Mr Nuttall, who is party chairman, has travelled down South to attend the two day conference which is expected to be a lively event particularly following the decision of UKIP leader Lord Pearson to stand down.

Lord Pearson took over the role last year after the previous Leader, Nigel Farage resigned to concentrate on his bid to become an MP and also as UKIP’s leader in Brussels.

The conference entitled, ‘A Positive Vision for the Future, features a number of prominent speakers, and members of the UK Independence Party will be travelling to the Conference Centre in the town from all over the country.

“I believe the move is a worrying step towards the creation of an EU defence force,” he explained.

“The plans, which are set to be discussed in France this week, demonstrate Britain’s need to disentangle its forces from the European Union and in turn keep command of its own defence.”

Defence Secretary Liam Fox is set to meet with French ministers on Friday to discuss the plans which could see the Royal Navy share the use of its aircraft carriers with France.

The move comes as the Gurkha regiment, which has been part of the British Army for almost 200 years, faces the axe under savage cuts to defence spending being considered by the coalition Government.

“These are certainly worrying times for our overstretched armed forces. The Gurkha regiment appears to be under threat and we are also heading towards combining the British and French navies,” said Mr Nuttall, North West Euro MP.

“This coalition Government is repeating the mistakes of previous Governments by starving our Armed Forces of the money it so desperately needs.

“We need a defence review headed by the chiefs of the armed services to establish what requirements we actually need and whether money is being spent wisely.

“The combination of navies is a clear indication of the drive towards the creation of an EU Defence Force which would be another hole in the hull of British sovereignty.

“This plan could jeopardise jobs in our British dockyards. We need a proper defence budget to properly sustain Britain’s defence commitments around the world.

“Our Armed Forces are facing a two-pronged attack from our own Government and the interfering EU,” he added.

As your Burnley MEP, I was saddened to hear of the case of the heroin addicted mother who was jailed for child neglect after her son ingested the drug.

Sadly this is just another symptom of successive governments being soft on drugs and not addressing the harsh reality of the suffering that drugs create.

Drugs, and especially heroin, fuel rising crime rates, destroy families, overburden the struggling NHS and cost lives. We need to get a hold of the problem of drugs, including the entry level drugs such as cannabis by having tougher sentences for the dealers and importers.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall,

I was dismayed to see that complaints about NHS care are at a record high but sadly not surprised.

I fear that the level of complaints will continue to rise. The whole nursing profession has changed from simple caring and dedication to university led theory and box ticking.

And thanks to the EU Working Time Directive hospital doctors do not get as much training as formerly and often follow patient care through.

GPs now do less hours for more money and many receptionists seem to exist only to protect the doctors from patients.

There are, of course, many many doctors who provide a fantastic service and nurses who really do want to nurse. But ‘trust me I’m a doctor’ sadly has a hollow ring these days.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall, UK Independence Party, North West MEP

Public bodies, companies and projects which have received European grants must prominently display the EU symbol on their buildings, letterheads and websites or face hefty fines from Brussels.

And the British Government has been instructed to collect around £150 million in fines from those which have not ‘prominently’ displayed the EU flag or logo.

“This is yet another demonstration of how the EU is attempting to brainwash the people of Britain and erode our national identity,” said Paul Nuttall, Euro MP for the UK Independence Party.

“Imagine if our Government tried to force businesses and public bodies to fly the Union Flag – there would be a huge outcry.

“We should be proud to be British and we should fly our own flag, when we wish to do so. Why promote the EU which is destroying our sovereignty?

“UKIP is the only party standing up for Britain and fighting the EU power grabbing monster which is hell-bent on devouring our sovereignty and national identity.

“Only UKIP is committed to withdrawing Britain from the EU. Our laws should be made in Westminster not in Brussels,” said Mr Nuttall, MEP for the North West

Euro MP Chris Davies is deluded as ever if he honestly believes anything British MEPs say or do will have any effect on EU decisions.

He criticises UKIP, and me in particular, for failing to attend European parliamentary sessions very often, saying, ‘you can’t stand up for Britain’s interests if you are not present when votes take place’.

You could attempt to stand up for Britain at each and every session but this bureaucratic monolith is on a mission to control all the member states and does not allow dissent.

When I stood for election I made it quite clear that I intended to attend plenary sessions on the absolute minimum of occasions and instead use the resources afforded to me by my MEP status to fight to get Britain out of the EU.

Interestingly the UK Independence Party came second in the European elections – beating Labour – so our views plainly touched a major chord with the electorate.

Chris Davies does not stand up for British interests. He is all in favour of the European Project and wants further and further integration and less and less British sovereignty. He is also happily collecting his 300 Euro daily allowance just for turning up.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall, UK Independence Party, North West MEP

It is a year on and I find myself in the same position because Lord Pearson has vacated the position of Party Leader and the search is once again on for a replacement. The big difference this time is that I don’t have to think long and hard about whether to stand or not, as I have absolutely no intention of putting my name forward for the leadership of UKIP.

My reasons for this decision are simple: I am committed to a huge amount of public meetings in the North West over the coming year, as well as helping to oversee some overdue restructuring in the region. I also want to spend a lot of time in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland campaigning for the assembly and parliamentary elections next year, as well as putting myself forward once again for my local council.

I wish whoever decides to stand for the leadership of our party all the very best of luck. They have my respect and full support.

I was disgusted to hear of the early release of Francesca Raby, who was convicted of a vicious and brutal assault on Katie McNamara in 2008 (Bolton News – August 18).

Violent attackers such as Raby who use knives during a assault need to be given tougher sentences and locked up for its entire term for public protection, and also to restore much needed faith in our criminal prosecution service.

If we are running out of prison spaces to hold these criminals, then surely the solution must be to build more prisons. Isn’t it about time we started protecting the general public instead of the criminals?

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall, UK Independence Party, North West MEP

Euro MP Paul Nuttall has made his call after repeatedly witnessing impatient parents using pelican crossings without waiting for the ‘green man’ to show.

“Children learn by example and with something so important as road safety it is vital that adults give the right example,” said Mr Nuttall.

“I cannot believe how often I have seen adults, and more often that not, dads, leading young children over the road when the ‘red man’ is showing.

“They may not be in danger then but on later occasions when the kids could be out without an adult they may show the same impatience with fatal results.

“A few seconds of waiting for the lights to change so teaching their offspring the safe way to cross the road is one of the best lessons parents can give,” said Mr Nuttall, North West MEP for the UK Independence Party.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch stepped down as our Party Leader today, and contrary to some of the rumours doing the rounds on the internet, it came as a shock to many of us. I was asked just the other day about the future of UKIP and I reiterated my belief that Lord Pearson’s ambitious proposals to professionalise and re-structure the party machine were imperative if we were to move up to the next level. Whoever wins this winter’s leadership election must be committed to such changes, for I firmly believe that our party has out-grown its current day structure.

Lord Pearson was also as honest as the day is long, some would say too honest, and he did not care much for the intricacies of the UKIP manifesto, as was shown by his interview on the Campaign Show. Lord P was a throw-back to a by-gone era, a cause man, not a party man, and it was refreshing. For him, getting out of the European Union meant everything and he didn’t care how we did it. Whether it was deals with Labour or the Conservatives, it did not matter if it took us a step closer to extricating ourselves from the ‘octopus’, as he describes it, that is Brussels.

Although UKIP lost its leader today, it hasn’t lost Lord P. He has given a commitment that he will continue to work “flat out” in the House of Lords as a UKIP peer and will continue to raise money for the party. There is also no doubt in my mind that the party’s loss is the causes’ gain and Lord P will campaign even harder for the referendum we so richly deserve, now that he is free from the shackles of party leadership.

As the Party Chairman, I will now have the unenviable task of overseeing a second leadership election in a year: a task I would not wish on my worst enemy.