I wasn't sure as I seem to remember that Ian Paisley was a MP and MEP at the same time. Perhaps the rules have changed.
The so-called "dual mandate"—in which an individual is a member of both his or her national parliament and the European Parliament, was officially discouraged by a growing number of political parties and Member States, and is prohibited as of 2009. In the 2004–2009 Parliament, a small number of members still held a dual mandate. Notably, Ian Paisley and John Hume once held "triple mandates" as MEP, MP in the House of Commons, and MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly simultaneously
Thanks for clearing that up. Am not in favour of politicians holding two positions. Hope the people of Uxbridge don't want a part time MP
They seem blinded by his celebrity so I think it's certain that they will have one until 2016.
Can anyone recall how BoJo The Clown will maximise his salary? Is it keep the Mayoral one and not take the MP's one, or take the MP's one plus one-third of the Mayoral one?
The Bird thing is fast becoming a non-story, but Hamilton should never have been allowed anywhere near UKIP. The guy is by no stretch of the imagination an asset to them, so why the hell did they let him in?
Christine probably went to order them to "let him in"
What I'm getting from my highly placed sources in UKIP (I use this description only to underline this is not referencing Doris or Frank in some local association) says that the party is now engaged in a factional power struggle, the beginnings of a civil war. A faction that wants to remove Farage and put Carswell in charge has started going after people around Farage, who have now retaliated.
It was this factional fighting spilling out into public view that saw Roger Bird charged with impropriety and stood down after a move by the Carswell side, and retaliation from the Farage side that saw Hamilton briefed against and his decision not to chance his arm in Basildon linked, incorrectly, to a query over expenses. Now we have Wheeler, in Carswell's camp, coming out in favour of Hamilton to be a candidate, and the Farage side hitting back at him and briefing further against Hamilton.
I did say that UKIP would start to decline after Rochester and have seen nothing since then to convince me otherwise. For millions UKIP is Farage and Farage is UKIP and IMO I think he believes that too.
Continued internal squabbling and public gaffes will do the party no good in the run up to May and I believe that they have just about garnered all the voters they are going to get by now. What else can UKIP say that they have not said a million times already? "Lets get out of the EU and have a points based immigration system" That is it because any UKIP adventure into discussing anything else tends to lead to confusion.
I am not posting this just to have a dig at UKIP but it is my honest opinion.
I am not posting this just to have a dig at UKIP but it is my honest opinion.
That would be a first - just joking?:D
There is no real evidence of any poll slippage for UKIP - and in the England only polls they are right up there (23% vs 31% for the big two on the last Ashcoft England only poll) as they only score 3% in Scotland (I would vote SNP if I was in Scotland under FPTP elections!).
Whether this translates into seats - well we shall see. But they are getting stronger on the east coast, Kent and Essex - maybe the closer you get to Brussels the more you can see it for what it is!
May will be perhaps the most interesting general election for some time - as its impossible to call. UKIP may never get into government - but then nor did the SDP. The SDP however spawned New Labour - Blair basically adopted the gang of 4s views and won 3 terms. If Labour and the Tories at least got leaders who understood the working class and didn't do PPE it would be a start!
PS There is endless media trivia about internal party squabbles - Cameron and Ed backbencher coup plans are rolled out every month. Thats politics!
The reason UKIP are getting so much flak for these things is that they claim to be a refreshing change from all the other parties doing it, so they're setting themselves up to a higher standard.
Look at it this way. If a puppy shits on your carpet it's unfortunate but to be expected. If the Archbishop Of Canterbury shits on your carpet it's kind of noteworthy.
So, if they are such a refreshing change, why do they keep on harping on about being the same as all the other parties, when they get caught with their pants down?
Whatever it takes to get a referendum on leaving the EU! Cos in the end that's the real issue at stake - does our elected Parliament run the UK or does it just implement decisions imposed by external parties. Do we reach out to the world and the future - or stick with the failed bankrupt EU. We either get dragged down with the Titanic - or grab the lifeboats while we can.
That's way more profound than day to day political spats.
Strawman. People are voting because they support exit from the EU with its inherent benefits, including getting back border control.
Do you understand the purposelessness of inventing reasons people are voting for ukip that are entirely detached from reality? If people "wanted rid of foreigners" then you'd have a point. Since they don't, the fact that ukip are not threatening to deport anyone doesn't sit at all uncomfortably. So why try to invent fake reasons? It serves you no purpose.
I don't know. What I think happened was that when his comments about a "period of consideration" (or whatever the words were) were taken to mean "we'll deport / gas / castrate them in no particular order" by a frenzied media, after which the party issued a clarification that gas chambering was not the order of the day and testicles would also remain intact, he subsequently saw this as a snub and a put down. So he went all pissy. Daft, in my opinion, because he never suggested deportation in the first place, and why would he, when it wasn't policy? It was chaotic to put it mildly, but possibly, as Farage suggested, the consequence of the tiredness of a tough campaign.
But at least it clarified the issue, and I'm sure they've now kissed and made up.
I take it you also did read the interview he gave to The Times, then? Where he confirmed to the journalist that he was only repeating what he was told by the party leadership, but what he said was then promptly denied by Farage et al. So, I ask again, was Reckless lying?
So, if they are such a refreshing change, why do they keep on harping on about being the same as all the other parties, when they get caught with their pants down?
Absolutely. If these latest revelations had happened to the other parties probably wouldn't even have made the papers but because it's UKIP it makes headline news. Doubt it will affect them at all in the polls.
So, is UKIP the same as all the other parties, or completely different?
In all probability, many people will look at UKIP as a party that did something about an internal problem rather than hide something.
You lot really ought to confer about what excuses you are going to use. It was either nothing more than insignificant tittle tattle, or it is something so important that they have to air it out in the open.
Yes it would. Maybe if it was a higher-up in the Tory party the papers would have buried it below some other trivial stories, but were it a Labour or Lib-Dem higher-up you can bet your backside that the papers would have absolutely nailed them to the wall over it.
Indeed, if they can make a whole year's news out of one man eating his lunch, just imagine what would have happened if that had happened to Labour
The fact is that UKIP is essentially a one-man band. Its a personality cult (Lord knows why!) & when the day comes that Farage is no longer their top man the party will soon disintegrate. There are many similarities with David Owen's SDP in the 80's. I suspect politics infighting will do UKIP in. There'll be a battle between the pragmatists (Farage etc) who want to tone down rhetoric & language for power & the purists who are more ideologically based & will loathe any attempts to be "PC" by the leadership.
The ex Tories in the party will also be a threat to Farage as some of them will be experienced politicians & ambitious & relish the opp to be a big fish in a small party rather than a tiddler in a big one.
The case in the news today is a moot point: you can bang on about racism (covert or otherwise) till you're blue in the face, UKIP's demographic don't care about that.
Its their treatment of WOMEN that's doing them real harm.
With Patrick O'Flynn accusing the leader of being a destructive control freak, I would say the vultures, although not yet circling, they are starting to look a little hungry and licking their beaks.
With Patrick O'Flynn accusing the leader of being a destructive control freak, I would say the vultures, although not yet circling, they are starting to look a little hungry and licking their beaks.
Wonder if Carswell is regretting his decision to get involved with this shower. "If you fly with the crows, you will be shot down with the crows"
O'Flynn was always closer to the centre than Farage and as I predicted, after Rochester, it seems half of their parliamentary party are vying for the leadership already.
Carswell seems pretty arrogant if these rumours are true. Who does he think he is? No way in hell a dull, charisma-void like Carswell will be as popular with the public as Farage. Especially as he'd get rid of all the characters with colourful views. He's a big fan of political correctness as he's said so himself. I suspect it would be the beginning if the end as they end up becoming identical to the Tories and Labour. Essentislly the establishment are trying to take over.
Patrick O Flynn on Sunday Politics just said he's "on the Douglas Carswell side of the party, when it comes to political correctness" Get rid of him! Disloyal snakes with no respect for their leader.
Patrick O Flynn on Sunday Politics just said he's "on the Douglas Carswell side of the party, when it comes to political correctness" Get rid of him! Disloyal snakes with no respect for their leader.
What's this? The hero of Clacton, the first elected UKIP MP and just a few weeks later some Kippers are calling him disloyal! I knew UKIP and Kippers were going to provide a lot of entertainment during the campaign but did not expect it to start so soon:)
Comments
I wasn't sure as I seem to remember that Ian Paisley was a MP and MEP at the same time. Perhaps the rules have changed.
They did...in 2002.
Much as a hate Wikipaedia I couldn't readily find anything on Europa.
Thanks for clearing that up. Am not in favour of politicians holding two positions. Hope the people of Uxbridge don't want a part time MP
They seem blinded by his celebrity so I think it's certain that they will have one until 2016.
Can anyone recall how BoJo The Clown will maximise his salary? Is it keep the Mayoral one and not take the MP's one, or take the MP's one plus one-third of the Mayoral one?
Christine probably went to order them to "let him in"
(http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=85362#disqus_thread)
I did say that UKIP would start to decline after Rochester and have seen nothing since then to convince me otherwise. For millions UKIP is Farage and Farage is UKIP and IMO I think he believes that too.
Continued internal squabbling and public gaffes will do the party no good in the run up to May and I believe that they have just about garnered all the voters they are going to get by now. What else can UKIP say that they have not said a million times already? "Lets get out of the EU and have a points based immigration system" That is it because any UKIP adventure into discussing anything else tends to lead to confusion.
I am not posting this just to have a dig at UKIP but it is my honest opinion.
That would be a first - just joking?:D
There is no real evidence of any poll slippage for UKIP - and in the England only polls they are right up there (23% vs 31% for the big two on the last Ashcoft England only poll) as they only score 3% in Scotland (I would vote SNP if I was in Scotland under FPTP elections!).
Whether this translates into seats - well we shall see. But they are getting stronger on the east coast, Kent and Essex - maybe the closer you get to Brussels the more you can see it for what it is!
May will be perhaps the most interesting general election for some time - as its impossible to call. UKIP may never get into government - but then nor did the SDP. The SDP however spawned New Labour - Blair basically adopted the gang of 4s views and won 3 terms. If Labour and the Tories at least got leaders who understood the working class and didn't do PPE it would be a start!
PS There is endless media trivia about internal party squabbles - Cameron and Ed backbencher coup plans are rolled out every month. Thats politics!
So, if they are such a refreshing change, why do they keep on harping on about being the same as all the other parties, when they get caught with their pants down?
Does the include lying and cheating?
I take it you also did read the interview he gave to The Times, then? Where he confirmed to the journalist that he was only repeating what he was told by the party leadership, but what he said was then promptly denied by Farage et al. So, I ask again, was Reckless lying?
Exactly.
So, is UKIP the same as all the other parties, or completely different?
You lot really ought to confer about what excuses you are going to use. It was either nothing more than insignificant tittle tattle, or it is something so important that they have to air it out in the open.
Indeed, if they can make a whole year's news out of one man eating his lunch, just imagine what would have happened if that had happened to Labour
With Patrick O'Flynn accusing the leader of being a destructive control freak, I would say the vultures, although not yet circling, they are starting to look a little hungry and licking their beaks.
Wonder if Carswell is regretting his decision to get involved with this shower. "If you fly with the crows, you will be shot down with the crows"
Is the writing already on the wall for Farage?
What's this? The hero of Clacton, the first elected UKIP MP and just a few weeks later some Kippers are calling him disloyal! I knew UKIP and Kippers were going to provide a lot of entertainment during the campaign but did not expect it to start so soon:)
Hmm, I don't know why, but Hamilton's replacement looks like someone who might have some strong opinions.
wow. talk about judging someone on their looks.
i'll remember that the next time you pull someone up for the same reason.;-)
You'll need a very large bottle of ink..:D