Annonymity in the Press

A letter appears today in the Wirral Globe attacking the UKIP MEP Paul Nuttal,

I SEE Euro MP Paul Nuttall was once again incensed to write in to complain about new proposed anti-smoking legislation.

It is particularly interesting to see him criticise scientific evidence, something that the UKIP party he's a member of has little regard for and often cherry picks published papers to suit its own agenda.

He objects to the statistic that second-hand smoke in the enclosed environment of a car exposes to passengers to 23 times more toxins than a smokey bar.

If we were to suppose that it were merely only ten times more toxic, I struggle to see how he could possibly find objection in policies designed to protect the vulnerable.

It is a fact that second-hand smoke is very harmful to those exposed to it, particularly children.

It is a morally reprehensible view that a smoker's "right" to smoke supersedes the right of others to breath clean air.

We can go through the arguements as to this correspondent's point (I think they are sort of accepting that the science of the BMA is dicey here, cripes even the BMA have admitted it). About the meaning of freedom and responsibility and the limits of the state.

But that isn't my point of highlighting the story. It is this,

Name and address supplied.

Eh, an anonymous attack letter in the local press?

What on earth is that about?

So I phoned the Globe and asked them what their policy was, and they told me that anybody writing to them on any subject can request annonymity.

Which is just strange.

I wonder what this correspondent feared? That Paul would rock up round to their house and blow smoke through their letter box?

The man in the Berlyamont knows best

Banksy found himself introuble with the EU 'elf Police

This whole business of the Toy Directive is a classic example of the cloth-eared approach of the Euroocrats to the world.


They might well think that they are above politics, indeed they do. But this aloofness from people's day to day concerns leaves them able to do soemthing as daft as banning under eight year olds from bvlowing up balloons and the rest.



To them democracy, public opinion is something that must not register. It is short term, and thus politicians and their attempts to represent the fickle voice of the electorate must also be ignored.

Not being consrained by democracy they plough their lonely furrows, trying to make the world a perfect safe place. This comment from the Telegraph today exemplifies the approach,

"You might say that small children have been blowing up balloons for generations, but not anymore and they will be safer for it," said an official"

As Paul Nuttall, the UKIP MEP on the Public Health Committee in the Brussels Parliament puts it in the Express,

Ukip MEP Paul Nuttall, said: “These idiots in Brussels seem to have a death wish. The euro is falling apart, but what do they concentrate on? Throwing our toys out of their pram.”

Weeks or Months Minister?

Chris Grayling, the Employment Minister has, according to PA, made the extraordinary revalation that the UK Government has no idea how many EU nationals ae claiming UK benefits, nor how much they are getting.

He said,

"The Government does not keep a record of how many people from other European Union (EU) countries claim benefits in Britain, Employment Minister Chris Grayling said today.

Mr Grayling said he had been "surprised to discover" that such records did not exist and pledged to ensure the figures were documented in the future.

Which is pretty extraordinary.

He claims that

"One of the things I was surprised to discover over the past few weeks is that the department (Department for Work and Pensions) does not, and indeed did not under the previous government, keep any record of the nationality of people who claim benefits.

"This is something we're now moving to address and find a way to make sure we do so."

OK, so far so ruddy useless, until Philip Hollobone asked the queston he hadn't bothered to do anything, or even find out. But then it gets weird, because in a follow up statement Grayling says,

"I have had many conversations in the last few months with fellow employment ministers in other EU countries and there is a mounting debate about a need for rule changes that will set exactly when and where benefits should and should not be paid."

Now if the minister has been talking to his EU counterparts about this, surely he should have known the extent of the situation? If he has been talking to them for months, he has blathering from a point of complete ignorance and hasn't bothered to inform himself. Which is pretty much the rule when it comes to EU discussions and negotiations under this government.

But then I start to wonder. Why are these statistics not collated? Why is he talking to his counterparts rather than ordering his department to publish the facts. Is it because he would be accused of discriminatory actions if he did so without EU approval?

And if so, as Paul Nuttall the UKIP deputy leader has just said,

"If he does need their permission it will never be granted, as a majority of EU states do not want light to be shed on the mystery. They do not want British taxpayers to know how much they are forking out for other nationals through their benefits system".

Bl 'EU' plaques

The European Parliament's Culture Committee have nooded through their latest attempt to forge the philospher's stone that is a single European memory. The latest vessels for this is what is called the European Heritage Label.

This is what they say,

a European Heritage Label, whose general objectives are to strengthen European citizens' sense of belonging to the European Union, based on shared elements of history and heritage, as well as an appreciation of diversity, and to strengthen intercultural dialogue. To this end the Label seeks to enhance the value and the profile of sites which have played a key role in the history and the building of the European Union, and to increase European citizens' understanding of the building of Europe, and of their common yet diverse cultural heritage, especially related to the democratic values and human rights that underpin the process of European integration. In this way the European Heritage Label would also help to bring citizens closer to Europe.

So what sort of places are they going to attach this thing to?

‘that a European heritage label should be established with a view to emphasising the European dimension of cultural goods, monuments, memorial sites, and places of remembrance, which all bear witness to Europe’s history and heritage’.

Places of Rememberance!! What! They are planning to stick a glossy label onto something like the Menin Gate and claim that the hundreds and thousands of British and Commonwealth troops died for that apogee of mankind's social developement, the European Union. Or will they instead attach the self same token to the walls of Auschwitz, claiming that the millions who dies in the holocaust died so that Herman van rompuy could skittle across the world stage?

Or maybe Ted Heath's house, so that generations of Englishmen can learn to hate him as the traitor that he was?

Update
The Telegraph picks up the story

Paul Nuttall, a Ukip MEP, accused the EU of wanting to impose its view of history on war sites such as the Menin Gate, which marks the 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the First World War fighting of the Ypres Salient but who have no known graves.

"As we come up to Remembrance Sunday it is outrageous to think that the EU might try and hijack the Menin Gate when in fact it commemorates the British and Commonwealth soldiers who died to protect our independence from Europe," he said.

"They are terrified that they do not own people's memory or history and are prepared to spend millions of pounds of our money to generate a new one."

Officials have also suggested that Sir Edward Heath, the former Conservative Prime Minister who took Britain into the European Community in 1971, could be commemorated along with Robert Schuman, the Frenchman who was one of the EU's "founding fathers".

"Imagine what a (European Heritage Label would do for a site like Hadrian's Wall or for Ted Heath's house – and the many small businesses, from youth hostels to hotels, that would benefit from increased tourism in the areas," said an official.

Of course, one must ask the pertinent question here. Which side of Hadrian's Wall are they thinking off? Do they have a problem with the Scots?

And as has already been mentioned in the comments, it is a little late for Ted Heath's stolen property, which due to intense lack of interest has had to be sold. The fact that it should be given back to the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral from whom it was essentially stolen is neither here nor there.

Lord Pearson stands down as UKIP leader

A formal statement has gone out from both the Party Chairman and Lord Pearson himself,

Paul Nuttall,

It has been announced today that Lord Pearson of Rannoch is to stand down as Leader of the UK Independence Party.

The Party would like to thank Lord Pearson for all his hard work and endeavour during his time as Party Leader. Lord Pearson took on the leadership six months before the General Election and guided the party to a 50% increase in our share of the vote.

Lord Pearson will remain a UK Independence Party peer and will continue to both represent the party in the House of Lords and raise funds for the cause.

On a personal note, I am saddened to see a Party Leader stand down, whose vision to restructure and professionalise the party I share.

However, I am pleased that Lord Pearson will carry on working tirelessly to help this country extricate itself from the European Union.

The National Executive Committee will meet as soon as possible to appoint an interim Leader before a leadership election will be held following the Annual Party Conference, which will take place in Torquay from 2-4 September 2010.

Lord Pearson's statement,

I took over as leader of UKIP last year to see the party through the General Election, and said I would then consider my position. We increased our vote by 50%, and have many exciting plans for the future. But I have learnt that I am not much good at party politics, which I do not enjoy. I am also 68, and need to give more time to my wider interests. These include the treatment of people with intellectual impairment, teacher training, the threat from Islamism and the relationship between good and evil - not to mention my dogs and my family.

So it is right that I should stand down on September 2nd, early in the Parliament, to give a younger leader time to be established before the next election, which may come sooner than we think. There is no shortage of talent in UKIP, and the new leader will have my full support. I will continue to do what I can to raise funds for the party.

UKIP has never been more important for our freedom as a self-governing democracy. We have a coalition government which supports every new power grab by Brussels: supervision of our financial services; an EU diplomatic corps; new police and surveillance powers; bailing out the folly that is the euro.

Much of this is illegal under the Treaties, but that has never worried Brussels or the Luxembourg Court, which now make most of our national law in a secretive process over which Parliament has no control.

History teaches us that trouble lies ahead when a regime is free to break its own laws with impunity, when it is supported by a puppet court, and when its people are powerless to get rid of it. That is what the European Union has become, and the only way out is the door.

Now the British people are to be allowed a referendum on how they elect their MPs, but they are denied the referendum they were promised on whether those MPs should govern the country; on whether we should remain ensnared in the tentacles of the corrupt EU octopus, or be set free to enjoy the fruits of democracy and free trade.

UKIP must go on telling the truth about “Europe”: how we cannot control immigration if we stay in the EU; the madness of throwing £6.7 billion a year in net cash down the Brussels drain when we face savage cuts at home; the terrible suffering in developing countries caused by the Common Agricultural and Fisheries policies; that only some 10% of our GDP goes in trade with the EU, yet its dictats strangle 100% of our economy; that leaving the EU would create jobs, not lose them.

UKIP deserves a better politician than me to lead it and show the country how liberating and enriching life would be outside the EU. I am confident that one will emerge.

Personally I am saddened by Lord Pearson's departure. I like and respect the man, but I know that he will continue fighting the good fight in the Lords and elsewhere.

In the meantime this makes the Party Conference look even more fun.

Press coverage
Telegraph,
Guardian,
Mail,
Independent,
PA,
BBC,
Sky,
New Statesman
New Europe