UKIP RISE WELCOMED
May 21, 2013
UKIP Deputy Leader, Paul Nuttall, has welcomed a new poll of voting intentions showing that the party is now only two points behind the Tories.
The survey by Survation showed that the Conservatives have slumped by five points to a record low for the pollster of 24%.
UKIP has jumped six points since the start of the month – days before it scored dramatic local election wins – to 22%.
Labour has slipped one point to 35% but its lead over the Tories stretched to 11 points. The Liberal Democrats were down one point at 11%.
Survation’s findings – based on 1,000 responses from an online panel – were calculated using a weighting system to reflect a number of factors including individuals’ stated likelihood to vote.
It also showed an eight-point rise to 30% since January of those intending to back Ukip in next year’s European Parliament elections, with the Tories down four points at 20% and Labour unchanged on 30%.
“The results of this survey do not surprise me at all,” said Mr Nutttall, North West MEP.
“More and more people are turning to us as the only political party speaking their language. You only have to read the newspapers, listen to the radio, watch the TV or access the internet or social media to see that UKIP is the way forward.
“The Conservative Party is running scared of us – and quite rightly so – they and the other parties, realise that we our policies resonate with the man in the street and are plain common sense,” said Mr Nuttall.
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COLD WATER POURED ON OLIVE OIL PLANS
May 21, 2013
EU plans to ban olive oil in refillable containers from restaurants have been criticised by MEP Paul Nuttall.
The European Commission has declared that only pre-packaged, non-refillable factory bottles with tamperproof lids can be used from next year.
This will mean the end to the practice of restaurants sourcing their own artisan products to be used in bottles, jugs and dipping bowls.
“This is further meddling by unelected bureaucrats,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.
“They should let the people decide what olive oil containers they want to use and not dictate uniformity from the centre. This ridiculous move is even contrary to their often repeated call in favour of re-using goods.
“Apparently the Commission currently has no plans to impose similar rules on packaging for butter, salt, pepper or any other dinner table staples.
“But I wouldn’t take bets that they won’t turn their attention to such items. Their rationale for the olive oil bottle restrictions is to ensure customers get the one they are paying for, so surely that could just as well apply to butter?
“Fraud is rife in the EU and that includes olive oil, with cheap versions sometimes passed off as expensive extra virgin oil from the top regions. I don’t believe this is a great problem in the UK and anyway surely connoisseurs would be able to tell the difference?
“Buying an expensive bottle in the supermarket and being fobbed off with a cheap version is one thing but dipping your bread in a spoonful of oil is hardly worthy of heavy handed legislation from oily unelected bureaucrats,” said Mr Nuttall, North West Euro-MP.
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DAMNING NEW HS2 REPORT WELCOMED
May 17, 2013
A damning new report by a Whitehall watchdog which raises serious concerns over HS2 has been welcomed by MEP Paul Nuttall.
The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) warns that the rail project has an estimated funding gap of over £3 billion and Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader, said that the Government should now stop HS2.
The document questions the business case behind the HS2 rail link and has identified an estimated £3.3 billion funding gap in the Department for Transport’s (DfT) plans.
The spending watchdog said it had reservations over how HS2 is expected to transform regional economies with jobs and growth and said current evidence provided a ‘weak foundation’ for success.
“This report is a major embarrassment to the Government as its findings come just days after Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin called for a blank cheque book for the rail project,” said Mr Nuttall, Euro-MP for the North West.
“I would not trust this Government with a piggy bank let alone the taxpayers’ cheque book. The Government dismisses the NAO’s figures as being 18 months ‘out of date’, when its own business case for HS2 is based on figures over 10 years old.
“It also insists on rushing ahead with this project despite the fact that similar projects in Spain and France prove that the capital city will always benefit, not the other areas..
“This gung-ho approach by the Government will lead to an unrealistic time table and a very poor investment.
“The scheme is an ill thought through dog’s breakfast and the Government’s arrogant and dismissive response to the report shows Ministers are simply not listening.
“HS2 should be scrapped and one third of the cash saved should be ploughed into the existing rail network,” he said.
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NICE UNDER FIRE OVER SMOKING TEST
May 14, 2013
Health watchdog NICE has come under fire from local MEP Paul Nuttall about plans to introduce tests for pregnant women to check if they are smoking.
“When the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence isn’t heartlessly rationing life saving drugs it’s sticking its nose where it is neither wanted nor needed.
“Everyone knows it isn’t wise for pregnant women to smoke – and that includes mums-to-be,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.
“The proposals to test carbon monoxide levels may not be compulsory but nevertheless they will undermine trust between patient and midwife and some women may feel pressurised into taking it, at the very time pressure is the last thing they need.
“Encouraging them not to smoke is one thing but testing is a step too far. If NICE want to help pregnant women they would be better pushing for more midwives as there is a worrying shortage of them and that potentially creates a much greater risk for patients,” said Mr Nuttall.
CHILD CARE REFORMS SLAMMED
May 10, 2013
Government proposals to cut staff-child ratios for pre-school children have been slammed by MEP Paul Nuttall.
“I firmly believe that class sizes in nurseries and pre-school groups should remain as they are and not to be relaxed. Yes, childcare is expensive beyond belief but I suspect that altering the ratio will not produce the expected cost cuts.
“There is nothing more precious than the life of a child and parents expect, and deserve, the very best care and nurture of their off spring when entrusted to carers,” said Mr Nuttall, local UKIP Euro-MP.
“Every parent knows how you need eyes in the back of your head to look after just one toddler and increasing the ratio from 1:4 to 1:6 for two-year-olds is just asking for trouble in my opinion.
“The government is hell-bent on encouraging women back to work and if they do so they must feel secure in the knowledge that their children are in the very best possible hands,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.
A row has broken out over the plans after Nick Clegg changed his mind about supporting them.
“We have all seen plans in the past rushed through without all the implications being properly assessed and in this case I believe the proposed reforms will not cure the evil they are designed to address,” said Mr Nuttall.
Independent Councillor Joins UKIP
May 10, 2013
An independent Allerdale borough councillor, George Kemp, has joined the UK Independence Party.
Mr Kemp, who has been a non-affiliated councillor for two years, has decided to join UKIP as he believes their policies are closely aligned to his own beliefs.
The pub landlord is also impressed with UKIP’s principle of not “whipping” their councillors to follow a party line, leaving him free to make decisions in the best interests of those who elected him.
“I decided to join UKIP because I feel I have gone as far as I can as an independent and having read the party’s manifesto I found I agreed with virtually all their policies,” he explained.
57-year-old Mr Kemp, who is married with two children, lives in Maryport, where he also runs two pubs, which he saved from closure.
UKIP runs a national ‘Save the Pub’ campaign which Mr Kemp is keenly supporting as he knows first hand the problems facing the licensing trade.
Mr Kemp stood in this month’s county council elections and he expressed his thanks for all the support he received during his campaign.
He becomes the party’s first borough councillor in Cumbria and has been formally welcomed by Mark Jenkinson, chairman of the West Cumbria branch and Louise Bours, a member of UKIP’s National Executive Council.
“Councillor Kemp will be a fantastic asset to the UKIP team in Cumbria. His dedication to his hometown and the community around him is unrivalled, and he will provide a strong and independent voice for those he represents,” said Louise.
Mr Kemp, is a very active member of the local community and involved with the Solway Trust, which is engaged in a number of community activities, including the harbourside festival in two weeks time for which they have raised £30,000 in funding.
They also recently took on the planting of some flower beds in Maryport that were going to be grassed over as a cost-cutting exercise. As a former garden centre owner Mr Kemp was able to use his knowledge to help with this project.
FAT CHANCE FOR BISCUIT PLAN
May 9, 2013
Proposals to reduce the size of cakes and biscuits to tackle Britain’s increasing obesity problem have been branded ‘ludicrous’ by MEP Paul Nuttall.
Ministers want the portion sizes of fatty and sugar-laden foods to be cut in an attempt to halt growing waistlines.
The changes are part of the Government’s ‘Responsibility Deal’, involving encouraging food manufacturers to reduce unhealthy ingredients and portion sizes, and educate consumers on healthy eating.
Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader, has described the plans, which could be brought in as early as July, as “ludicrous.”
“A jammy dodger is a jammy dodger. We all know that smoking, eating too much fatty food and drinking too much alcohol is bad for us.
‘But it should be up to us to decide what we should or shouldn’t cut back on, not the Government. This is underhand, it is the Government interfering. Packet sizes will shrink but prices won’t and consumers will pay more,” said Mr Nuttall, North West MEP.
“If someone wants to eat a certain amount of something they will do so, and shrinking the portion size means they will just eat more of it. Making biscuits smaller is a crumby idea,” he added.
Ministers have suggested that if companies fail to sign up to the Responsibility Deal voluntarily the government could legislate to force them to act.
PUBLIC MEETING
May 7, 2013
A public meeting is to be held by the newly formed UKIP branch in Crewe later this month.
The party’s Deputy Leader, Paul Nuttall, who is North West MEP, will be the guest speaker and others include Cllr Richard Lee, who is chairman of the Crewe and Nantwich branch.
“UKIP is the fastest growing political party in the country and this meeting will provide an opportunity for those who want to learn more about us to come along and have any questions answered,” said Cllr Lee.
“The party has opened new branches all over the country, including this one in Crewe, and success in recent elections demonstrates that our common sense policies resonate with the voters,” he added.
The meeting is to be held The Crosville Club, opposite the bus station, in Chester Street, Crewe, CW1 2LB next Monday, May 13 beginning at 7.30 pm. Entrance is free.
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EU SWIMMING BAN FEARS
May 7, 2013
New EU rules which place beaches under threat from a swimming ban have been highlighted by local MEP Paul Nuttall.
In the North West people fancying a dip at several beaches from Ainsdale northwards into Cumbria may find themselves unable to do so after draconian new standards for bathing water come into force.
“We already have strict standards in this country but no, bureaucrats in Brussels have to interfere and in doing so put at risk an integral part of our tourist industry,” said Paul Nuttall, local UKIP MEP.
“Everyone loves going to the beach on a sunny day and having a dip to cool off is all part of the fun. Health and safety rules have already taken fun out of many leisure activities and here we go again with interference in a traditional activity.”
The Environment Agency has warned that the new regulations, due to come into force in 2015, currently mean that more than 50 of England’s beaches are at risk of being blacklisted as unsafe for swimming.
“Twenty of those beaches are in my constituency and I am very concerned that unless water quality is improved in time, tourism, which plays a big role in the local economy, will be badly hit,” said Mr Nuttall UKIP, Deputy Leader.
“Our household water bills have soared in recent years to finance billions of pounds to treat and clean-up sewage released into rivers and the sea. Unfortunately last year’s wettest summer for 100 years led to an increase in bacteria and viruses ending up in bathing waters.
“Such pollution can originate from farmland and urban run-off, storm waters, misconnected plumbing, septic tanks and dog faeces. As for the latter, well no one wants to encounter such mess on the beach and if dog owners cannot be responsible for their pets then more beaches will ban dogs altogether.
“We do not need the EU telling us how to live our lives, though as we know they do so more and more, they make rules for the sake of it.
“We are quite capable of devising our own standards. The revised European Bathing Water Directive will require water to be twice as clean as applies currently to achieve the highest standard.
“Tourism bosses, who are quite rightly concerned, have called for a more flexible approach to allow daily updates so that beaches would only have to close on days when pollution reached hazardous levels. That is certainly a compromise but sadly we all know too well that the EU is not interested in compromise or re-negotiation,” said Mr Nuttall.
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EU to Cameron: Stuff your attempts to restrict migration
April 29, 2013
UKIP Euro MP Paul Nuttall said today that the European Commission has revealed that it holds the British people and David Cameron, in particular, in contempt.
“They have just published plans to make migration to the UK even easier than it is already,” explained Mr Nuttall, UKIP deputy leader.
Called a proposal “to improve application of workers’ rights to free movement” it reaffirms the EU’s desire that everybody should have the right to live and work and get benefits anywhere in the European Union.
“The timing of this is of course not an accident and this statement has been put out specifically to stick two fingers up at Mr Cameron,” said Mr Nuttall, North West MEP.
“It shows clearly that he and this government are entirely impotent despite all their protestations. Membership of the European Union means you have lost control of your borders, It is that simple.
“To rub salt into the wounds they, of course, expect the British taxpayer to pick up the tab for training foreign nationals on how to access our welfare system. It would be laughable if it were not so sinister,” he said.