“On the anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack and the murder of Lee Rigby, I would like to add my voice, on behalf of UKIP, to those calling for a Terrorism Memorial Day.
“Over many years we have experienced a growing toll of victims of senseless acts of terrorism from different perpetrators. It would be fitting to remember all the victims on the same day.
“However, the day should not be used to express passive sentimentality towards these outrages but to focus our minds on the practical measures that need to be taken to combat terrorism and the ideologies that promote it.
“Sadly, the roll call of the innocent victims of terrorism is likely to be added to, however much we hope not, and remembering these people is of no use unless there is a resolve to tackle the causes of terrorism.
“Meanwhile we pay our respects and offer our sympathies to the victims and families of people such as the Manchester bombing and Lee Rigby”.
I am writing to you regarding the second episode of the Channel 4 documentary, “Carry On Brussels” in which the Liberal Democrat MEP, Catherine Bearder is one of the featured characters.
In it, Ms Bearder is filmed actively encouraging the European Parliament’s lead for the Brexit negotiations, Guy Verhofstadt MEP and his team to work as hard as possible to make negotiations as difficult as possible.
This is of course a deliberate attempt to undermine the UK’s negotiating position and done knowingly in order to make life in the UK as difficult as is possible in the attempt to turn public opinion against the Referendum result.
Could you tell me if this is deliberate Liberal Democrat Policy over the Brexit negotiations, or was Ms Bearder working on her own initiative? If the former isn’t this a disreputable way of going about things, working deliberately against the interest of the Government with a foreign politician?
If the latter, what are you going to do about this freelance behaviour?
In a joint press conference, David Davies and Michel Barnier announced a “legal text which constitutes a decisive step towards a final agreement”.
What it actually constitutes is a decisive step towards a betrayal of Brexit and genuine Exit from the EU.
Under the proposed Agreement we would see a transition period up to 2022 during which time we would be obliged to keep existing laws and implement new ones.
We would continue to have open borders, and we would continue to abide by the Common Fisheries Policy.
The tangible betrayal is that of our fishing industry and our territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone. Under the proposals, we would not take back control of fishing policy but instead, the obscene Common Fisheries Policy will continue in existence and our fisherman only allowed the same quotas of catch as now.
In addition, under Article 135 we will agree to continue paying the pay and pensions for top Eurocrats for a very long time to come.
Mrs May has always intended betrayal of genuine Brexit. The attached three-page downloadable pamphlet shows how Mrs May intends to bind us to the EU’s infamous police and criminal justice measures, such as the European Arrest Warrant.
It is being reported in the mainstream media that UK is resisting calls to intervene in Syria, at least until more evidence regarding recent alleged chemical attacks is adduced.
Keith Lonsdale, Secretary UKIP Northern Ireland
This is the correct decision. We have seen this scenario a number of times and on every occasion Syrian government forces have been blamed. However, we have never seen any evidence of their involvement.
The most notable connection between all of these attacks is the presence of the “White Helmets”, a so-called “humanitarian” organisation who civilian witnesses have exposed time and again as members of the terrorist groups (I know you like to call them “rebels” but, let’s keep it real) who are fighting to overthrow President Assad.
These attacks always occur when Syrian government forces are on the brink of victory yet, we are supposed to believe that they would use banned chemical weapons to undermine their own successes?
It is also notable that the casualties are only ever civilians, the terrorist fighters apparently having a miraculous ability to avoid falling victim to these chemical attacks themselves.
It has not escaped the notice of many of us that the alleged attack on Douma came within days of President Trump’s announcement that US forces would be leaving Syria in the near future (as they should). Again, we are supposed to believe that President Assad, who would I’m sure like to see the back of uninvited western forces, has taken action that would almost certainly see them staying in theatre.
There are a great many of us who have realised what is happening in Syria and who is really perpetuating the civil war in that country. We know that the intervention of the US, EU and others has nothing whatsoever to do with “humanitarian” grounds. We know that the reason for wanting to remove President Assad has nothing to do with “human rights” or, because he is a “tyrannical dictator”, because whoever was slotted in to replace him would almost certainly be even worse.
This is about money, power and control. We know that neither Syria nor its Russian ally will bend the knee to the globalist banking cartel and that this is in large part the real reason for the western support of those trying to bring down the Syrian government and for the hostility towards Russia.
We know that this same motive is what really drove the interventions in Iraq and Libya. We will not be fooled again.
UKIP Northern Ireland Mug – Click Image
It is for these same reasons that so many of us simply do not believe HMG’s version of events re the Skripals in Salisbury. Nothing about the official narrative of that incident adds up and your Foreign Secretary has been proven to have lied about the provenance of the agent allegedly used, a supposed “military grade nerve agent” five times more lethal than VX but, which killed nobody and affected only three people.
We will do all we can to ensure that no British government ever again gets away with taking us to war on the back of a lies and fake evidence. We have had enough.
As the great and the good of Northern Ireland politics past and present line up today to sip champagne, slap each other on the back and congratulate themselves on a job well done 20 years ago, the people here scratch our heads and look on in utter disbelief. Why are they congratulating themselves? Yes, they’ve all personally done rather well out of the devolution gravy-train in its current guise, but has Northern Ireland progressed in recent times?
Are the people better off? Aren’t we paying MLAs to do very little work when people are in pain waiting on hospital beds?
Plainly put; the beloved model of ‘Belfast Agreement Devolution,’ ‘St Andrews Devolution’ or whatever label you care to give it has failed Northern Ireland.
But it worked, they all got together, agreed and governed” they’ll tell us. Did they really ultimately ‘govern’ in the interests of the people here? The abiding memory of Devolved Governance in its current guise has been of two-headed carve-up, gridlock, indecision, scandal and buck-passing.
This week we’ll be lectured and patronised by those ‘great statesmen’ of our times – Blair and Clinton and we’ll be told that there’s a need to ‘return to the status quo at Stormont.’ They’ll take that opportunity to again blame our democratically achieved EU exit for absolutely everything. If past experience has shown us anything, it is this: When Tony Blair and Bill Clinton tell us that something is a really good idea; it is highly likely to be the exact opposite.
Twenty years on and its obvious to most people that this project and model of government that the great and the good cling to has long since passed its sell-by date.
The Secretary of State should do the people of Northern Ireland a favour. Pull the plug on a failing and antiquated system, consider new models of governance and most importantly – consult the people before establishing or re-establishing anything which would continue a vicious cycle of failure and disappointment.
Devolved Government has failed, time to Dissolve Stormont and Holyrood?
UKIP in Scotland is set to campaign for the end of Holyrood in Scotland, Coburn describing it as a windbag Parliament.
Should we here in this part of the United Kingdom also seek an end of Stormont. It has failed, the Belfast Agreement has failed, it serves no purpose other than to line the pockets of non productive MLA’s. The Assembly was created in order to bring terrorists into government, that has been its only achievement to the detriment of all decent folk here in Northern Ireland. Time to end this empty shell of Democracy.
Over the coming days we will be hearing from the great and the good how we all have benefited from the Belfast Agreement as they mark its anniversary.
Not one to lose the opportunity Tony Blair has been using the Agreement as a reason to reject Brexit.
Taking into account his side kick Powell’s words that the Agreement wouldn’t have happened if the full truth had been told at the time one has to wonder at the credibility of these two.
Of the great and the good who support the Agreement many warn Brexit could mean a return to violence. Operation fear still alive and well!
Taking into account recent statements and actions how far have we travelled?
Gerry Adams says violence justified. SF continue to laud their ‘freedom fighters’. Continued illegal republican parades over Easter. Attacks on the police. SDLP support naming of a children’s playground after a terrorist and of course not least the wheels have fallen off the Assembly train Blair was so keen we all get on. The sick wait on trolleys in hospitals, operations cancelled, Protestant children obtaining poor educational attainment, ex-solders arrested, the list goes on.
So we have it. Not much to ‘celebrate’ really as far as the Belfast Agreement is concerned. Many will say lives have been saved. How about this one? Other than for terrorist criminal activity lives would not have been lost. And, oh yes, those brought to book for their crimes have not only been released but given ‘get out of jail free’ cards.
UKIP Northern Ireland Mug
An anniversary for the Belfast Agreement? The only Agreement is it was destined to fail. It didn’t work. That’s the evidence.
Time to move on.
UKIP Leader Gerard Batten slams £500 million increase in the foreign aid budget
The UK’s foreign aid budget now stands at an eye-watering £14 billion; an increase of £500 million on the previous year. The increase came about because spending by law must hit 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income, in order to comply with the United Nations resolution on foreign aid.
UKIP calls for cutting the foreign aid budget to 0.2 per cent of GNI, saving at least £10 billion every year that could be reinvested into the NHS and other services.
UKIP Leader Gerard Batten commented on the increase:
“It’s a disgrace that we are increasing our foreign aid spending when our social services and military are combatting cutbacks. How can it be right that we are sending more money to countries like India, which has its own space programme, or to dangerous regimes with atrocious human rights records like Iran?
“UKIP calls for a radical reduction in the foreign aid budget so that more of British taxpayers’ money is spent on vital services here at home.”
UKIP fielding over 530 candidates at the upcoming English council elections
UKIP is pleased to declare that it will be fielding over 530 candidates in the English local elections.
The final figure will be known shortly.
This is a remarkable achievement given that just six weeks ago UKIP was thought to be on the edge of collapse.
UKIP’s Interim Leader Gerard Batten MEP said:
“Our branches, activists and members have found fresh heart and motivation and are back in the fight.
“Six weeks ago we had no local election campaign planning in place. In a short space of time, the Party has rallied and organised a respectable number of candidates.
“We will be campaigning hard to retain those seats we are defending, and fighting to win some new ones.
“Whatever the final result, UKIP is firmly back on the political map.”
In a joint press conference, David Davies and Michel Barnier announced a “legal text which constitutes a decisive step towards a final agreement”.
The UK’s foreign aid budget now stands at an eye-watering £14 billion; an increase of £500 million on the previous year. The increase came about because spending by law must hit 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income, in order to comply with the United Nations resolution on foreign aid.
UKIP is pleased to declare that it will be fielding over 530 candidates in the English local elections.