Press Statement re charges of Misconduct of Public Office and Money Laundering, by the West Midlands Police on former MEP Nikki Sinclaire.

Press Statement re charges of Misconduct of Public Office and Money Laundering, by the West Midlands Police on former MEP Nikki Sinclaire.

‘I am disappointed that the police have chosen to charge me with the above offences without questioning me on them, after a two and a half year investigation.

‘The charges relate to my time as a UKIP MEP when I was under the guidance and oversight by the Party in the Parliament.  This will prove pivotal in resolving the matter.

‘During my time as an MEP I put in more than £120,000 of my salary into the cost of my work activities.

‘It was also me, who in 2010, drew the attention of the West Midlands Police, to irregularities I discovered had taken place, without my knowledge, in my UKIP office.

‘I strongly refute these charges and will be firmly defending myself. I am certain I shall be found innocent of these ludicrous and unfounded accusations.’

Press Release - Nikki Sinclaire MEP Condemns UKIP Association With Nazis in European Parliament

Press Release - Nikki Sinclaire MEP Condemns UKIP Association With Nazis in European Parliament

UKIP has announced that it will form a political group in the European Parliament with far-right politicians, including 2 MEPs from the controversial Sweden Democrats. The party leader, Nigel Farage, had been struggling to find the requisite 7 nationalities in order to form a group.

The Swedish party was founded in 1988 by Gustaf Ekström, a former soldier in Hitler's Waffen SS, and an active Nazi since the 1940s. It has attracted controversy ever since. As recently as 2013, a Sweden Democrats parliamentarian, Erik Almqvist, resigned his seat after being previously filmed in Stockholm on a drunken rampage, armed with a scaffold pole, carrying out several assaults, one racially motivated, and one against a woman, in the street with another member of the party.

Ms Sinclaire said "I am appalled. That this party should be elected to the European Parliament confirms my fears about the state of European democracy, and it shows just how far Nigel Farage will go in order to hold onto his cherished position as the president of a political group in an institution he claims to oppose."

Ms Sinclaire was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 as a UKIP MEP, but left the party's political group, the EFD, because of her strong objections to "racist" and "homophobic" elements within the group.

UKIP has also accepted into its parliamentary group Joelle Bergeron, who was elected in May's European Elections to represent the French Front Nationale. The French party has been ostracised in recent weeks for anti-Semitic remarks made by founder Jean-Marie LePen, the father of current party leader Marine LePen.

Nikki Sinclaire said "UKIP claim that they will not allow former members of the BNP or the National Front into the party under any circumstances. But on the basis of two letters from the Swedish MEPs saying that their party is no longer racist, they are accepted into UKIP's group. Despite all his condemnation of Front Nationale in the UK press, he allows an MEP elected for that party to sit alongside UKIP in Brussels and Strasbourg."

ENDS

Sunday Politics West Midlands yesterday

UKIP lead candidate Jill Seymour admits that it was my petition, not UKIP, that has moved the EU debate forward.

Video below:

Happy International Womens Day

Nigel Farage has been accused of putting pressure on two MEPs to break European rules as he sought to gain tens of thousands of pounds in taxpayers' money for the UK Independence party.
Nikki Sinclaire, MEP for the West Midlands, told the Guardian the Ukip leader told her the party would not be able to gain access to extra funds meant for a new political grouping without her support.

If she failed to support the group, Farage said he would destroy her political reputation, she alleges. Sinclaire left Ukip in 2010 after clashing with the leadership.
A second MEP claims she was asked by Farage to secure an assistant for his 2010 general election campaign using money from Brussels, in breach of strict EU regulations. Marta Andreasen, who also left Ukip – joining the Conservatives last month – says Farage told her women of childbearing age should not work because they are "a burden to their companies".
Friends of Farage said Sinclaire had been a "thorn in his side" for many years and had an axe to grind. A Ukip spokesman told the Guardian: "We do not respond to vexatious allegations of this kind from our political opponents."

Andreasen and Farage have clashed publicly before – after she quit Ukip, the party leader said: "Having left the OECD, the European commission and Ukip in unpleasant circumstances, the Conservative party deserve what is coming to them. The woman is impossible."
Farage and his party argue that the EU is a waste of money and call for Britain's withdrawal. Over the last 10 years, Ukip has raised £6.2m, according to the Electoral Commission, with hundreds of thousands of pounds coming from its MEPs, whose salaries and expenses are met by European taxpayers.

Ukip ran the Lib Dems a close second last week in the Eastleigh byelection. All three main parties are now wrestling with how to respond to the rise of the Eurosceptic party, which is to field about 2,000 candidates in the May council elections.

Both accusers are the only female MEPs ever elected by Ukip and both left the party, claiming there is a sexist attitude at the top of the organisation.

Sinclaire, a close associate of Farage for 14 years, said she was "intimidated and bullied" by him as he sought to establish the European Freedom and Democracy group in the European parliament.
In July 2009, he had secured 29 MEPs from a number of countries to support the establishment of the group. Sinclaire alleges that he told her he needed a 30th MEP to ensure that he secured additional funds. When she replied that she was unsure because of homophobic and antisemitic comments by Italian politicians who were part of the grouping, he responded by threatening her, she said.
"He said to me that unless I signed up to this group by 10am the following morning then it would cost the party half a million pounds and it would be all my fault," she said. "If I didn't sign up, he said he would make sure that everyone knew it was my fault and damage my standing in the party."
"There is no doubt in my mind that he was seeking these funds for the political party, not for the new group," she said. "His main objective was to get the party to gain access to more money, and he was prepared to bully me to get it."

EU sources said if a grouping increased the number of MEPs from 29 to 30, its funding would be increased by about €50,000. EU rules state money for groupings should not be used for party political purposes, but Sinclaire said the funds were supposed to be sent instead to Ukip and filtered through to London. Sinclaire eventually joined the group, but regretted doing so, she said. She left it in 2010 and is now an independent MEP.

Andreasen is an MEP for South East England and a former Ukip treasurer who defected to the Conservative party last month. She said Farage instructed her to recruit an assistant on the party's publicly funded Brussels payroll, despite rules that MEPs' assistants must work for at least part of their time on European parliament business.

"I had a specific situation where I was asked to recruit someone for the southeast region [where she and Farage are MEPs]," she said. "I realised he was only going to work on the general election in 2010 with Nigel Farage, who was standing in Buckingham.

"He [Farage] told me to draw up the contract for him and he would give me a staff member from the group in Brussels. He wanted me to recruit someone who would work in an office in the northern part of the south-east constituency, close to Buckingham."

Andreasen said the contract would have been for an assistant earning around £40,000 a year pro-rata and they got as far as identifying the assistant Farage wanted, but she realised Farage was asking her to use an MEP's allowance solely for his UK political campaigning. She said she decided it would have breached parliamentary regulations and declined.

EU rules state: "The provided allowances are only eligible when spent on activities and objects which are directly linked to the office of a member of the European parliament."

A Ukip MEP has been found to have misused taxpayer-funded allowances following a crackdown by Olaf, Europe's anti-fraud watchdog. Derek Clark, an MEP for the East Midlands, had successfully applied for money from the EU to pay for two assistants in 2004 and 2005. But instead of working for Clark, the inquiry found they worked almost exclusively for Ukip from Britain.
Clark, who has given more than £190,000 to the party in the past 10 years, said last year that he began paying political workers with EU money only after being asked to do so by an adviser to the party, whom he refused to name.

Andreasen said Farage and others were "very dismissive and disrespectful" when discussing legislation that affects women.

"The general attitude was that we would never support anything that was in favour of women. He told me that his attitude was that women who are at the age of being able to give birth to children should not be employed because they are a burden to their companies. It is a very extreme position.
"He dismisses you as if you were not a proper interlocuter. He does not discuss with you, because you are a lower-level human being. I could not respond or be angry about each thing that would happen," she said.

Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch said that he had invited Farage to his London flat for dinner. The News International chairman told his followers on Twitter that Farage was "reflecting opinion" at the dinner. "Few days in UK, Italy. Politics both places very fluid, economies going nowhere. New leaders emerging on distant horizon," he tweeted. "Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, few excellent, frustrated ministers. Farage reflecting opinion. Florence mayor Renzi brilliant young Italian."
Sinclaire said she had faced many years of sexism from the party. Ukip used to hold national executive meetings in men-only gentlemen's clubs in central London such as the Caledonian Club. "I was allowed to attend the actual meeting but could not join the rest of the NEC in the bar, where the eventual decisions were actually made," she added.

Former Tory MP and UKIP Leader Defects to New Movement

PRESS RELEASE

Former Tory MP and UKIP Leader Defects to New Movement

Roger Knapman Former MP and UKIP Leader

On the eve of the UKIP conference, a former party leader has defected to a new pro-Referendum movement.

Roger Knapman, former Conservative MP for Stroud, lead the parties breakthrough in the 2004 European election where UKIP came third.

His defection to the newly established "We demand a referendum party" was announced on the day when UKIP deputy leader Paul Nuttell admitted that the new grouping was a threat to their own election hopes.

The new party has been founded by high profile MEP Nikki Sinclaire and former Apprentice star Katie Hopkins. 

Roger Knapman was the Conservative MP for Stroud between 1987 to 1997, and PPS to Armed Forces Minister Archie Hamilton between 1990 to 1992 when he resigned over the Maastricht Treaty. He Joined UKIP in 2000, became leader in 2002 until 2006 and was succeeded by Nigel Farage MEP

The ´We Demand a Referendum´ Party has vowed to stand in every seat in the European Elections of 2014 unless David Cameron calls an In/Out referendum by 1 Jan 2014. A YouGov Poll on 4th to 5th Sept´ showed a third of the electorate would or probably would vote for such a single issue party.

Roger Knapman said "Now is the time to force a referendum with our country's continued membership of the European Union. We eurosceptics have won all the arguments. In or Out that is the only question that has to be answered now."

Roger added "I am very happy to give my full support to this initiative, established parties, including UKIP have failed to deliver, and it is time for the People to Demand a Referendum"

Party Chairman, Nikki Sinclaire MEP said "We are delighted to have someone of Rogers's calibre on board. His experience will be invaluable to achieving our aims." 

ENDS

www.letthepeopledecide.eu

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 1,474 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 4th - 5th September 2012.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

UKIP - The divorce!

Having been politically active since my schooldays, I have always been hugely concerned by the undemocratic nature of the European Union, and the way in which successive governments have managed to keep us ill-informed and in the dark about what our membership really means. It was this that led me to become involved with UKIP in 1994.

 

I never do things by half, and so I threw myself into campaigning work. I must have walked a thousand miles of pavement, and delivered more leaflets than I could count. I wrote letters, helped run the party's head office, raised (and donated) large sums of money, and worked alongside Mike Nattrass when he was elected to the European Parliament in 2004. In 2009 I joined him in Brussels as an MEP, full of pride and ready to fight.

 

But then things turned sour.

 

I have always been a passionate defender of human rights and individual liberties. Imagine my horror when I realised that for reasons of financial benefit UKIP had formed a political group in the parliament that contained some of the vilest far-right elements in European politics. I was expected to sit alongside convicted racists, homophobes, and holocaust deniers. One of our new allies, an Italian, had a criminal record that included convictions for a racially motivated assault on a child and for setting fire to the belongings of a homeless immigrant who was sleeping under a bridge. He had also been filmed encouraging fascists to infiltrate mainstream political organisations. My protests were ignored. Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, was co-president of this group and as such he had helped to form it. I was horrified when the editor of a Brussels magazine told me he would not report my work in the parliament because I was a member of a far-right group. I realised that my association with such elements was damaging my political credibility. None of this seemed to concern the party leadership.

 

Eventually I had enough, and I resigned from this group, hoping that I could work better as a non-attached member of the Parliament. Then it really started.

 

Nigel Farage appeared on the BBC stating that I had not resigned, but that I had been expelled and that I had the party whip removed from me as I had failed to reveal that I was a bankrupt. This was an absolute lie, and I was horrified to hear it. The party sent people into my office to seize computer equipment and the police had to be called.

 

I felt that the party had betrayed my principles, and was trying to put the blame on me. Of course, my crime was to speak out, and I was being punished for it.

 

It is surprisingly hard to leave a relationship, even when it has been abusive, but eventually I did make the break and am no longer a member of the party that I had come to regard almost as a family. Friends turned their backs on me, and lied about me. I started to question whether all the work I had done was in vain, and grieved over broken dreams and aspirations.

 

Soon, Mike Nattrass and another UKIP MEP, Trevor Colman, also resigned from the group, and joined me. I felt vindicated. Then a fourth MEP resigned from UKIP and joined the Conservatives. It was all starting to fall apart in Brussels.

As I began to find my feet outside UKIP I realised how much I could do. I launched a petition for a referendum on Britain's continued membership of the EU, and have delivered 220,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street in the space of less than a year. I have become increasingly involved in community issues, and in human rights matters. My petition forced a debate in the House of Commons and provoked the biggest back-bench revolt the government has seen.

 

When I look behind me, at the people I walked away from, I see one of them praising the ideology of the Norwegian gunman Breivik, and I shake my head in disgust. I feel sad at what UKIP has become, and I feel sorry for all the good people who are being let down. But the most important thing is that I am able to get on with doing what I was elected to do.

Taking up my seat on the parliamentary delegation to Chile

I have now taken up a seat on the parliamentary delegation to Chile.

As well as parliamentary committees, MEPs also sit on 'delegations'. These are similar in structure to committees, but their purpose is to engage with other countries and blocs outside the EU. There are 41 such delegations.

When taking up my seat as an MEP I was told, along with my colleagues, that UKIP would not take part in these delegations as they were simply opportunities for 'taxpayer-funded jollies'. In fact, this was not the full truth.

Without our knowledge or permission, our seats on delegations were being traded away in order to attract more members into the EFD group. One Danish MEP, who has subsequently left the EFD to sit alongside the British Conservatives, at one point sat on no less than 6 delegations.

Our seats were traded away and given in some cases to pro-EU MEPs. Instead of giving us the opportunity to engage with foreign governments and tell them the truth about the EU, we were handing our swords to the enemy. All this was hidden from us.

Of course, we could have taken our seats on the delegations and refused the junkets; much of the work is done in Brussels and through one to one meetings anyway.

The value of this work to the national interest cannot be underestimated, and I will give just two examples. The delegation to Chile, for example, was until recently chaired by a Spaniard, and at the time of writing there are no less than 5 Spanish members compared to one Briton. The Spanish have strong economic and political interests there, of course.

More significantly, the delegation to Mercosur, the South American trading bloc that includes Argentina, is also chaired by a Spaniard, again one of five Spanish members, and there is not one single British delegate. There is nobody on that delegation to put the British case to Mercosur. As we approach the 30th anniversary of the liberation of the Falklands, let us remember this: we need to be on the battlefield in order to win the battle.

I am afraid that there may also be another reason why some MEPs are more comfortable not engaging: they simply do not understand what is going on in Brussels and Strasbourg. It is far easier to sit on the sidelines cat-calling then to enter the debate at a meaningful level. This is a great shame. I remember the debate on whether or not UKIP should take up seats won in euro-elections. That was a divisive time in our party's history. What is the point of taking up a seat and then doing nothing with it? Ours is an important and noble cause, surely it deserves more exertion and effort than simply sitting on the sidelines and drawing a salary?

Vile Lega Nord MEP and UKIP colleague Borghezio agrees with Norwegian monsters manifesto

How on earth can UKIP continue to sit in the same group as this man?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14315108

Press Statement by Nikki Sinclaire MEP

 

On the atrocities in Norway, and the response of the Lega Nord MEP Mario Borghezio

 

 

 

My heart goes out to the victims of the atrocities that took place in Norway last week, and to their families. There can be no excuses, no justifications, this was nothing but an act of pure and unmitigated evil.

 

In protest against violent right-wing extremism, I resigned from UKIP's political group in the European Parliament, the Europe of Freedom & Democracy (EFD). I particularly cited the racism and homophobia prevelant in the Italian Lega Nord. As a result of my stand, I had the UKIP party whip withdrawn by the party leadership.

 

In the wake of this vile mass murder, one of those Lega Nord MEPs I particularly objected to, Mario Borghezio, a man with at least two convictions for racially motivated violence, including an assualt on a child, has gone on record as supporting the murderer Breivik. He stated that  “One hundred per cent of Breivik’s ideas are good, in some cases extremely good. The positions of Breivik reflect the views of those movements across Europe which are winning elections.”

 

I now call upon UKIP MEPs to distance themselves from this objectionable political group, of which Lega Nord is not the only party to contain members with racial convictions. As 76 families mourn their loved ones, now is the moment for UKIP MEPs to take stock, and act on their conscience, rather than remain in a political group with such extremists, purely on the grounds that they can earn more money by doing so.

 

 

ENDS

 

For further information contact Nikki Sinclaire MEP on 07941 461255

 

 

Notes to Editors: Nikki Sinclaire was elected as a UKIP MEP in June 2009. She sits on the parliament's Human Rights Committee.

In January 2010 she resigned from the EFD group after her protests about far-right extremist elements were ignored by the party leadership.

Subsequently, Mike Nattrass, a UKIP MEP in his second term resigned from the EFD group for the same reasons as Miss Sinclaire.

More recently, Trevor Colman, also a UKIP MEP serving his second term resigned from the EFD group.

In 1993, Mario Borghezio was ordered to pay a fine of 750,000 lire following a violent assault on a Moroccan child in 1991. He appeared to justify this by alleging that the child was an illegal immigrant.

In July 2005, Mario Borghezio was found guilty of arson, having set fire to the belongings of some immigrants while they were sleeping under a bridge in Turin during a vigilante raid. For this he was sentenced to two months and twenty days imprisonment, which he avoided by paying a fine.

In September 2007, Mario Borghezio was arrested by Belgian police during an unauthorised anti-Islamic demonstration in Brussels.

Questioning the President of the European Commission.

One of the advantages I have as a non-attached member of the European Parliament - I am not a member of any political group - is that I have more opportunities to speak on important issues. Within the political groups it tends to be only the Presidents of the groups who get important speaking time.

On Tuesday I was able to question Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission. I asked him who it might be possible to have common EU policies when time and time again we see an inability to reach concensus on importnat issues such as foreign relations and security and defence. I suggested that it would not be possible to implement common policy with some loss of democracy for thye EU member states.

The President's reply was evasive to say the least. I think I hit a raw nerve.

I was also able to ask a supplementary question concerning pan-European political parties. He confirmed to me that these parties are an integral part of EU integration, and the development of the EU as a state in its own right.

We must be aware of this, and not be seduced - as some clearly are - by the promise of extra cash if our own politicians allow themselves to be subsumed into these wretched pan-European political parties.

Pleased to be joined by another principled MEP

Mike Nattrass and I are delighted to be reunited with an old colleague this week in the form of Trevor Colman, UKIP MEP for the South West.

 

Like Mike and I, Trevor has rejected membership of a controversial political group in the parliament, and now sits alongside Mike and I as 'non-attached' members. This means that we can concentrate on doing the job we were elected to do, and campaign for Britain's withdrawal from the EU. Membership of any such group means compromising on our principles, and we are not prepared to do that. Trevor is a good and hard working campaigner, and I and my staff are looking forward to working alongside him.

Nikki agrees to set aside judgement in order to find common ground

Press Release 
Re: Employment Tribunal Hearing Monday 28th February 2010 in Exeter

Nikki Sinclaire MEP v UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage MEP & Godfrey Bloom MEP


Upon consideration of the respondents' claims of administrative error in this matter, and the offer of 'round table discussion' for an overall settlement of her differences with the UK Independence Party on condition she agrees to setting aside the Judgment of the Employment Tribunal of 8th December which found in her favour, Nikki Sinclaire said:

"If a way forward can be reached regarding this unfortunate dispute with UKIP by me agreeing to set this matter aside than I am only too happy to oblige. I spent 16 years working for the growth and success of UKIP and obviously I still believe, and actively campaign, for its core platform - withdrawal from the European Union. This issue is far more important than individuals or personalities."

"This will put the matter back to stage one and if negotiations prove futile, I will robustly pursue my claim in the tribunal. I was pleased that Mr Boom MEP recently gave a written undertaking to the Presidsent of the European Parliament stating he would leave me alone."

 
Note

Nikki Sinclaire MEP was given default judgement on Sexual Orientation Discrimination by Judge Harper on 8 December after UKIP and the co-respondents failed to file a defence.

An update on the Tribunal hearing.

UKIP, Farage and Bloom have applied to the Tribunal to have the judgement 'set aside' on the basis of an administrative error. That all three forgot they had to reply to the claims against them and there was a mix up in all three of their diaries. The ET rules were recently changed allowing respondents 28 days rather than 14 days to reply to allow for due consideration etc.

I note that Nigel was elected under the banner of professionalising the party and the new Party Secretary, Michael Greaves, a Barrister admits to have been at fault here.

The Tribunal Judge has decided not to accept their application without hearing their application IN PERSON and a hearing will be scheduled in due course. The rules state that at least 14 days notice must be given for a hearing. Therefore, currently the Judgement remains in force and the Remedy hearing postponed.

As this hearing will heard due to the negligence of UKIP, Farage and Bloom; they will be expected to pay the costs of all sides in full.

Legal action announced

Today at a press conference in Westminster, I announced with regret that I have been driven to take legal action against UKIP, Nigel Farage MEP and Godfrey Bloom MEP in the High Court and the Employment Tribunal.

The high court action is in relation to UKIP breaching it's own Constitution and party rules. The ET claim relates to discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. I feel that I have been unfairly treated by the leadership of UKIP because I stood up for my principles. It is especially disturbing and offensive as my colleague, Mike Nattrass MEP has received no sanction despite leaving the EFD group for the same reasons.

My complaint against Godfrey Bloom MEP

Me in the EP today in an impromptu press confernce after my meeting with President Buzek

 After I was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 I raised serious questions over the composition of the political group - EFD - that my party, UKIP chose to join.

Immediately, I identified extremist behaviour including homophobia from the Italian Co-Presidents of the group, Liga Nord. I since discovered convicted racists, anti-Semitic and further homophobia. I found it incredibly difficult to accept that my colleagues parties called for racial segregation on Italian public transport, that the gas chambers in Auschwitz were nothing more than disinfecting chambers and its former mayor of Treviso called for the "ethnic cleansing of faggots" from his city.

I tried hard to change the situation, but my protests were ignored. I felt obliged, in order to stay true to my beliefs and values, to resign from the EFD group.

As a result of this I had the UKIP whip removed, and I now sit as an independent MEP. A fellow MEP, Mike Nattrass also left the group for the same reasons as myself. He has not had the party whip removed. I will leave you do come to your own conclusions as to why that may be.

I have recently been subjected to harassment and intimidation from a number of sources. This has now spilled over into the Parliament itself, and I have today met with President Buzek, who has very kindly re-arranged his busy schedule to meet with me. He considers this a very serious matter and launched an investigation in respect of my formal complaint I have made against a fellow MEP, Godfrey Bloom.

I have been abused and intimidated by this gentleman, and my staff have had to publically endure verbal abuse attacking me.

There should be no place for harassment, for intimidation, or for homophobic abuse anywhere in our society.

These events have been deeply distressing. I am now publically calling on Mr Bloom to do the honourable thing and apologise.

see also

http://www.euchronicle.eu/nikki-sinclaire-resigns-efd

A Budget too far. Why the electorate must have their say!

Hilary Clinton's recent criticism of British defence cuts was unprecedented, and should serve as a warning to Mr Cameron's government: when one's closest friends start to publicaly question one's judgement, it is a clear sign that something is wrong.

The US press has today reported critically on other UK government spending cuts, highlighting not just the 8% reduction in defence spending, but also cuts of 27% and 23% from local government and Home Office budgets respectively.

It might be worth placing these cuts in the the context of an increase of 5.9% in the EU's annual budget, approved in Strasbourg this week. The British taxpayer will carry the brunt of this increase - our contribution already stands at a massive £8.3 billion per annum, and will now rise by almost a quarter to £10.3 billion. This represents a massive financial commitment at a time when we are being forced to make the most drastic cuts in public spending at home since the Second World War.

The British people have never had a say on the nature of our current relationship with the EU, although thanks to a proposed initiative by the coalition government, this can change. We are promised that a petition of 100,000 signatures will trigger a debate in the House of Commons, and I, and many voters, are now calling for this to happen - I have been overwhelmed by the support for my petition calling for a debate on Britain's continued membership of the EU, and I look forward to delivering it to 10 Downing Street shortly.

I accept that there are arguments both for and against our country's continued membership, but I believe that on such an important matter as this it should be for the people to decide. I, as a committed Eurosceptic, will accept and abide by whatever decision the people make - the challenge I am laying down is for the pro-EU lobby to make that same commitment to the electorate.

This week in Strasbourg

If anyone had told me a year ago that I would get a round of applause in the parliament chamber twice in 24 hours I would have thought they were crazy and were without political acumen.

This week however, it actually came to pass. After hearing an outdated viewpoint from the Italian partners of UKIP in the parliament, I felt it was necessary to explain, as an openly gay politician that all people desire to be treated equally regardless of whom they love should be respected and protected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bhqDIRj-Bs&feature=player_embedded

The politics of hate must never be allowed to succeed. The EFD group gives a home to the politics of hate. I find it incredibly sad that UKIP, who were elected to campaign for withdrawal from the EU. But with their association with such extremists, some who are pro EU, pro Lisbon Treaty the message gets lost and UKIP compromised.

My second applause came out of my sheer disbelief at what I was hearing. It was at voting time on Wednesday. We had just heard a oral amendment on delaying the vote on animal testing. An EPP member from Portugal stood up and complained that he was receiving too many emails from his constituents. I reacted with anger. See for yourself

http://yourmep.org/european-doesnt-work.html