When UKIP is wrong, I'm not afraid to speak out - as this
article shows. Far from the media suggestion that
UKIP clamps down on anyone who dares to speak out of turn, I've had nothing but
praise for that article from within the party. No dressing down from the boss,
no angry phone calls from the press office. I've voted against the party line in
the European Parliament quite often - and never once been in trouble with the
'whips' for doing so. UKIP respects my freedom of conscience to vote as I see
fit.
I started as I intend to go on. My term of office started on July 1st,
and just days later my name was chosen at random to scrutinise the election for
the Commission President. Speaking in front of the whole Parliament, I refused
to scrutinise the election: we had just one candidate to choose from, and the
election was by secret ballot! How, I asked, could it be right that our
constituents couldn't know how we voted? I refused to take part in the
organisation of such an undemocratic process.
When the European Parliament breaks its own rules, as this video shows, I'm not afraid to speak out either.
In that case, the Parliament had disabled the red button so that we could not
vote 'no'. Likewise, when the Parliament has a double standard or debate is cancelled I point that out too.
Funnily enough, with my first proper speech in the European Parliament on
youth unemployment I joined a very exclusive club: my speech was actually praised by an EU Commissioner.
I'd pointed out that countries should learn from each other: there are things
that we can learn for example from Germany, where there is no stigma attached to
a vocational route in education. Of course, I had also said that it's more
efficient for countries to fund employment programmes themselves rather than
send money to the EU, only to request it back. Nevertheless, a UKIP MEP's speech
was praised by an EU Commissioner. I jokingly offered myself for disciplinary
action to our Chief Whip, who was equally bemused.
Contrary to the accusations made by our opponents, I've turned up. My
voting record is hovering between 97% and 98%; I wish it were 100% and - health
permitting - that's my target for next year. But still, it's much higher than
most parties' records at Westminster - which, I'll remind you, is actually in
this country. The journey to Strasbourg is a 1,500-mile round trip and Brussels
1,000.
Recently I've taken to live tweeting the votes in the European
Parliament. I think the Parliament is too remote from people in the UK, and
things which would be a scandal if they occurred at Westminster pass people in
Britain by when they happen in Strasbourg. Last week, President Schulz was asked
whether the Parliament might hear a few words from the candidates in an internal
election; his response was classic: "When we have an election, it is without
debate". Hopefully by live tweeting the votes, I can show people just how far
the European Parliament falls of modern standards of
democracy.
I don't accept hospitality from lobbyists. The champagne and refreshments
are free-flowing and available almost every day of the week in Brussels. There
are more lobbyists in Brussels than in Washington DC. Sadly, that means that big
business is able to mould legislation to give it a competitive advantage over
small business. Big business doesn't mind excessive regulation because it has
the infrastructure to cope; it knows perfectly well that such regulation will
harm its smaller competitors. If you attend such events, how can you know that
your vote hasn't subtly been influenced by the free champagne? For similar
reasons, I don't take part in the regular foreign junkets organised by the
European Parliament.
On the other hand, I'm always much happier to spend time speaking to
local businesses and constituents, helping them where I can. We may yet win the
fight against the appalling lack of foresight in the VATMOSS regulations, which
came into force in January and has been putting small businesses which trade
with Europe out of business. Hopefully it will at least be amended to fix the
problem, if not repealed entirely.
I'm keen to submit amendments to lessen the impact of proposed EU
legislation, but I'll be honest: it's taken time to understand the intricacies
of the Committee system in Brussels - and the committees I'm on are related to
finance anyway, rather than legislation. So whilst I have submitted some
amendments, notably to save taxpayers' money in the EU budget (and watched
whilst they were voted down), it's not something I've yet been doing on a daily
basis.
On the other hand, I'm one of the few British MEPs to have had the
opportunity to vote on TTIP (the controversial proposed EU-USA trade deal).
Knowing that one of my colleagues would miss the meeting, I volunteered to
attend to make sure that UKIP was represented when TTIP came before that
committee. I voted against the possibility of NHS involvement in TTIP, and
against the principle of private companies having the right to sue national
governments over policy. Finally, given that the votes were negative I voted
against TTIP altogether.
Meanwhile I'm trying to represent an area so geographically large that it
can take up to 3 hours just to drive from one end of my constituency to the
other! So in order to be as accessible as possible to my constituents, I've
spoken at public meetings the length and breadth of the region, speaking and
answering questions about my role as a member of the European Parliament.
There's always a balance between doing the job in Brussels and Strasbourg -
where I have some of the best records of any British MEP for speeches and Parliamentary
questions - and getting back to the UK to feed back to
constituents. Many of my Parliamentary questions take up causes on behalf of
constituents.
The media side of my job is substantial, partly because a UKIP MEP tends
to be something of a figurehead within that region and also partly because
foreign TV channels are interested. So my national media appearances have
included the Daily Politics, Newsbeat, Good Morning Britain, Radio 5 Live, the
Today Programme, The World At One, BBC News, and many more. At a regional level,
I've done Around the House, the Sunday Politics, ITV News and various other
local radio stations. I have a regular column in a major regional newspaper, not
forgetting of course to write here for the Huffington Post!
There's much more to the job behind the scenes of course - and of course,
internal Party matters as well. The job is varied and fascinating, but
absolutely exhausting. Regular foreign travel, hotel stays (comfortable or
uncomfortable beds) and living out of a suitcase take their toll after a while.
It's a frustration to see how democracy is subverted in the European Parliament,
but a real privilege to be able to represent the people of the North
East.
