UK Independence Party
Enfield & Haringey Branch
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FROM THE SECRETARY:
I hope all my readers had a good Christmas and are starting the New Year full of enthusiasm for the General and Council elections which will take place this spring.
Madeline Jones has been accepted as our candidate for Enfield North but we are without candidates for Edmonton and Southgate. We DO still need members to put their names forward as candidates in the Council election in Enfield which will take place on 6th May. There is no deposit to pay to stand for the Council. The only condition for the Council election is that you live in the Borough. You don’t have to live in the ward that you wish to represent.
Evelyn Rolph - Branch Secretary
Financial regulation
It has been quite a quiet month for EU news, other than the fact that the Lisbon Treaty came into force on 1st December. Alistair Darling has told the EU’s new French finance commissioner, Michel Barnier, not to meddle with the City but he was accused of a “sell out” after signing up to a deal that will mean the creation of three powerful new EU regulators. These agencies will oversee banks, insurers and investment firms.
Trading Emissions Scheme
Under the EU’s Trading Emissions Scheme (ETS) manufacturers are given credits which allow a firm to emit a certain level of pollution each year. Even though steel firm Corus is closing the steel works at Redcar with the loss of 1,700 jobs, it will still receive ETS credits up to 2014 which it will be able to sell to other firms. It is expected that Corus will make a profit of some £600 million.
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast
The Queen spoke warmly about the Commonwealth, calling it a family of nations which “remains a strong and practical force for good”. This year celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth which consists of 54 countries worldwide. This is where Britain’s future ought to lie, not with the EU.
Cadbury’s chocolate
Kraft Foods (USA) has been attempting to take over Cadbury’s. For the first time the Government is keeping an eye on developments as it does not want to appear indifferent to the fate of thousands of Cadbury employees with an election coming up. Countries such as Germany, France, Australia and the US have been anxious to defend local jobs from overseas threats so it’s about time our Government took action to stop another UK manufacturer being sold to a foreign buyer.
Climate change
Gordon Brown is bribing Third World countries into signing a climate change deal with millions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money. He has committed an extra £1.5 billion to help developing countries tackle global warming - nearly a quarter of the £6.5 billion offered by the rest of the EU. He has also promised a further £6 billion to the global fund for poor countries for the period 2012 to 2020.
Day-to-day news from MONTH
2nd - Following Switzerland’s referendum on the building of Islamic minarets, Italy could become the next European country to hold a referendum. Italian voters can have a direct say on an issue if a minimum number of signatures are gathered, calling for a referendum. Italy has 1.2 million Muslims, making it the country’s second religion to Catholicism.
3rd - Up to 90% of the work of government is now conducted by quangos. The Government says there are about 800 but the TaxPayers’ Alliance identified 1,152.
8th - The French are planning to build a new “Sangatte” for illegal immigrants trying to get into Britain.
10th - EU rules stipulate that the oil for AGA cookers must have a lower sulphur content, intended to cut greenhouse gases but the lower sulphur fuel carbonises more quickly and creates a thick black coke that clogs the fuel supply line and the cooker goes out.
11th - One in three letters is handled by a rival to the Royal Mail and within two or three years it is likely that private firms will handle most British mail. Royal Mail’s postmen and women still have to deliver to a customer’s door and if the private companies had to do this, they would no longer be competitive.
11th - The EU is planning to give MEPs the right to sit in the House of Commons at certain times of the year. Although MEPs know more than most of us about EU legislation, they have not been elected to sit in Westminster.
15th - The EU has ruled out bailing out Greece whose budget deficit is expected to surge to 12.7% of national output this year. This is four times the 3% limit set under EU budget rules.
15th - MEPs have awarded themselves a pay rise of £1,300 a month.