Giles Chichester says UKIP has a phoney prospectus. What do you reckon?

By PRSD, on Sunday, May 31, 2009

With UKIP poised in the polls to make headway in the forthcoming election (that’s on Thursday, June 4, in case you’ve been too busy with your expenses to know what else is going on), we thought we’d share a letter from Conservative MEP Giles Chichester. In case this seems biased, against UKIP… well… they can always respond to one of the many emails we’ve sent and they’ve already proved themselves risable by their dodgy grasp of history through David Challice’s wine quoffing pontificating. Over to you Giles…

UKIP is peddling a phoney prospectus. The only place where they can achieve their aim “to take Britain out of the EU” is in the House of Commons. Only our MPs can decide whether or not we stay in the European Union. MEPs cannot take this decision.

It is time the members of UKIP demanded that their political leaders end this farce. I am not suggesting they abandon their eurosceptic views, for that is their democratic right. I do, however, suggest they make UKIP leaders concentrate efforts on putting forward candidates for the British Parliament to achieve their stated political objective. They should abandon their campaign to elect UKIP representatives to the EU Parliament by fraudulently telling voters that MEPs from UKIP can take Britain out of Europe. They cannot and it is a deceit to say they can.

UKIP are asking people to “lend them their vote” but that’s what they said at the last Euro Election – and what have they actually achieved? They spent the first two years squabbling amongst themselves about who should be leader and, since then, they have failed to support British business, farmers or fishermen in key votes in Europe. For example, they voted against efforts to create a Single Market “level playing field” for British companies in Europe; they voted against guarantees for brand name protection for British produce; and they voted to allow French and Spanish trawlers into a restricted British marine conservation area. You can’t trust UKIP to do what they say!

The only way we are going to get a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is if there is a big Conservative vote on 4 June. If the anti-Labour vote is split between lots of minor parties, Gordon Brown won’t feel any pressure to concede. The Conservatives are the only Party making a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty the centrepiece of their Euro Election campaign.

• A last gasp attempt to stem Conservative support going to UKIP, or does he have a point?