Neil Hamilton Jumps Aboard the UKIP Gravy Train. Next Stop Brussels?

Mr and Mrs Hamilton

Word has reached us that the backstabbing and infighting has begun once again in UKIP.

They start to get twitchy when the selection process for the European elections is approaching. Although the elections aren't until 2014 there's a wad of cash to be had so they start early.

They don't bother getting excited for real elections, such as to the UK Parliament, let's face it they even tolerated a leader at the last election who urged people to vote against UKIP candidates. But they can make a fortune winning a seat with a relatively small vote under the EU's absurd PR system.

The latest ambitious high profile newcomer limbering up to jump aboard the gravy train is Neil Hamilton. He must really fancy getting his snout in the Brussels trough after his experience in Westminster, a mere training ground for the greedy it seems before they graduate to where the real cash is to be made.

Nigel 'Spiv Boy' Farage

Let's face it UKIP aren't fussy about who they select to become MEPs. Remember Ashley Mote? Remember Tom Wise?

 You may remember Neil Hamilton from the Cash for Questions Affair in the 1990s when he was MP for Tatton. Just to help him on his way Hamilton has been elected to UKIP's NEC, supported by Party Leader, Nigel 'Spiv Boy' Farage.

It's just amazing anybody takes UKIP seriously.

European Union-The End Game: But where are UKIP?

So the House of Commons refused the British people their say on the EU. Where were UKIP in the build up to this week's vote? Out on the fringe as usual. The end of the EU will come about in spite of , not because of UKIP.

Despite the massive resources generated by their MEPs they still do not have a single voice in the House of Commons. Instead UKIP were left singing patriotic songs and shouting slogans in Parliament Square while MPs debated the referendum motion. 'Occupy' without the tents!

It's time we started taking a look at UKIP again, so look out for more posts from now. We're back.

UKIP Barnsley By Election

Congratulations to another one of Nigel Farage's 'very good friends' Jane Collins.

12% in the Barnsley by election put Ms Collins top of the anti-Coalition, anti-Labour sleaze protest vote. The real test will be the forthcoming local elections. Will people really want to elect local councillors who only have one policy, to leave the EU, which is as far removed from local politics as you can get?

Another false dawn in our view which UKIP will, in their usual amateurish way, spin as putting them on the brink of government. Remember the Hartlepool by election way back when Farage sycophant Steve Allison got 10%? It was downhill from there too.

Wonder how Mr Farage will thank Ms Collins for such a sterling effort? Or will Ms Collins thank Nigl for giving her the opportunity?

UKIP is Finished

Other than as a connecting station for the EU gravy train UKIP is finished, as evidenced by the pitiful result of its deputy leader and northwest MEP Paul Nuttall in the Oldham East by-election. It is now in intensive care only to rally from its comatose state for the next Euro elections, when there will be much money to be garnered.

As a result blogging will be extremely light for the foreseeable. Of course we will cover anything worthwhile, so it's only a matter of time until some UKIP MEP, candidate or member somewhere does or says something so stupid that we will be blogging again.

Exclusive-UKIP'S Ray Finch NOT Jack the Ripper

UKIP's resident idiot, Ray Finch, likes to take to the internet to claim not to be somebody he isn't. See blog post below.

To avoid any confusion we would like to make it clear that Ray Finch is not Jack the Ripper. He is far too young to be a Victorian mass murderer. At least that's what we believe, I suppose with plastic surgery.... No, before we go down a road that could lead to Finch himself having to claim not to be Jack the Ripper, he is definitely too young.

To avoid any doubt he is not the Yorkshire Ripper either. I don't think even our justice system would allow the Yorkshire Ripper out to help the Farage campaign in Buckingham. But that may be why Finch wasn't seen in the Eastleigh constituency, where he stood in the election last May but wasn't spotted in the constituency campaigning. He claimed to be campaigning in Buckingham instead. Maybe he just wasn't free to campaign.

No, Finch is definitely not the Yorkshire Ripper either. And we apologise to Peter Sutcliffe for this sick joke of a blog post.

UKIP's Bizarre Ray Finch Declares Who He Isn't!

The British Democracy Forum contains the lunatic fringe that even UKIP find a bit rich for their taste. Admittedly you do get sane people on it, but they appear to be critics of UKIP or its current leadership. But today there was a post on the forum that even UKIP observers found extremely bizarre, things in UKIP just seem to get worse.

We have mentioned Ray Finch on here before. A very odd individual who isn't very bright. Out of the blue today the following post appeared on the forum from one Ray Finch:

"I have had a few calls and texts from people in the last couple of days regarding allegations on this forum and elsewhere that I am "Spastyk".

For the avoidance of doubt, I am not "Spastyk", I do not know who "Spastyk" is and, frankly, I do not care. The same thing applies to all who post anonymously on the internet. If you do not have the courage to post in your own name or at least acknowledge your identity, then you are, to be brutal, a coward. Those who know me will know that, for the last few months, I have had extremely limited time on the internet due to illness in my family. This is not likely to change in the near future. I have not indulged in any UKIP related business, apart from a couple of days in Oldham to assist the campaign there last week and attendance at the UKIP Eastleigh Christmas party, for a couple of months for the same, and other unrelated, reasons.

Those who still believe this mistaken opinion are welcome to speak to the board administrator here. Anthony Butcher has my full permission, if he so chooses, to examine any logs he keeps of my activity on this forum to see if there is any correlation between myself and "Spastyk".

I will not indulge in any correspondence on this, or any other, issue for the time being for the reasons mentioned above.

I wish all, including those who apparently believe me to be somebody I am not, a very happy new year.

Regards,

Ray Finch."

"Spastyk" is our pseudonym for a particularly nasty and unpleasant blog that smears decent people, mostly those who oppose UK membership of the EU but who do not necessarily support UKIP or the current leadership of UKIP. We have changed the name as we see no point in giving it free publicity.

What we find so odd is why somebody who has "had a few calls and texts" asking him if he is responsible for a particularly nasty blog, should widen the circle of enquirers by proclaiming, on the worldwide net, that he is not "Spastyk". Bizarre behaviour from a bizarre individual.

Some might quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet- "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." We would never be that cynical.

Oldham East and Saddleworth By-Election: UKIP Disaster and Expenses Questioned

Despite spending thousands of pounds of your tax money on their campaign UKIP could only muster a mere 5.6% of the vote in Oldham East and Saddleworth. Why your taxes? Well ther candidate, Paul Nuttall MEP is on a salary, allowance and perks package worth well over £100,000 pa, paid for by the taxpayer. Makes UKIP's attacks on public sector pay in the UK seem slightly hypocritical we think, and they have over 10 MEPs, they keep losing them so it's hard to know exactly how many at a given time. Remember the UKIP MEP John Bufton, who was confronted by journalists about receiving an extra £250 a day just for turning up? His response was: "Well, that's the system". That's how UKIP fund their campaigns.

So UKIP ran an extremely expensive campaign, paid for by you, and what did they get? The result is below:

Labour: 14,718 (42.1%)
Lib Dems: 11,160 (31.9%)
Conservatives: 4,481 (12.8%)
UKIP: 2,029 (5.8%)
BNP: 1,560 (4.5%)
Green Party: 530 (1.5%)
Monster Raving Loony Party: 145 (0.4%)
English Democrats: 144 (0.4%)
Pirate Party: 96 (0.2%)
Bus Pass Elvis Party: 67 (0.1%)

To put the result in perspective compare last night's result with the UKIP vote in a simialar by-election in 1999. In Wigan, a not dissimilar place to Oldham, the UKIP candidate achieved a vote of 5.2%. So having numerous MEPs since 1999, a much higher profile and staff employed on MEPs allowances in the northwest since 2004 UKIP only got 0.4% of the vote more last night than they did twelve years ago. That's hardly progress.

Add to that that our man in Oldham this week being told by people from two other parties that they would be going through UKIP's election expenses with a fine tooth comb then there could be further trouble ahead for UKIP. There is a widely held view in Oldham that they could not have run the campaign they did within the statutory expenditure limits. We will see.

Oldham East and Saddleworth By-Election: Paul Nuttall MEP

When people leave UKIP, usually after a disagreement with the autocratic leadership, UKIP sets out to lie and smear the person who has departed. This usually takes the form of accusing the person of being a BNP infiltrator. It sometimes seems that UKIP have so many infiltrators that they just can't be anything but a shadow of the BNP. But last May we reported here how UKIP leader Nigel Farage MEP had been photographed meeting Tony "The Bomber" Lecomber. Why would the UKIP leader have had a meeting with  a notorious man, even by BNP standards like Lecomber?

The Junius on UKIP blog helps to shed some light on this with a recent article about UKIP's colleagues in the European Parliament here. Nikki Sinclaire MEP refused to sit with UKIP's group in the EU parliament, quite reasonably she would rather not be associated with far right racists, holocaust deniers and homophobes. She has been joined by fellow MEP Mike Nattrass. Sadly other UKIP MEPs, including Paul Nuttall, are happy to associate with the nastier far right elements in the EU parliament. Nikki Sinclaire recently won a legal action against UKIP reported here.

UKIP have a history of changing policy in midstream if it suits them, and producing ill researched policies that don't add up.  Gary Cartwright is an ex-employee of Nigel Farage in Brussels, but left disillusioned and disenchanted. Of course, as with anybody who leaves the dangerous cult that UKIP became under Farage he is constantly smeared and attacked by Farage's disciples. Now that Mr Cartwright works for ex-UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire, he is coming under renewed attack and smear by certain UKIP people. Truly, UKIP is the politics of the playground but a very nasty and unpleasant playground.

Unable to garner the needed 5% to save their deposits in most parliamentary elections, UKIP have now come out in favour of Proportional Representation. Well if you can line your pockets becoming an MEP with a small perecentage of votes in EU elections, try the Westminster gravy train next. When UKIP claim to be the straight party remember Ashley Mote and Tom Wise. God knows what UKIP would get up to under PR. Pole dancing and prostitues on MP's expenses maybe?

Here's what Gary Cartwright says about the UKIP way of developing policy:

"The UKIP policy making process was always a bit different. Although I was one of those who called for a widening of the policy base from the moment I joined the party, I eventually came to agree with Roger Knapman who argued for a narrower and more focussed set of policies concentrating on withdrawal. Britain does need a new party, but UKIP clearly ain't it!

I was very surprised, however, to read that UKIP is now coming out in favour of farming subsidies, a la the Common Agricultural Policy. Opposition to the CAP is one thing that traditionally unites all eurosceptics - and quite a lot of europhiles as well. Maybe UKIP has become so obsessively contrarian that it has even turned against conventional euroscepticism now, who knows?

I recall a transport policy paper which called for the electrification of a line that had, in fact, been closed for many years. There was also a local government paper that was quite probably the most politically illiterate thing I have ever seen.

The biggest question that observers will be asking, however, is not whether UKIP has done an about-turn on farming subsidies, but whether the party is, as it appears to be, out of control".

Taken from Gary Cartwright's Brussels Blog.

Ray Finch UKIP-More on UKIP's Useful Idiot

Thank you to those who have sent further information about Ray Finch, or Convict 811326860 as he is known by the team. Much of what we have received needs some research, so more later hopefully.

In the meantime it is interesting to look back at the coverage of his campaign in the general election last May. It really does show the calibre of so many UKIP candidates. Whoever put a dunce like Ray Finch up against a high profile candidate like Lib Dem Chris Huhne must be an even bigger dunce.

Ray Finch, on a flight of fancy common in UKIP circles, had declared in the campaign that he would move to live in the constituency should he be elected. Well if I'm selected to play for Chelsea I will move across London to Kensington. Yes, there's two empty promises for you. Serious candidates move to live in the constituency for which they are selected. They don't wait and see, and certainly don't make vacuous promises that insult the intelligence of the voters.

But it got worse. Finch is known in UKIP circles for being one of Nigel Farage's most ardent and obsessive followers. Indeed so obsessed with his leader that he campaigned in Buckingham where Farage was standing rather than his own Eastleigh constituency. So up yours people of Eastleigh, your UKIP candidate couldn't even be bothered with you, blinded by his obsessive lapdog obedience to his leader.

This from Eastleigh News:

"Ukip’s Ray finch was easily the most despondent man of the evening. He had spent a large portion of the campaign canvassing in Buckingham on behalf of former Ukip party leader Nigel Farage who had been injured in a plane crash earlier in the day.

Ray said he had been due to take a flight in the aircraft himself".

So, Ray had been lured away from a serious campaign with the offer of a quick flight in a plane that crashed, just like the UKIP vote on polling day.

But it got even worse with Ray Finch garnering a paltry 3.6% of the vote. The voters of Eastleigh aren't dunces then.

But he managed to make an even bigger clown of himself:

"On hearing the result Ray commented that if Nigel Farage won in Bucks then he would feel vindicated at having spent so much time away from his own constituency".

As ever Finch's hero was thrashed, pardon the pun, in Buckingham getting 4,000 votes fewer than a pro-EU independent. Mr Finch seems to be blinded to reality by his hero worship of a third rate political chancer. How sad that he seemed to be the only person in the world who thought Farage could beat Bercow. But that's Ray Finch, UKIP's useful idiot.

Oldham East and Saddleworth By-Election: Councillor Chris Cassidy

Googling UKIP and the Oldham East by-election I came across an internet diary about UKIP's campaign by a man claiming to be UKIP's youngest councillor. Looking at his picture he probably is, by quite a few decades. So I had a read.

His article was attacking the Lib Dems for making misleading statements, a common complaint about most politicians I would have thought. So this led me to delve  little further into this shining light of democracy, Councillor Chris Cassidy. When was he elected? What proportion of the vote did he get?  What ward on which council does he represent? So many questions.

I discovered that he is actually a councillor on Ringway Parish Council, the only civil parish within the jurisdiction of Manchester City Council.

OK, so when was he elected? There hasn't actually been an election to Ringway Parish Council for some years. Even though UKIP trumpet 'the election of their new councillor' on their website, Mr Cassidy has never actually been elected. They should have trumpeted 'newly co-opted Councillor Chris Cassidy'.  You see there weren't enough interested people for an election to be held.

 But how many electors will Councillor Cassidy be working on behalf of? Well, the total population is 106. The electorate is currently 88. So each of five councillors theoretically has responsibility for 17.6 voters or 21.2 people including those not on the electoral register. Most of the area of Ringway Parish Council is aircraft hangars belonging to Manchester Airport. 

A UKIP councillor such as this, writing an article about the Lib Dems misleading the electorate, does seem a little hypocritical under the circumstances.

If you are interested, UKIP in the north west only have three councillors according to their website. One is a borough councillor who defected from the Tories, one is Councillor Chris, the third is also a parish councillor. Not sure if the other parish councillor has ever been elected, but assuming he has, only one in three actually being elected as a UKIP candidate is also a tad misleading I would have said.

Oldham East and Saddleworth By-Election: UKIP, Mutual Hatred and Self Loathing

Young UKIP members parade before their Leader

The thing UKIP does best is fight, but it's not the enemy they fight, oh dear no, it's each other. That's because UKIP is more of a cult than a political party. In a serious political party there is not 100% agreement on most issues and, within reason, debate is regarded as a healthy thing and encouraged. In UKIP, if you dare question any aspect of it's leadership, direction or policy you are publicly denounced as a traitor who hates UKIP.

Most members who have either left or been driven out face a campaign of lies and smears carried out by puppets of the Leader. The most common smear is that a former member was discovered to be a member of the BNP. Indeed this happens with such regularity that it looks like UKIP is mostly made up of BNP members merely infiltrating. However we have written before, here, about the UKIP leader and the BNP. It does shed new light on UKIP's obsession with the BNP.

But UKIP is now in a state of turmoil as members wake up to the fact that the party is back in the kind of position it was last time Farage was their leader, plummeting like a rock thrown from the White Cliffs of Dover. So this is where the British Democracy Forum, that window on the soul of UKIP, comes in so handy to observers of the decline of UKIP.

Here you will find a thread started by UKIP fanatic and leader worshipper Michael 'Mick' McGough asking for any dirt on party activist Richard Allen. What has Richard Allen done to fall foul of the UKIP Stasi? Here is what Mr McGough says in his question:

"Sometime treasurer of UKIP Hodge Hill and Yardley,a two constituency branch and forum moderator.Appears to be more anti UKIP than pro and is close to Nikki".

Nikki being Nikki Sinclaire who was unconstitutionally hounded out of UKIP and has recently won a court case against them for discrimination. More on that here.

Here's what Richard Allen says in his own defence:

"I am the Secretary and Treasurer of my local branch. Last year I was a local election candidate, election agent for 7 other local candidates and election agent for two general election candidates. In the last year I have delivered over 25,000 UKIP leaflets, donated the best part of two thousand pounds and incurred out of pocket expenses running to several hundred pounds. As someone of relative modest means this is a substantial financial contribution. This year I will again be a local election candidate and the agent for several other candidates and no doubt I will again put my hand in my pocket whenever it is necessary to do so.

UKIP NEC

That you, as a member of UKIP's National Executive Committee should attack me in public as being "more anti UKIP than pro" only shows how pathetic you are and how utterly undeserving you are to hold a position of responsibility in the party".

If this is waht UKIP are like when they have no MPs and very few councillors, what would life be like in their form of Stalinist dictatorship if they ever did achieve anything in the UK?

Thankfully that is never likely to happen, their constant state of civil war guarantees it.