Christmas Comes Early
The Tories must have thought Christmas had come early this year when they read the weekend headlines in The Sunday Times.
And as if the 'bigot' headlines were not bad enough one of UKIP's MEPs, Amjad Bashir, has decided to defect to the Conservatives over UKIP's "ridiculous" lack of policies.
The fruitcakes and loonies have indeed taken over the asylum.
We speak for bigots, says Ukip PR chief
By Tim Shipman - The Sunday Times
Moderate voters could be alienated if Ukip and its supporters are seen as bigoted (Carl Court)
BRITAIN has “hundreds of thousands of bigots” and Ukip is proud to stand up for them, one of Nigel Farage’s most senior aides has said.
Matthew Richardson, the party’s secretary, dismissed claims that Ukip candidates with bigoted views would alienate voters, boasting that the party will speak up for those with hardline views.
The controversial outburst, which Richardson dismissed as “lighthearted harmless banter in the pub”, will lay Ukip open to the charge that senior figures see themselves and their own supporters as bigots, a stance that is liable to alienate more moderate voters.
Richardson was appointed last year to put an end to the party’s series of public- relations gaffes and to prevent “bad stuff” about Ukip from making it into the media.
But last night he was at the centre of new storm after a source revealed comments he made in mid-December.
Asked about the racist outbursts of some Ukip candidates, Richardson replied: “I’ve said before, people talk about Ukip being bigots. There are hundreds of thousands of bigots in the United Kingdom and they too deserve representation.”
The outburst will remind voters of former prime minister Gordon Brown branding pensioner Gillian Duffy a “bigoted woman” after she raised the issue of immigration with him during the 2010 election.
Richardson also insulted Farage, declaring: “He’s a Kent man. Well, sounds like Kent anyway.” And he said the Ukip leader “would have to be a moron” to put the party’s turnover tax in its manifesto.
Richardson also came under fire on a second front when it emerged that he has compared NHS spending to the activities of Nazi Germany.
Labour released videos of Richardson calling for a “hearts and minds” campaign to back NHS privatisation and branded health spending a waste of money.
In a speech to a Conservative political conference in Washington in 2010 Richardson declared: “The biggest waste of money of course in the United Kingdom is the NHS, the National Health Service.”
At a Young America’s Foundation meeting the same year he denounced “wasteful socialist programmes” and said: “At the heart of this, the Reichstag bunker of socialism is the National Health Service.”
Richardson added: “People as a result of privatisation . . . of the NHS will do better. That’s a battle that we have to win the hearts and minds of people.”
Farage has publicly admitted that he believes a health insurance scheme would be better than the current levels of state NHS spending. But Ukip ditched that policy amid fears it would alienate working-class voters.
The Ukip leadership is bitterly divided between those who want to shrink the state and those who want to reach out to Labour voters. Last night a tape emerged of Patrick O’Flynn, the party’s economics spokesman, denouncing the “hardline libertarians” in Ukip as “completely away with the fairies”.
Speaking at a Ukip meeting in Basingstoke, Hampshire, on January 8, O’Flynn also said those at the top of the party have “egos slightly out of control”.
BRITAIN has “hundreds of thousands of bigots” and Ukip is proud to stand up for them, one of Nigel Farage’s most senior aides has said.
Matthew Richardson, the party’s secretary, dismissed claims that Ukip candidates with bigoted views would alienate voters, boasting that the party will speak up for those with hardline views.
The controversial outburst, which Richardson dismissed as “lighthearted harmless banter in the pub”, will lay Ukip open to the charge that senior figures see themselves and their own supporters as bigots, a stance that is liable to alienate more moderate voters.
Richardson was appointed last year to put an end to the party’s series of public- relations gaffes and to prevent “bad stuff” about Ukip from making it into the media.
But last night he was at the centre of new storm after a source revealed comments he made in mid-December.
Asked about the racist outbursts of some Ukip candidates, Richardson replied: “I’ve said before, people talk about Ukip being bigots. There are hundreds of thousands of bigots in the United Kingdom and they too deserve representation.”
The outburst will remind voters of former prime minister Gordon Brown branding pensioner Gillian Duffy a “bigoted woman” after she raised the issue of immigration with him during the 2010 election.
Richardson also insulted Farage, declaring: “He’s a Kent man. Well, sounds like Kent anyway.” And he said the Ukip leader “would have to be a moron” to put the party’s turnover tax in its manifesto.
Richardson also came under fire on a second front when it emerged that he has compared NHS spending to the activities of Nazi Germany.
Labour released videos of Richardson calling for a “hearts and minds” campaign to back NHS privatisation and branded health spending a waste of money.
In a speech to a Conservative political conference in Washington in 2010 Richardson declared: “The biggest waste of money of course in the United Kingdom is the NHS, the National Health Service.”
At a Young America’s Foundation meeting the same year he denounced “wasteful socialist programmes” and said: “At the heart of this, the Reichstag bunker of socialism is the National Health Service.”
Richardson added: “People as a result of privatisation . . . of the NHS will do better. That’s a battle that we have to win the hearts and minds of people.”
Farage has publicly admitted that he believes a health insurance scheme would be better than the current levels of state NHS spending. But Ukip ditched that policy amid fears it would alienate working-class voters.
The Ukip leadership is bitterly divided between those who want to shrink the state and those who want to reach out to Labour voters. Last night a tape emerged of Patrick O’Flynn, the party’s economics spokesman, denouncing the “hardline libertarians” in Ukip as “completely away with the fairies”.
Speaking at a Ukip meeting in Basingstoke, Hampshire, on January 8, O’Flynn also said those at the top of the party have “egos slightly out of control”.
Matthew Richardson was appointed to put an end to Ukip’s public-relations gaffes
O’Flynn said plans for a flat-rate tax, once advocated by Farage, would have actually led to “a tax increase for the lowest-paid people. That made it politically completely away with the fairies. There are, I think, a very small proportion of the party that would love us to be that kind of British version of the Tea Party.”
Ukip faced fresh embarrassment last night after Amjad Bashir, an MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, defected to the Tories, denouncing Ukip as “pretty amateur”.
Ukip responded by reporting him to the police over “extremely serious” allegations that he misused EU funds and is director of a firm that employed illegal immigrants. It said Bashir had also refused to break off links with Mujeeb ur Rehman Bhutto, a former Ukip spokesman, who was exposed last February as the boss of a Pakistani kidnap and extortion gang.
The revelations will overshadow a policy announced today by Farage, designed to win over Labour voters. He will pledge to ban foreign nationals from buying their council homes through Margaret Thatcher’s “right to buy” scheme.
One in 10 council properties is in the hands of migrants and Ukip will argue allowing them to buy social housing is preventing young Britons getting their own home. The policy is illegal under EU law but Farage sees it as a dividing line with parties who want to remain in Europe.
Richardson last night claimed the bigot comments did “not reflect any seriously held belief”. He claimed he had been quoting the late Tory MP Eric Forth, who once said that bigots also deserved representation.
He said: “This was clearly lighthearted harmless banter in the pub and does not reflect any seriously held belief.
“I don’t recall the conversation taking place. None of this is reflective of my own views or those of the party, and I am sure any reader would recognise the difference between a formal party position and the sort of chat lots of people have with their mates while having a drink.”
O’Flynn said plans for a flat-rate tax, once advocated by Farage, would have actually led to “a tax increase for the lowest-paid people. That made it politically completely away with the fairies. There are, I think, a very small proportion of the party that would love us to be that kind of British version of the Tea Party.”
Ukip faced fresh embarrassment last night after Amjad Bashir, an MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, defected to the Tories, denouncing Ukip as “pretty amateur”.
Ukip responded by reporting him to the police over “extremely serious” allegations that he misused EU funds and is director of a firm that employed illegal immigrants. It said Bashir had also refused to break off links with Mujeeb ur Rehman Bhutto, a former Ukip spokesman, who was exposed last February as the boss of a Pakistani kidnap and extortion gang.
The revelations will overshadow a policy announced today by Farage, designed to win over Labour voters. He will pledge to ban foreign nationals from buying their council homes through Margaret Thatcher’s “right to buy” scheme.
One in 10 council properties is in the hands of migrants and Ukip will argue allowing them to buy social housing is preventing young Britons getting their own home. The policy is illegal under EU law but Farage sees it as a dividing line with parties who want to remain in Europe.
Richardson last night claimed the bigot comments did “not reflect any seriously held belief”. He claimed he had been quoting the late Tory MP Eric Forth, who once said that bigots also deserved representation.
He said: “This was clearly lighthearted harmless banter in the pub and does not reflect any seriously held belief.
“I don’t recall the conversation taking place. None of this is reflective of my own views or those of the party, and I am sure any reader would recognise the difference between a formal party position and the sort of chat lots of people have with their mates while having a drink.”
