New UKIP MEP Stands up for UK Sheep Farmers

EID a threat to sheep farming, says Agnew

Wednesday, 24th June 2009

Newly-elected MEP Stuart Agnew has hit out at the EU over new rules on electronic identification for sheep.

A Norfolk farmer, Mr Agnew, who was elected to the European Parliament in this month’s European Election has wasted no time in speaking up for the interests of sheep farmers, in Britain, who are under serious threat from the European Union’s new rules on EID (Electronic Identification).

His intervention came after Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary, Richard Lochhead’s lobbying effort on behalf of Scottish farmers.

Mr Agnew said: “Whilst I welcome the initiative on behalf of farmers in Scotland, the fact is that these nightmarish regulations seriously threaten the whole sheep farming sector, because they add considerable costs, where margins are already low.

"Costs of £3 per head are being talked about, which is huge, when you consider that the average size of sheep flocks is around 5-600 animals. The sheer hard labour involved in carrying it out is also mind-boggling.

“The National Sheep Association has been campaigning against this bureaucratic nightmare for years, pointing out that the rationale behind it is fundamentally flawed as there is no clear indication that EID would offer any additional protection against the spread of disease, over and above existing measures.

“EID is also a very serious problem from an animal welfare point of view. It means that sheep will have to be double tagged. Under present rules, they already have a small identity tag in one ear, but Brussels now wants them to have another, larger tag in the other ear.

"They are painful and pose an increased risk of infection, particularly when animals are tagged in warm weather. They are also likely to catch on everything and pull off and they are expensive to replace.

“These are the kinds of rules that people who spend all day in offices generate. Only in the cloud cuckoo land of Brussels could such nonsense have been dreamed up.

"Unfortunately, until Britain regains its independence, begging Brussels for a derogation from the rules, is our only option.

"However, it should be done for the whole of the UK, otherwise we are going to get in a monumental muddle as sheep are sent from Scotland in huge numbers to be sold in England and also many farms straddle the border.”

New Poll Puts UKIP at 10% for a General Election

In a new Interactive Poll by Harris for the Metro News UKIP have 10% of those intending to vote. What is interesting is that as well as the usual 55+ age group on 10%, the 35+ age group also was 10%, a clear indicator that UKIP are now starting to appeal to the wealth creating age group.

Contract this 10% with the 7% we were various on 6 months before the EU's and we can see that support is not only holding but growing.

Click on title link for full poll.

Thank You: Trevor Colman.

Liberal Democrats Refuse to Return Stolen Money

Constitutional Reform Bill

Reform Bill for EU withdrawal

Monday, 15th June 2009

UKIP peer Lord Willoughby has introduced a Constitutional Reform Bill which details how Britain would withdraw from the EU and the measures needed to do so.

Alongside EU withdrawal, the Bill:

* Repeals the Human Rights Act. (Clause 2)

* Sets up binding national and local referendums. (Clauses 11 and 16)

* Passes power from Westminster to local government. (Clauses 12 - 15)

* Reviews Regional Assemblies and all quangos, etc., with a view to closure. (Clause 18)

* Reduces the House of Commons to 250 MPs with transparent expenses. To sit for fixed five-year terms. (Clauses 5-8)
* House of Lords reformed or abolished by national referendum. (Clause 9) and;
* Retains National powers. (Clause 10)

Click on Title Link to read Bill.

UKIP Post Election Press Conference

Combined No to Europe Vote just 0.5% Behind Tories

The Tory claim to be the comfortable winners of the European Elections does not stand up to examination. If all the Eurosceptic votes had come to UKIP the results would have been remarkably different.

'Bearing in mind that the governing party polled 2,381,760 votes, just 15.7% of the total votes cast; then factor in the 'anti-EU' votes which comprise UKIP, BNP, English Democrats, Socialist Labour Party, NO2EU and UK First, which together polled 4,121,983 votes, 27.2%, the Labour Party can hardly be said to have a mandate when deciding a major aspect of this country's policy on membership of the European Union.

More importantly, the Conservative Party - which has the stated aim of maintaining said membership - which polled 4,198,394 votes, 27.7% of the total votes cast, may well state that they polled the majority of votes but then can hardly consider that as a mandate, being just 0.5% greater. This is, it is believed, justifiably a 'false' majority when it must be accepted that not all those who would have voted in a referendum, on an in/out question, had voted. This point, when factored into the equation, leaves the Conservative Party in the same position as the Labour Party - ie, without a mandate.