Posted on 10/19/2004 10:06:36 AM PDT by Ed Thomas
Kilroy: 'I will not be 'bought'
Robert Kilroy-Silk has said he will not be "bought" after a UK Independence Party donor urged him to drop his leadership ambitions. Alan Bown threatened to pull funds from Mr Kilroy-Silk's election campaign if the MEP continues his leadership bid.
Later, the ex-TV host countered: "I am not for sale and never have been."
A phone poll of UKIP branch chairmen suggests heavy support for the current leader but Mr Kilroy-Silk said it was a "banana republic" style exercise.
The party is canvassing the branch chairmen to ask how they would vote in chairman in a leadership contest.
With 160 chairmen out of a total of 235 contacted so far, about 70% are said to back current leader Roger Knapman.
The party hopes to complete the survey by Tuesday night but a party spokesman said he expected the final result to fall broadly into line with the result so far.
Tension
Mr Kilroy-Silk, an MEP for the party and a former presenter on BBC television, has said he would make a better leader than Mr Knapman.
He had written to UKIP's branch chairmen calling for an "honest, open and grown up debate" on the party's direction.
"Do we want a party with vision, with a clear sense of purpose, that knows where it wants to go, and wants to win, or one that remains on the political fringe?" he asked in the letter.
Mr Knapman says he was elected to lead the party for another two years and intends to stay in the role.
Kent businessman Mr Bown this month said he would fill any funding gap left by the decision of Paul Sykes not to finance UKIP's general election campaign.
After the initial results of the telephone canvassing, Mr Bown said: "It seems to me completely unnecessary to go through a leadership contest so near to a general election.
"The figures agree with my own view that there should be no contest.
"Consequently, I am appealing to Robert to abandon his leadership bid for the sake of party unity.
"If Robert decides to continue with his leadership challenge, I will reluctantly have to reconsider the funding that I have promised for his personal election campaign in the East Midlands.
"But of course, I will continue to be a strong financial supporter of UKIP nationally."
'Asset'
Mr Bown saluted Mr Knapman's record, saying he had increased the party's membership from 8,000 to 26,5000 and led the party to a historic third place in June's European elections.
He also described Mr Kilroy-Silk as a great asset to the party who had worked tirelessly to raise its national profile.
But he added: "It is now time to unite behind our leader, put all internal problems behind us, and concentrate on the main event of getting our country back."
Mr Kilroy-Silk told BBC News Online Mr Bown was perfectly entitled to spend the money how he liked.
But he argued: "I decide what is right politically on the basis of my principles and my beliefs and not on the basis of who is waving the biggest chequebook in my face.
"These people have to understand they are not the only ones with money."
Only last Monday, Mr Bown had suggested he would stand in the adjoining East Midlands constituency to Mr Kilroy-Silk in the general election, said the MEP.
He said the telephone poll was a panic measure.
Stalinist?
Accusing a "cabal" of running the party, Mr Kilroy-Silk continued: "I'm really pleased that they have really converted to the idea of an election, it's a pity it's not an open and honest one."
He said Stalin could not have conducted the exercise better, arguing it was natural for people to be helpful to those telephoning them.
Asked if he still wanted to be party leader, Mr Kilroy-Silk said UKIP MEPs had agreed not to discuss the leadership.
But he wanted UKIP to be a serious political party, not a pressure group.
"What they are doing with this poll - the kind of student style politics, running around putting pressure on people on the phone - is indicative of what is wrong with the party.
"This is not a grown up party."
Once a Labour MP, allways a Labour man.
Hopefully the Conservatives will adopt a more Euroskeptic stance, making UKIP less of a draw (and less of a potential splitter at the General Election). We need a party with UKIP's bold plans for divestment from Europe, but ... not UKIP.
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