Clueless in Brussels
The Guardian - May 26 2004
Fifteen days to go and the first postal ballots in the mail.
UKIP's Jeffrey Titford talks a good Eurosceptic story. With perma-tanned ex-Labour MP Robert Kilroy-Silk in the lead, UKIP have a good line in patter and are getting disproportionate air-time.
Much of what UKIP says, I agree with. Indeed many of the telling points in their election address are things that I have been saying, practically word for word, for the last five years.
The key difference, and the reason why Eurosceptic voters should vote Conservative, is that UKIP is a fringe, single-issue party with no hope at all of ever forming a government. UKIP can't deliver! Only a major national party like the Conservatives, with an excellent prospect of forming the next government, can actually deliver a radical change in Britain's relationship with the EU.
UKIP's record speaks for itself. Their three current MEPs have a well-below-average voting record in plenary sessions of the parliament. Often they have no idea how to vote. They frequently abstain. They have even on occasion asked for copies of the Conservative voting list because they have no idea what to do!
Far from supporting the British national interest, they recently voted to scrap the British opt-out on the Working Time Directive, which would do huge damage to our labour market flexibility. And they rarely show up in committees, where key decisions affecting British interests are debated and effected. I well remember a meeting of the fisheries committee where vital votes affecting our fishermen were taking place. In front of me was an empty chair marked "Nigel Farage" (one of the UKIP three).
Robert Kilroy-Silk is no better. On a recent Breakfast with Frost programme, he refused to confirm that he would make the European parliament his full-time job (I personally find it takes 6½ days a week!) and he virtually admitted that he regarded this Euro-election merely as a stepping stone to better things in Westminster.
On the continent, parties often put up a national figure as head-of-list, who resigns after the election, making way for an unknown. Maybe this is UKIP's plan.
A vote for UKIP is mere political self-indulgence. Our advice to voters is clear. Put Britain First. Vote Conservative.
A busy day today: morning at Leicester Football Club, press lunch with Liam Fox, afternoon campaigning in Rutland, live appearance on the PM programme, and a "Real World Coalition" panel debate in Nottingham this evening. And all day I have a German state TV team following me!
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