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.