My Work

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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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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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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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.

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.

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.

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.

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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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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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.

Local MEP Paul Nuttall has written all Cheshire East & West councillors expressing UKIP’s opposition to the controversial HS2 Project.

Mr Nuttall, who is deputy Party Leader, has pointed out that UKIP is the only mainstream political party opposed to the scheme and asked them to join in the party’s campaign to stop it.

“I believe that the HS2 Project will be a disaster for Cheshire and I have explained in the letter our reasons for opposition, which includes the outrageous cost. I believe the £33 billion estimated building cost should be spent improving our own transport infrastructure here in the North West.

“HS2 will not benefit the local economy and in fact it will suffer when many companies close their northern offices and relocate to London. The French and Spanish experience proves that high speed rail only ever benefits the capital cities.

“It will destroy our beautiful countryside with the HS2 line cutting through Cheshire’s countryside with trains hitting speeds of 200mph on verges which can be as high as 25ft. This will undoubtedly cause damage to farms, wildlife and destroy areas of natural beauty.

“Also it will be bad for house prices. If you live anywhere near where the line will run, your house price will inevitably fall. House prices near stations used by HS2 will rise as we become little more than a suburb of London.

“HS2 is an Establishment ‘vanity project’ that will benefit nowhere but London. It needs to be stopped which is why I have written to the Cheshire councillors asking for their support,” said Mr Nuttall.

A damning parliamentary report claiming that the European Union is being defrauded of more than £4billion a year has been highlighted by MEP Paul Nuttall.

“The EU’s own figure of £348 million a year is staggering enough but this House of Lords committee report estimates the figure to be 12 times as much,” said Mr Nuttall, Deputy Leader of UKIP.

The major areas said to be most susceptible to fraud were the EU’s cohesion fund – £176 million – and agriculture – £66 million- which goes to the poorest countries, including the former Soviet bloc as well as Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus.

Member states, who administer 80 per cent of the EU’s funds, are also said to be failing in their duty to report suspected fraud including bribery, corruption and cigarette smuggling.

‘The Fight Against Fraud On The EU’s Finances’ published by the Lords’ Justice, Institutions and Consumer Protection EU-sub-Committee says that the real size of annual EU budget losses is likely to be around £4.3 billion or even more.

“The Peers point out that a complex web of EU agencies leads to ‘weaknesses’ in the anti-fraud system. That is the way the whole edifice is designed and trying to untangle such a web is mission impossible and meant to be so,” said Mr Nuttall, Euro-MP for the North West.

“We hand over £53 million a day to Brussels and it disappears down a big black hole of corruption, self-interest and inefficiencies. Fraud and mis-use of money is par for the course over there and this bureaucratic monolith is too cumbersome to sort it out even if it really wanted to.

“Everyone in this country, and across Europe, is feeling the financial pinch except the over-paid Eurocrats, who offer platitudes and carry on regardless,” said Mr Nuttall.

“And meanwhile the EU’s auditors have found that the overall error rate in the accounts has risen for the third year in a row to 3.9 per cent – despite the European Commission claiming that the situation was ‘stable’,” he added.

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Calls for St George’s Day to be declared a Bank Holiday have been renewed by local UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall.

“It should not only be celebrated but marked as a national holiday. This is not the first time I have called for this but it would be nice to think it will be the last and my wish comes true soon.

“Every year a big fuss is made about St Patrick’s Day and it would be fantastic if as much fuss was made about the patron saint of England.

“There has been an improvement in public recognition over the past few years but it is really still a very low key event. It is clearly an ideal topic for an e-petition.

“We have far fewer public holidays in this country than many European countries and I believe it would be appropriate for one to be instituted for St George,” said Mr Nuttall, Deputy Party Leader.

“I hope as many people as possible will show their support for St George by wearing a traditional red rose next Tuesday.

“Gallons of Guiness is downed on St Patrick’s Day and no doubt the patriotic English could do the same on St George’s Day with traditional real ales, which thanks to an increasing number of micro-breweries, are readily available.  This in turn could help for our ailing pub industry,” said Mr Nuttall, spokesman for UKIP’s ‘Save the Pub’ campaign.

Controversial rules forcing employers to accommodate the beliefs of their workers, including vegans, druids and even athiests, have been described as “madness” by local MEP Paul Nuttall.

Under guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission the right to have off important days in their religious calendar will now not apply just to Christians, Jews and Muslims. Employers will also have to consider important days on the calendars of druids, pagans, Zoroastrians and even atheists.

Druids could get days off to celebrate the solstice at Stonehenge and bosses must consider alternatives to leather chairs for vegans. In the food industry vegans could ask not to handle dairy or meat products and vegetarians would be able to refuse to clean out a fridge if it had contained meat.

“Putting major religions such as Christianity on the same par as veganism is just madness,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.

“At a time of mass unemployment, to create a sanctimonious whingers’ charter, underpinned by European law is a lunatic outrage.

“It’ll just ramp up costs and clog up employment tribunals. It looks like this Euro quango is just trying to create bad feeling and invent work for itself.

“Employers would have to take seriously requests by people to observe religious customs, such as daily prayers for Muslims and the Sabbath for Jews. British industry could pay a heavy price in lost working days,” he said.

The new guidance follows a series of rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, including the landmark judgment that saw British Airways clerk Nadia Eweida win the right to wear a cross at work after a six-year battle.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said though the cases were brought by Christians “the implications of the judgment apply to employees with any religion or belief, or none”.

The guidance asks employers to “review policies to ensure they do not unjustifiably discriminate against an employee who requests a change due to a particular belief”.

Employers will be able to ignore requests only “when they reasonably conclude that the belief is not sincere.”

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MEP Paul Nuttall has spoken out in support of Baroness Cox, who has a Private Members Bill in Parliament aimed at tackling Sharia councils.

A BBC Panorama investigation into Sharia tribunals was scheduled for transmission on Monday (April 8) but was postponed following the death of Baroness Thatcher.

“Baroness Cox is very concerned about the growth in influence of the 85 Sharia courts in the UK and I think she is a very brave lady to put her head above the parapet on this controversial subject,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.

“She believes that some Sharia tribunals are ‘going well beyond their legal remit and some Sharia court rulings are being misrepresented as having the force of the UK law’. She is particularly worried  that women are being discriminated against within these courts and are being deprived of their legal rights.”

Her Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill attempts to ensure that Muslim women are protected against from discrimination and that any attempts by extreme groups to ‘establish a parallel legal system will be prosecuted as unlawful’.

“I applaud Baroness Cox on her determination in following through on this issue which is not an easy thing to do in these politically correct times. She is anxious that there should not be two concurrent legal systems operating in this country and is particularly concerned that women should not be discriminated against,” said Mr Nuttall, North West Euro-MP.

While Britain braces itself for a suspected tidal wave of immigrants from Rumania and Bulgaria the EU is busy encouraging citizens to treat Europe as their playground.

A poster and a postcard, entitled ‘Social Security Coordination – Europe is your playground’ has been produced by the Eurocrats boasting of the benefits of moving to other EU countries.

The postcard, which along with the poster can be downloaded from the EU website, says, “Work, study, travel, retire anywhere in Europe” and goes on to explain that their benefits are guaranteed whichever of the 27 countries they chose to live.

It reads, “Ever considered moving to another country in Europe? Thanks to the EU social security coordination system, your social security rights and those of your family members are protected when moving within Europe to work, study, retire, look for a job or simply for a holiday.

“This means that your healthcare, pension, unemployment and family benefits are covered by the EU rules wherever you decide to travel or settle. What’s more, new rules provide for better information and services for citizens.”

Paul Nuttall, UKIP’s Deputy Leader, reacted angrily to the “propaganda” and pointed out that Britain is known all over the world as being an attractive destination because of its generous benefits system.

“We are regarded as an easy touch and even with the benefit system changes introduced this week we will still be a magnet for immigrants, and particularly the Rumanians and Bulgarians, many of whom live in abject poverty.

“I can understand why they would want to come here, and tens of thousands already have,  but quite frankly in these hard economic times we are struggling to provide for our own needy without this blatant EU encouragement for people to move safe in the knowledge they are automatically entitled to benefits.

“David Cameron can stand on his hind legs and bleat about benefit restrictions being imposed for EU immigrants but this just shows, what we knew all along, that our hands are tied, yet again, by EU rules, It is a disgrace,” said Mr Nuttall, North West Euro-MP.

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http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=850&langId=en).

Local MEP Paul Nuttall is urging shoppers to buy British lamb this Easter to help our farmers.

“We have all been saddened to see television footage of farmers desperately trying to dig out sheep buried in deep snow drifts and while some have been successful many have found dead sheep and newly born lambs.

“This is a cruel tragedy which comes at a particularly bad time for sheep farmers, some of whom are already having to deal with the new Schmallenberg virus which results in dead or deformed lambs.

“Life in the farming world has been hard enough with eight months of almost continuous rain followed by a protracted cold winter. Our hard working farmers always need our support, and never more than now, which is why I always advocate buying locally sourced food.

“Easter is upon us and as a festival traditionally marked by eating lamb I urge shoppers to buy British, and if possible local, lamb,” said Mr Nuttall UKIP Deputy Leader.

MEP Paul Nuttall has written to West Lancashire Borough Council objecting to plans to build a windfarm in Sefton.

“This scheme will blight the landscape with these monstrous huge turbines but only that – they are ridiculously ineffective,” said Mr Nuttall, local Euro-MP for UKIP.

“The area affected by them would be Formby, Ince Blundell, Hightown, Little Altcar, Lydiate and Sefton Village. I find it unthinkable that this rural area should be so descrated. It is bad enough that the view from the nearby coastline on both sides of the Liverpool Bay is already spoilt with the Burbo Bank turbines.

“Wind farms are being foisted on us all over the country to meet totally unrealistic renewable energy targets set by unelected EU bureaucrats.

“It is nonsense that useless wind farms, subsidised by the taxpayer, are getting constructed while we are perilously close to having all the lights go out thanks to this country’s unrealistic energy policy.

“As well as electricity cuts we are facing gas shortages and meanwhile thanks to the EU Large Combustion Plants Directive we have just lost two major coal-fired power stations and more will follow.

“We are facing an energy crisis in this country and wind farms are never going to be the answer. Developers make mega-bucks out of them and pull out all the stops to get their way so it is vital as many people as possible voice their objections to this proposal.

“People power, now wind power, is the order of the day,” said Mr Nuttall.

Speaking after today’s budget speech local UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall welcomed the one penny cut on beer duty and scrapping the beer duty escalator.

But he said he was bitterly disappointed that the Chancellor has done nothing to curb the cut price deals from supermarkets and off licences which have all but killed the pub trade.

“It is to be hoped that the moves he has made regarding beer duty will help the pub industry, which is on its knees, but like much else in his budget I fear it may be too little too late,” said Mr Nuttall, Deputy Party Leader.

“The drinking culture in this country has been badly damaged by successive governments and we all know people, especially younger ones, get tanked up on cheap booze from supermarkets before they even get to the pub.

‘“This attitude needs to be addressed but George Osborne has done nothing to help with that,” said Mr Nuttall, who spearheads UKIP’s Save The Pub campaign.

Euro-MP Paul Nuttall has welcomed the U-turn by David Cameron about introducing a minimum price for alcohol.

“I know it has yet to be formally ditched but the writing was always on the wall as far as this nonsense was concerned,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.

“It is an issue which I am very concerned about through my role as spokesman for UKIP’s ‘Save the Pub’ campaign. There is no doubt that we do have a problem with binge drinking in this country but the proposed move would just hit the law-abiding, sensible majority who drink moderately.

“It would be far better if supermarkets were stopped from fuelling irresponsible drinking by their give away prices. And that would also help stop the tragic decline in pubs, which are at the heart of communities,” said Mr Nuttall, MEP for the North West.

“This U-turn just goes to show they couldn’t even organise an event in a brewery,” he added.

MEP Paul Nuttall has described plans to brainwash children with propaganda as “a form of child abuse.”

He hit out after it emerged that Eurocrats are considering setting up a site to target young children with a “playful” presentation of their working methods and democratic principles.

“A European Parliament website targeted at children really is a step too far,” said Mr Nuttall, local Euro-MP and Deputy Party Leader.

“It is a sinister development so reminiscent of the totalitarian regime of Soviet Russia. The EU clearly wants to use your taxes to brainwash your kids.

“EU institutions already spend over £2billion a year on ‘communications’ but this exercise in funding kiddie propaganda really is cash for EU trash.

“Our children need to be protected from this type of ­political propaganda because they are vulnerable and easily manipulated. Of course, that is the reason they are being cynically targeted by the European Parliament.”

“This is another ­example of Brussels involving itself in policy that is meant to be the
preserve of national governments. We have seen a profusion of cartoons, comics, schoolbooks and videos from the EU which are aimed at our children and are obvious propaganda.

“People should be aware of this and prevent this stuff coming into their homes and their children’s school. Political propaganda on vulnerable kids is a form of child abuse,” he said.

The website proposal is part of the European Parliament’s 2011-14 communication strategy.

The proposal document reads – ‘Research has shown the social and political perception of young people starts at a very early age.

‘In a playful manner which is tailored to the needs of young internet users, a special Europarl website could bring democratic principles and the working of the methods of the European Parliament closer to children.’

Every year on the second Monday of March, I celebrate Britain’s membership of a rather exclusive political club. One where all member states share not only a common history forged by war and peace in the 19th and 20th centuries but also common values and practices that set us apart from the rest of the world.

This club, you could say, is the only one with the potential to rival the American and Chinese superpowers in the world of trade. Without this club, Britain would most certainly be alone and isolated, struggling to find its place in world affairs.

No, I am not talking about the lumbering dinosaur that is the European Union where stagnant economic growth since the 1970’s has seen the continent at risk of falling behind the likes of Brazil and the Tiger Economies of South and Far East Asia. I am, in fact, talking about the Commonwealth of Nations.

With a membership of 54 independent states (Rwanda joined in 2009) and their dependent territories, spanning every continent and an estimated population of 2.5 billion, there is no other international organisation besides the UN that can rival the Commonwealth for global reach while the economic growth of its members put much of Europe and the developed world to shame.

You only really have to look at one member in particular to see why advancing our relationship with the Commonwealth over Europe makes sense. India, the 7th largest nation in the world with a population of over 1.2 billion people, as of 2009, enjoyed just a 2% share of global GDP by market exchange rates yet with economic growth hitting almost 7% annually this will have risen to 13% by 2050, second only to China and USA.

Other commonwealth members who will spend this century racing past Europe include Malaysia with sustained rates of growth as high as 8% since the 1960’s and Nigeria, currently enjoying the status of not only Africa’s most populous state but also its largest oil producer.

Even the old dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, our own kith and kin who we share not only a common language but the same respect for the rule of law, individual liberty and free trade have all enjoyed a much healthier recovery from the world financial downturn than EU member states, attributed in part to their smaller exposure to the European debt crisis and their keenness to seek out new trading partners in Asia.

Contrast this to sluggish performance of our European neighbours. We have Greece, Spain and Italy saddled with endless debt and deficit beyond anything Gordon Brown could have inflicted on the UK during his premiership.

Southern Europe has been crippled not only by their membership of the wholly incompatible Eurozone but by years of belief that Europe, if they club together and ‘pool sovereignty’ they can challenge emerging markets. Tragically, what they have instead is a situation where over 26% of working age adults in Spain are out of work while youth unemployment remains above 50%. In Greece, poverty has become so severe that desperate Athenians, too tired to join the countless demonstrations against austerity, have ended their lives on the steps of government buildings.

The plain truth is that our membership of the European Union has simply become incompatible if we are to enjoy the full benefits of a more proactive

involvement in the Commonwealth of the 21st century.

Immigration is a clear example where EU membership highlights this incompatibility. The coalition government last week boasted about how immigration had fallen by a third, yet with a net flow of 163,000 to June 2012, the promise of bringing these figures down to the ‘tens of thousands’ by 2015 looks destined to failure.

The stark reality is that whilst we are an EU member state, no government can have an immigration policy fit for purpose. Our doors will swing wide open to Romania and Bulgaria next January leading to the almost certain prospect of yet more unskilled jobs being filled by non-UK workers while the brightest minds from Canada, India, Malaysia and the like must jump through the hoops to prove their worth.

This sort of madness where we favour unskilled migrants with no English skills over the scientists and surgeons of the big wide world again shows why Europe will continue to lag behind our Commonwealth cousins.

So today I will, of course, be celebrating Commonwealth Day, which for 2013 has the theme of Opportunity Through Enterprise. Sadly, until we free ourselves from the bureaucratic shackles imposed on us by Brussels, any attempt at boosting much needed enterprise in the UK will be stifled out of existence.

More than £3 billion of taxpayers money has been handed over by the EU to banana growers on far flung paradise islands.

“If I didn’t know the wasteful Eurocrats and their half-baked schemes so well I would say this is unbelievable,” said local MEP Paul Nuttall.

“But sadly it is yet another depressing example of how our money – currently running at £54 million a day – is scattered to the winds by these Brussels nincompoops.

“And not only has more than £3 billion been handed over to the banana farmers in what is described as the EU’s ‘outermost’ regions but the annual sum is to set rise to £625 million a year,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.

The subsidies are handed out under a scheme called POSEI and end up in the pockets of banana growers in such places such as the Azores, Canaries, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“As if that wasn’t bananas enough, under a different project, the EU fritters away further cash in Guadeloupe by helping finance a four day music festival there. This is supposed to bring in tourists but last year only 10% came from outside the Caribbean. Another great use of funds,” said Mr Nuttall.

“It appears that meddling in the lives of millions of citizens in the 27 member states of the EU is not enough, they want their rapacious tentacles reaching even further away,” he added.

UKIP has hit out at EU directive which is forcing power station closures

• British energy blackout will force us to import fuel, driving up bills

“I find it remarkable that not one single person has referred to the EU Industrial Emissions Directive that is behind this unnecessary closure of perfectly good coal fired power stations across the country, meaning Britain will not have the capability of producing its own energy supply,” said local MEP Paul Nuttall.

“Ofgem Chief Executive Alistair Buchanan says that Britain’s fall in power production capacity will mean more imports and customers paying more. What he doesn’t say is why.

“Instead he says there isn’t a single person or people to blame and places responsibility on the financial crisis preventing new plants being built while existing ones are being shut down.

“Why are perfectly good plants being closed? The answer is the EU Industrial Emissions Directive.

“This is no big secret, yet the fact that not one single person has spoken the truth on this today makes me question why the British public are not being told.

“Nine power stations will be closed by 2015 involving a total loss of 11.8 gigawatts of energy. Five nuclear plants, including Heysham, are also set to close.

“Meanwhile new power stations are opening every week in countries such as China. Around the world there are 1200 new coal-fired power stations in the pipeline, so our closures will achieve nothing in terms of global emissions”

“The EU’s flawed and dangerous climate change agenda is stripping Britain of self sufficiency and energy security, and the people who end up paying the price are people heating their homes, and businesses struggling to get by. It will drive industry abroad and leave extremely vulnerable people in fuel poverty,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.

ends

Notes to Editors

On 8 November 2010, the European Council ratified the proposal. Following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union on 17 December 2010, the directive (2010/75/EU) came into force on 6 January 2011.

• The Industrial Emissions Directive (PDF 2.7 MB)

• The industrial emissions Directive: further background information (PDF 58KB)

In December 2010, the Directive on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) was published in the Official Journal and required transposition into UK law no later than 6 January 2013. It represents a coming together of seven directives into one piece of legislation.

• Transposition into UK law by 6 January 2013.

• Implementation from 6 January 2013 in respect of any installation new after that date.

• Implementation by 6 January 2014 in respect of installations already in existence before 6 January 2013 (except large combustion plants).• Implementation by 6 July 2015 in respect of industrial activities not subject to the current integrated pollution prevention and control Directive.

Implementation from 1 January 2016 in respect of large combustion plants already in existence before 6 January 2013.

Coal/Oil power station closures by 2015 due to LCPD/IED:

- Ferrybridge – 1 GW

- TOTAL: 11.8 GW

Also note some dates of 5 nuclear plant closures:

- Heysham 1.2 GW – 2019

- TOTAL: 6.1 GW

Combined total: 18GW

The EU has made it easier for horse meat to enter the UK food chain, says MEP Paul Nuttall.

Speaking at the EU environment committee in Brussels Mr Nuttall said that the EU was primarily to blame because it has the competences for food labelling and safety.

“Food safety is an EU competence. Regulation EC no 178*2002 transfers the responsibility for food safety from London to Brussels and is a shared competence. This is further compounded by Regulation EC 854*2004.

“Prior to this in the UK we had some of the most stringent meat hygiene standards, primarily because of the BSE crisis in the 1990s.

“What the EU has done has shifted responsibility for food safety onto the producers rather than government agencies,” said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Euro-MP for the North West.

He said that Chris Davies Lib Dem MEP had earlier said that food labelling was also a responsibility of the member states. But Mr Nuttall referred to Directive 2000*13*EC which showed that “Quite frankly, food labelling is also an EU competence.

“This is where the problem really lies because we are not ensuring the food is safe and we are also labelling it incorrectly so that people are eating a different kind of food from the one they thought they have purchased.

“In some cases, people find eating horse meat quite offensive…..To people in the UK in particular, it is offensive to eat horse.”

Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader, continued by saying that the third problem is the Single Market.

“The food has travelled across five different countries….. and I would put it to you that it is almost impossible to police.

“The Single Market itself insures that goods and services can cross borders with minimal monitoring, so I would like to make it clear here today that EU competences should be handed back to the member states.

“We can actually become even more self-sufficient and less reliant on other nations, and the consumers will be more protected at a national level.

“What I do hope is that the Commission will not use this crisis to grab even more power for itself in Brussels and away from national democracies,” he concluded.