Kilroy-Silk: To 'expose' EU Parliament
Posted on 06/14/2004 12:02:27 PM PDT by MadIvan
Kilroy-Silk: To 'expose' EU Parliament |
Both were hit by a surge in support for Eurosceptic UK Independence Party.
UKIP more than doubled its 1999 vote to take 16% of the vote, in doing so pushing the Lib Dems into fourth place.
New UKIP MEP Robert Kilroy-Silk said he wanted to "wreck" the EU Parliament by exposing the waste, corruption and the way "it's eroding our independence".
Tony Blair is facing Labour MPs. He is expected to repeat his call to them to hold their nerve despite the party's vote falling 6% to 23%, their worst share of the vote since before World War I.
The Tories got more votes - 27% - but that is still their lowest share of any nationwide election since 1832.
The Liberal Democrats saw their vote rise 2% to 15%.
In a good night for smaller parties, the Greens held their two Members of the European Parliament with 6% of the vote. The British National Party share of the vote is so far up from 1% in 1999 to 5%.
Elsewhere in Europe governing parties in Germany, France and Poland are suffered big losses. As in the UK, Eurosceptic groups are enjoyed their best result at the polls.
UKIP has quadrupled its number of MEPs from three to 12 with its best showing in the East Midlands, where it came within 0.3% of beating the Tories.
Ex-TV host Mr Kilroy-Silk pledged to get Britain back for the British people.
Asked what he would do when he sits in the European Parliament, Mr Kilroy-Silk said: "Wreck it - expose it for the waste, the corruption and the way it's eroding our independence and our sovereignty.
"Our job is to go there and to say 'look, this is what they do, this is how they waste your money, this how they spend it, this is how it gets corrupted, this is how they all go on this kind of gravy train and spend their time in the restaurants'."
All the results for England, Scotland and Wales have now been announced, with MEPs chosen by proportional representation in each region.
In Scotland, Labour won two seats as did the Tories and the Scottish National Party while the Liberal Democrats won one.
In Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionists, Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists claimed a seat each.
The results in Wales saw no change in the share of MEPs between the parties.
Labour is pleased with its Welsh showing, raising its vote by 1%. Plaid Cymru's vote dived by 12% and the Tories share dropped by 3%.
The overall EU turnout fell to an all-time low at 44.6%.
In the UK, 39% of voters went to the polls - topping the record of 37% for a European election set in 1989.
The projected final outcome puts the Tories on 27%; Labour on 23%, UKIP on 16%, the Lib Dems on 15%, the Greens on 6% and the BNP on 5%.
It is the first time the two largest parties have secured less than half of the vote between them.
Disaster?
The Lib Dems stressed they were the only big party to increase their vote despite being pushed into fourth place by UKIP and winning 3% less of the poll than they did in the last general election.
Tony Blair's official spokesman said the prime minister accepted that the government's position on Europe had to be strongly put.
"But what's important is to have a considered, rational debate about what's in this country's long-term interest," he said.
"The prime minister recognises that there are those who are sceptical about the benefits of Europe and therefore the government needs to argue the case."
Health Secretary John Reid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the results were "disappointing" for Labour, but "disastrous" for the Tories.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram said: "We are not as high as we would like but we are winning this election."
Voters were clearly telling Tony Blair they did not want him to sign the proposed European constitution, argued Mr Ancram.
Meanwhile, the Green Party has retained its two MEPs, in London and the South East, and its share of the vote has so far held up from its 1999 showing.
Green MEP Caroline Lucas said: "This is a fantastic result for Green parties and shows that we are here to stay, we are part of the political picture."
The British National Party has raised its share of the vote to 5.7% but its leader, Nick Griffin, failed in his attempt to become an MEP in the North West.
In its first European poll test, maverick MP George Galloway's Respect Party has gained around 1.8% of the vote.
And in the Eastern region, ex-BBC journalist Martin Bell failed in his attempt to become an MEP as an independent candidate and said he would now be retiring from politics.
Regards, Ivan
Come on, England!
Ping!
Would someone who really undertands European politics explain what this means?
The EU cannot stand the scrutiny of the people it seeks to rule. If it comes before the people, it will fail, even in Europe. If the elites prevent it from coming before the people, it will subjegate all of Europe and introduce them to the joys of living under communism.
Regards, Ivan
Yikes! The Left in Europe must be all thinking the same thought: How best do we destroy this man?
Probably entered wrong hemispheres as coordinates: Meteorite hits New Zealanders' house
Whoa! Isn't Scotland major leftist?(I know they voted heavily for Labor oftentimes - which shocked me since descendants of Scots and Dutch are most conservative in the US)
Would Kilroy-Silk favor a robust British military? Cutting of taxes/regulations? Pro or Anti-American? Who is a Kilroy-Silk voter?
How does Kilroy-Silk compare to Lady Thatcher? Similarities, differences?
Help us, Obi-MadIvan, you're our only hope!
The main meat of their platform is this -
Kilroy was actually a Labour MP at one point - quite a change for him!
Regards, Ivan
Old Right - sees society as "organic", wants to preserve the status quo and prevent damage to the "organism".
New Right - embraces change through free market economics, but stresses traditional morality and strong defence.
Libertarian - cares for free market economics as well as socially liberal policies such as decriminalisation of drugs.
Many of the parties on the Continent fit the Old Right model...and this is a view that has some sympathetic echoes with fascism. This would fit with Chirac's "conservatism". On the other hand, Thatcherism and Reaganite policies are New Right. Many of the "liberal" parties on the Continent fit into the Libertarian camp, such as the liberals in Hungary.
I hope this makes it clearer.
Regards, Ivan
The Five Freedoms, I like it! Where is Norman Rockwell when you need him?
That's what we've been saying about the UN for years!
Workable law is not about geography or economics as much as it is about the overarching ideals of a society. Does a Balkan see himself the same as a Brit? Me thinks not. Perhaps the Brits have not lost their sense of sovereignty after all.
Very interesting.
IIRC from Comparative Government, the Lib Dems are basically like American conservatives, right? I could be wrong.....I learned about so many parties I have already forgotten most of it.
Was this election just for the EU parliament, or for the British Parliament as well?
This is the most hopeful sign coming from "across the pond" I've seen lately.
Nice of you all to take time out from bashing America to have a little "circular firing squad" activity.
LOL! I am gobsmacked!
Thatcher was really the first true "American" conservative in Britain.
You have to remember that conservatives in Britain are "conservative" about different things, so they often are not like American conservatives.
Lady Thatcher helped reshape the Torie political party into more American conservatism, however.
Regards, Ivan
The search is now underway. There were rumors that person was seen in Clermont-Ferrand in 1964, but we are waiting for confirmation.
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