough to have been the basis of the legal system of a large part of the rest of the world. Indeed, because the Common Law avoids prescription, wherever possible, it is an organic and evolutionary system of law, characteristics which allow it to be nimble on its feet, adapting swiftly to the changing landscape.
 The system of English law is very strong because it is based on the needs and actions of a reasonable man. On the contrary the continental or Roman legal system is prescriptive, you do what you are told and do not think too much. Here is the very nub of the problem with the EU, British people do not need more and standardised legislation, but rather can decide for themselves because they know they may be called on to explain themselves and consequently responsibility is ingrained in them. It works for them: why must they change it?
 I think I got more out of that one article of the directive than I would have ever thought possible, and I certainly have reflected more on it than on some of the more technical points of the directive. And at this point the discussion brought the European Public Prosecutor back to my mind....the British being judged on continental laws!

UKIP on TV in minor parties’ slot

UKIP’s Nigel Farage will appear in a television debate with other political leaders in the run up to the General Election this spring – but not alongside the leaders of the three main parties.

The BBC and ITV have already agreed to give UKIP, the Green Party and the BNP a chance to air their policies with Sky expected to follow suit.

However, the scheduling has been criticised by Mr Farage and Caroline Lucas of the Green Party, who both point out that they have every right to air their party's views alongside Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg in the three main debates to be hosted one each on the BBC, ITV and Sky.

Mr Farage explains that UKIP's recent election success entitles the Party to more media coverage. "We think the way it has been set up is unfair,” he said. “We came second across the UK in the European elections last year."

The so-called 'minor parties debate', which will also feature BNP leader Nick Griffin, is due to be broadcast on BBC1’s News at Ten, BBC2's Newsnight and Radio 4’s The Today programme.

A BBC spokesman said: "There will be arrangements in the programming around the BBC debate, a week before polling day, to ensure other parties which have demonstrated they have some electoral support - UKIP, the Green Party and the BNP - will have their say."

An ITV spokesman said his channel would come up with a similar scheduling plan.

UKIP on TV, but still marginalised by BBC

UKIP’s Nigel Farage will appear in a television debate with other political leaders in the run up to the General Election this spring – but not alongside the leaders of the three main parties.

The BBC and ITV have already agreed to give UKIP, the Green Party and the BNP a chance to air their policies with Sky expected to follow suit.

However, the scheduling has been criticized by Mr Farage and Caroline Lucas of the Green Party, who both point out that they have every right to air their party’s views alongside Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg in the three main debates to be hosted one each on the BBC, ITV and Sky.

Mr Farage explains that UKIP’s recent election success entitles the Party to more media coverage. “We think the way it has been set up is unfair,” he said. “We came second across the UK in the European elections last year.”

The so-called ‘minor parties debate’, which will also feature BNP leader Nick Griffin, is due to be broadcast on BBC1’s News at Ten, BBC2’s Newsnight and Radio 4’s The Today programme.

A BBC spokesman said: “There will be arrangements in the programming around the BBC debate, a week before polling day, to ensure other parties which have demonstrated they have some electoral support - UKIP, the Green Party and the BNP - will have their say.”

An ITV spokesman said his channel would come up with a similar scheduling plan.

Hugely experienced Tory defects to UKIP

UKIP's latest recruit is a hugely experienced former Tory councillor and constituency chairman who has defected just weeks before the General Election.

Ron Levy will now campaign on behalf of UKIP's parliamentary candidate for Colchester, John Pitts. Mr Levy accused Conservative leader David Cameron of a "blatant act of deceit" by breaking his promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and says the European Union is leading Britain towards "economic and social abyss".

"Now, either David Cameron is too blind to see this or, for some reason, he refuses to reveal, he is unwilling to do so," said Mr Levy, who has more than 40 years experience as a Tory activist.

"The UK Independence Party embodies all the qualities, objectives and policies that I can support, many of which I expected to see in the Conservative Party. But, most importantly, UKIP now speaks for the huge number - probably millions - of people who believe that membership of the EU is destroying our country and who feel the time has come to leave."

David Campbell Bannerman, UKIP's Eastern Counties MEP and parliamentary candidate for South Suffolk, welcomed Mr Levy into the party.

"The great Tory dam is being breached as voters become disillusioned and disaffected with David Cameron," he said. "I expect a flood of defectors who see UKIP as upholding the true Tory position."

UK drivers to foot bill for EU green tax

UK motorists could soon be paying higher petrol prices thanks to an EU green tax due to be formally announced later this month.

Algirdas Semeta, the newly-appointed European commissioner for taxation, told European Voice, the weekly Brussels newsletter, that a direct tax on carbon is still a priority even after EU moneymen tried and failed to enforce a £9-a-tonne levy on CO2 in 2005.

"In my estimation it is possible to start discussions," he said of a move that would also see energy prices rise. "There is currently the right momentum."

The proposed new levy is especially worrying as it would be the first tax to bypass completely the governments of member states, with the money instead going directly to Brussels.

Mats Persson, director of the Open Europe think tank says the flat-rate tax will be a particular burden to poorer consumers who will be forced into spending a larger proportion of their income on energy and fuel bills. Open Europe estimates that British businesses and consumers will be landed with a bill in excess of £3.2bn a year.

"It will also impose a disproportionate burden on small businesses, which are vital for economic recovery and growth,” Persson said. "The EU needs a more flexible and proportionate approach to cutting carbon emissions."

News of the EU plans comes a week after UKIP peer Lord Monckton introduced parts of the Party’s climate change policy and warned that politicians are using flawed climate science to scare citizens into paying extra green taxes.

Read about why green taxes are unnecessary

Read about UKIP’s skeptical climate change stance