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West End Extra - FORUM: Opinion in the WEST END EXTRA
Published: 29 May 2009
 
Is this your chance to elect a real EU?

June 4 elections
Members of three of the ‘non-mainstream’ parties put their case


Magnus Nielsen
Magnus Nielsen
Magnus Nielsen
The UK Independence Party seeks your support


AT a time when our own MPs are embroiled in scandal about expense claims, there has never been a better reason for voting for the UK Indepen­dence Party in the election to the Euro­pean Parliament on June 4.
The systemic fraud and corruption is now so deeply embedded in the EU that no auditor has yet been found willing to sign off its accounts for 14 years! Worse still, as British a taxpayer (and net contributor to the European Union), you help to support that regime to the tune of some £40million every day.
Sums like that in times like these can be better spent on roads, schools, hospitals, pen­sions and other public benefits.
Our adherence to the Com­mon Fisheries Policy (to name but one aspect of our EU membership) has been proven to be an ecological disaster, depleting the stock of fish in the North Sea to critical levels. By ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, the government cheated you out of the vote they promised in a referendum in the Labour manifesto of 2005.
Sending a UKIP candidate to Brussels is the most effective way of registering your anger and protecting your interests against an arrogant and ever-encroaching bureaucracy. Refusal to vote, although it is perfectly understandable as a reaction, accomplishes nothing. Those who fail to engage in the political process of democracy will find themselves governed by their moral inferiors.
The UK Independence Party has been in business since 1993 representing the growing number of voters who are disillusioned by membership of the EU. While we seek friendly relations with our continental neighbours, we believe that the British nation is admirably well suited to govern its own affairs.
We are a non-racist party, welcoming the support and involvement of peoples from ethnic minorities in our wider struggle to reclaim our national self-determination.
• Magnus Nielsen is the UKIP parliamentary spokesman for the constituency of
Hampstead and Kilburn.





Shahrar Ali - Green Party
Shahrar Ali
Shahrar Ali
Why you should cast your vote for the Green Party


ACROSS London, Greens have been articulating a positive vision for trans-national action on climate change and social justice.
Many people have been saying they will vote for us but against the backdrop of the MP expenses scandal with a sense of relief that they could count on us. Others have said they would vote Green because they felt badly let down by the main parties.
Let’s not overstate what the behaviour of a discredited political establishment tells us about the possibility of genuine politics; nor pretend that anyone is impervious to hubris. But why have Greens topped a recent public poll asking: “Which politicians were most trusted to put Britain before self”?
Green MEPs have been motivated by long-term goals long before it became popular for others to talk the talk. And we offer a joined-up analysis of how economics, society and environment interrelate. Greens understand that luxury doesn’t buy happiness and that global markets are bad at costing the harm done to our beautiful, priceless planet.
We need to reskill workers in sustain­able jobs and pursue massive invest­ment in renew­able energy. We need urgent action to put a stop to the increasing numbers, invariably poor, already dying from climate change. We stand for the integrity of our environ­ment and the dignity of hum­an­ity, not the establish­ment of personal property portfolios.
How dignified was the TV spectacle of Blears posing with a £13k cheque?
As if one only had reason to do right when one could no longer be seen to get away with doing wrong! You can put your faith in Greens who stand for what they believe in.
Make your vote count by re-electing Jean Lambert and electing more Greens, too.
Shahrar Ali is the Green Party’s London Policy
co-ordin­ator and a candidate for the European election on June 4th




John Hendy
John Hendy
John Hendy
Why I am standing on the No2EU – Yes to Democracy ticket


I LIKE Europe. I like being European. I like some of the things the European Union has done.
In 30 years almost the only workers’ rights that Britain has gained have come from Europe: health and safety protection, anti-discrimination law, protection of rights on company takeovers, etc.
However, that is not the whole story and these limited gains are just the sugar coating on the neo-liberal pill.
At the core of the EU Treaty is business freedom. And the freedom of business in the EU takes precedence over the rights of citizens. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in recent judgments of the European Court of Justice.
The EU Treaty guarantees the freedom of business to take cheap labour from one EU state and use it in another.
The ECJ holds that this freedom trumps collective agreements and allows undercutting the negotiated rate. So the basic human right to be protected by a trade union is not permitted to stand in the way of business freedom to make more profit.
The EU Treaty guarantees the freedom of a company in one EU state to set up business in another EU country. That freedom, the ECJ holds, can make it unlawful for workers to exercise their right to take industrial action to prevent the loss of jobs and downgrading of terms and conditions by their employer setting up in a cheap labour country.
EU directives instruct governments to privatise public services such as our post offices and railways.
A new healthcare directive threatens the very existence of our National Health Service.
The Lisbon Treaty will make privatisation a constitu­tional goal. I don’t want all that. The peoples of Europe don’t want it. Yet it is being foisted upon us. That’s why I’m standing for No2EU-Yes2Democracy on June 4.
• John Hendy QC, is a No2EU candidate for the European Election on June 4th



Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@thecnj.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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