Friday 24 September 2010

Gerard stands down!!!!!!!!!!!!

My last post!!!!!!!!!It is with a very heavy heart that I will be closing down my Vote Gerard site. A lot of us didnt agree with Gerard's final decision but my loyalty to him must overide everything else, including my feelings.

I fully endorse Tim Congdon and will be putting my blog on ice

Statement on the 2010 UK Independence Party leadership election from Gerard Batten MEP and Tim Congdon

Tim Congdon and Gerard Batten have decided to combine forces in a bid for the leadership of the UK Independence Party, in the forthcoming leadership election. As explained in an open letter to his supporters, Gerard Batten – the MEP for London – has decided not to seek the leadership himself, but to support the candidature of Tim Congdon. If Tim Congdon is elected as Leader of the UK Independence Party, Tim will appoint Gerard as his Deputy Leader and Head of Policy Development.

Gerard Batten’s reasons for this move are given in the accompanying open letter. Gerard came second in the 2009 Leadership Election with 26% of the vote, and is one of the most popular and respected figures in the UK Independence Party. He was one of the party’s founder members in September 1993 and is currently Party Spokesman on Justice and Home Affairs, Immigration and Islamism.

Tim Congdon is one of the UK’s leading economic commentators and served, as an economic “wise man”, on the Treasury Panel of Independent Forecasters – the forerunner of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee – between 1993 and 1997. He was appointed CBE in 1997 for services to economic debate. Tim has for almost 20 years been noted for his Eurosceptic views and, in particular, for his opposition to the introduction of the single European currency in the UK in the 1990s.

In his welcome for Gerard’s decision, Tim said,

I am absolutely thrilled that Gerard has decided to combine forces with me in my bid to become leader of UKIP. We are both horrified by the surrender of the British people’s freedoms to European Union bureaucrats in a foreign capital and the immense damage now being inflicted on the UK’s economy by its EU membership. We will work together in the challenging political task of taking the UK out of the EU.

I could not have found a better partner in my leadership bid. I look forward to working with Gerard in the next four years, in the run-up to the 2014 European elections, and perhaps also in the next general election. We both believe that the Leader of UKIP must concentrate his efforts on campaigning in the UK, and not be distracted by what is happening in the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg. I see this very much as a joint leadership bid. We will work together closely as a team.

...........................

Tim Congdon’s contact details:
Office phone no. 01452 830840 and mobile no. 07876 684308, and e-mail address: timcongdon@btinternet.com

Thursday 23 September 2010

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Support Gerard at the hustings!!!!!!!!!!

Please come and support UKIP's future leader at these hustings!!!!!!!!

South West region: Best Western Tiverton Hotel, Tiverton, EX16 4DB. Tuesday 28th September, 7pm for 7.30pm start.

London region: Holiday Inn, Coram Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1HT. Saturday 2th October, 12.30pm for 1pm start.

South East region: Shoreham Centre, Pond Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5WU. Sunday 3rd October, 12.30pm for 1pm start. Car park opposite the venue. Contact number 01273 454 686.

Eastern Region: Best Western Hotel, Orton Hall Hotel, The Village, Orton Longueville, Peterborough, PE2 7AM.
Sunday 10th October, 12.30pm for 1pm start.

Yorkshire region: Carlton Park Hotel, Rotherham, S60 2BG.
Tuesday 12th October, 7pm for 7.30pm start.

West Midlands region: Great Barr Hotel, Birmingham.
Wednesday 13th October, 7pm for 7.30pm start.

North West region: Tower College, Rainhill, Merseyside.
Friday 15th October, 7pm for 7.30pm start.

Vote Gerard for a better UKIP!!!!!!!

Sunday 19 September 2010

Saturday 18 September 2010

Gerard tells it like it is again!!!!!!!!

UKIP MEP Gerard Batten has hit out at the Government for "actively considering the best way of implementing" votes for prisoners.

"Under pressure from the Council of Europe Britain is now going to introduce votes for cons," Mr Batten said.

"At no point have the law abiding people of Britain been asked about this, because we know what the answer would be."

"The previous government ignored this for yours and that is what the Coalition Government should do now. It is an utter nonsense that criminals should retain the right to elect those who make the law. It is an affront and an insult to the law-abiding".

"If you are in prison, if you have broken the law, then your liberties are curtailed. After your sentence is served, then you are again a full member of society," he said "But the loss of those rights is entirely the fault of the criminal. If they want the full freedoms of being a British citizen, including the right of suffrage, then they shouldn't commit the crime."

"Of course there would be no question of criminals getting the vote in Britain if it wasn't for our entanglement in the legal systems of Europe."

Thursday 16 September 2010

Gerard speaks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another fantastic video of Gerard!!!!!!


Monday 13 September 2010

Gerard fully open with his expenses!!!!!!!!

Gerard Batten is paid the same salary as a UK Westminster MP at £64,766 per annum.

A compulsory contribution of 11% is taken for the UK Parliamentary Pension Scheme.

As a re-elected MEP in June 2009 he had the option of taking the increased salary of €91,983.72 per annum (about £83,622) to stay on the old salary scale. The new salary was compulsory for new MEPs but optional for returning MEPs. The decision of returning MEPs to choose either option is irrevocable under the rules.

Gerard Batten opted to remain on the old lower salary saying, “in a time of economic crisis when many of my constituents are in fear of losing their jobs, and when politicians’ reputations have never been lower, I did not feel it would be justified to take an increase in salary of almost £19,000 per annum.

By taking this decision he also deprived himself an additional European Parliamentary pension, the contributions to which were worth in the region of £1,000 per month and are paid by the tax-payer.

Gerard said, “In times when people are fearful of losing their pensions how could I justify taking a pension that is not available to my constituents and for which I do not have to pay contributions?”

Gerard Batten, and the UKIP MEPs (2004 to 2009), voted against the salary and pension arrangements when they came before the Parliament

Daily Allowance
MEPs are paid a daily allowance of €298 per day to pay for accommodation, meals and living expenses etc.

General Expenditure Allowance. This is currently over £42,000 per annum, paid in montly installments of around £3,512 - subject to exchange rate fluctuations. This allowance is to fund the running of a constituency office and cost related to carrying out the duties of an MEP.

Secretarial Allowance
This was recently increased (backdated to May 2010) to £211,516 per annum, paid in montly installmens of £17,604, and is for the payment of a paying agent, employees and self-employed Service Providers (e.g. assistants and researchers). Salaries and fees are paid directly to a properly qualified paying agent or directly into the accounts of self-employed persons by the European Parliament on the provision of invoices. MEPs do not handle this money directly.