The message I gave to all Tory MEPs

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:40:41 +0200
From: nikki.sinclaire@europarl.europa.eu
To: charles.tannock@europarl.europa.eu; syed.kamall@europarl.europa.eu; marina.yannakoudakis@europarl.europa.eu; martin.callanan@europarl.europa.eu; robert.atkins@europarl.europa.eu; sajjad.karim@europarl.europa.eu; jacqueline.foster@europarl.europa.eu; timothy.kirkhope@europarl.europa.eu; roger.helmer@europarl.europa.eu; emma.mcclarkin@europarl.europa.eu; philip.bradbourn@europarl.europa.eu; malcolm.harbour@europarl.europa.eu; geoffrey.vanorden@europarl.europa.eu; robert.sturdy@europarl.europa.eu; vicky.ford@europarl.europa.eu; david.campbellbannerman@europarl.europa.eu; daniel.hannan@europarl.europa.eu; richardjames.ashworth@europarl.europa.eu; nirj.deva@europarl.europa.eu; james.elles@europarl.europa.eu; giles.chichester@europarl.europa.eu; julie.girling@europarl.europa.eu; ashley.fox@europarl.europa.eu; kay.swinburne@europarl.europa.eu; struan.stevenson@europarl.europa.eu; james.nicholson@europarl.europa.eu

Dear colleagues,

I trust you had a good summer break. You may have missed a YouGov poll that I commissioned a few weeks ago that showed for the first time a clear majority of the UK population (52%) wish to leave the EU with only 30% who would vote to stay in. The question was independently set by YouGov. Please find attached the YouGov report.

As you embark on your parliamentary work you might wish to consider the breakdown from Conservative voters. 74% want a referendum and 66% would vote to leave the EU.

regards

Nikki Sinclaire MEP

FORMER MEP DEN DOVER FACES JAIL

A former British Conservative MEP, Den Dover (1999-2009), has been ordered to pay back £345,289 to the European Parliament and could also face prosecution for fraud.

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg today dismissed attempts by Dover to avoid repayment of the money that the European Parliament state was wrongly claimed between 1999 and 2008.

Dover made the following illegitimate payments from the allowance paid to MEPs to meet the costs of paying for staff:

·         £101,068 for three cars

·         £15,404 for office supplies and equipment,

·        £89,235 for postage and stationery

·        £100,735 for the costs of rent and renovation of Den Dover's 'office' which happened to be in his private home

·         £20,767 for telephone costs (MEPs get a separate allowance for all these office expenses, none of which are supposed to be paid from the staff budget)

·         £17,880 for 'entertainment’

·         £200 in donations to the Conservative Party

The Parliament also sought the repayment of £167,903 it claimed represented the costs of VAT that had not been paid.  The Court subsequently concluded that this was a matter for dispute between the British authorities and the former MEP.

Dover was ordered to pay his own costs.

Independent MEP for the West Midlands, Nikki Sinclaire, said:

 "I am glad that the authorities have pursued this matter and the court has ruled that publically-elected people are not above the law. Mr Dover has shown contempt for the taxpayers and abused the trust of the electorate."

ENDS

Editor’s Note

British Prime Minister David Cameron expelled Dover from the Conservative Party in 2008.

At the Conservative Conference

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/birmingham-diary-tory-fringe-despair-at-antics-of-coalition-cameroons-2097638.html  see 'What is she doing here'

My battle bus rolled into Birmingham today for the final conference of the political season. The Conservatives have chosen Birmingham once again for their conference bringing gridlock to parts of the city on a daily basis. City centre conferences seem to be vogue at the moment much to the detriment of seaside resorts like Brighton, Blackpool, Bournemouth etc it used to be a nice little earner at the end of the season for these resorts but the established political parties rather disrupt the countries major cities.

The Campaign for a Referendum (CfaR) was received warmly by delegates, many signatures were collected and hundreds of petition packs handed out.  Coincidently, the Bruges Group and CfaR had rooms at the Midlands Institute which allowed respective interested parties to find out more about each other.

Outside the Conference I had the pleasure to meet Lizzie Williams, a protester against the High Speed Link (HS2) that is cutting though the Green Belt. Lizzie had just finished her walk though the proposed route. I signed her petition and promised her my support.