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Conservative donors defecting to UKIP after becoming fed-up with Cameron's X-Factor obsession
Daily Mail ^

Posted on 04/13/2013 7:05:23 AM PDT by UKrepublican

Wealthy Conservative donors are defecting to the UK Independence Party to pledge financial backing ahead of next month’s local elections, it emerged today.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage suggested five or six former members of the Tory Leader’s Group who paid £50,000-a-year to dine with David Cameron and other frontbenchers had switched to support his anti-EU party.

One ex-donor said he decided to switch after a dinner with Mr Cameron where he just wanted to talk about contestants on X-Factor.

UKIP hopes to secure several donations of more than £1million to bankroll the party’s campaigning in next year’s elections to the European Parliament.

Mr Farage is trying to build momentum from his party’s success in pushing the Tories into third place in the Eastleigh by-election in February.

He has embarked on a nationwide Commons Sense tour of town hall meetings to engage disaffected voters.

The party is fielding record numbers of candidates in May’s local elections, and hopes to more than double its share of the vote from the five per cent it won in 2009. A UKIP insider said: ‘I would be disappointed if we are not on 13 per cent.’

UKIP treasurer Stuart Wheeler, who gave £5.5million to the Tories before being expelled from the party three years ago, said around 30 councillors had defected from other parties this year. Around 20 were Conservatives.

ast year he suggested that up to eight Tory MPs were in talks about defecting to UKIP, but that threat appears to have receded.

Asked if he thought it possible before the 2015 general election, he said: ‘I think it is slightly more likely than not, but one has to remember that an MP who defects is more likely to lose his seat at the next election.’

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: conservatives; farage; uk; ukip
Watch this space folks, a landslide is coming over here and it will be the PERFECT blueprint for what needs to happen in America. We are rallying behind Farage and you need to find someone to do the same over there, and everyone needs to get behind them.

With regard the financials, they are certainly small sums compared to what you see in America, but we spend far far less on elections as there us not unlimited media advertising, just good old fashioned door to door, leaflets and sign posts! Securing donations of over a million pounds is a huge event.

1 posted on 04/13/2013 7:05:23 AM PDT by UKrepublican
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To: UKrepublican
Good luck and best wishes. Maybe UKIP can succeed where the Tea Party has fallen short.
2 posted on 04/13/2013 7:13:10 AM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: UKrepublican
That article has just solved my voting problem.
Let's hope the Labour block vote stays at home on polling day.
Rain normally does the job well.
3 posted on 04/13/2013 7:21:52 AM PDT by moose07 (the truth will out ,one day. liberals and logic: Never confuse the two! Hi MI# !)
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To: UKrepublican

My fondest wish for the UK is Nigel Farage as PM.


4 posted on 04/13/2013 7:45:18 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: UKrepublican

I wish UKIP could really take advantage of social media the same way the commies did over here to get the youth vote. But, as with everthing, that takes a lot of money.


5 posted on 04/13/2013 7:49:29 AM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear (Great vid by ShorelineMike! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOZjJk6nbD4&feature=plcp)
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To: hinckley buzzard

Thanks you, I’m hoping the success of UKIP can inspire a third party movement in the US.

I used to be opposed to third party movements, with a strong belief of working with what we have......but I began to realise it was going nowhere, when a party starts turning and becomes infested with people driving it in a different direction it is an almost impossible task to take it back, the damage is done.

As this article demonstrates, there are enough principled people with money and influence that are in politics and giving their money for the right reasons.

That Cameron would sit there talking about X factor is no surprise and a perfect example of why we are in the gutter.

I don’t think for one minute Farage would do that.


6 posted on 04/13/2013 7:56:59 AM PDT by UKrepublican
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To: UKrepublican
He has embarked on a nationwide Commons Sense tour of town hall meetings to engage disaffected voters.

Meanwhile Cameron wants to talk about TV shows.

lol


blueprint for what needs to happen in America

They did it in Canada for a while before the conservatives caved

7 posted on 04/13/2013 7:56:59 AM PDT by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: moose07

I think there’s a good chance of that, their leader inspires little enthusiasm.


8 posted on 04/13/2013 7:57:54 AM PDT by UKrepublican
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To: Georgia Girl 2

Mine too!


9 posted on 04/13/2013 7:58:09 AM PDT by UKrepublican
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To: UKrepublican

I have a very limited understanding of the parliamentary system, so... Here goes....

Is there really a political cost.to this, if UKIP can create a.coalition with the Tories?


10 posted on 04/13/2013 7:58:25 AM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas
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To: RushIsMyTeddyBear
Definitely, they have over 25,000 on Facebook, but they need much more:

UKIP Facebook

11 posted on 04/13/2013 8:00:51 AM PDT by UKrepublican
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To: UKrepublican

-— I used to be opposed to third party movements ——

You should be. They always fail —at least in modern history.

Let’s take over the Republican party, like.the communists took over the Democrat party.


12 posted on 04/13/2013 8:01:17 AM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas
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To: St_Thomas_Aquinas

dividing the vote will probably mean that even that can’t happen.


13 posted on 04/13/2013 8:04:11 AM PDT by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: UKrepublican

Great! I have gone on their YT accounts, too. Love the color choice for their logos and ribbons, but they need a huge advertising blitz to get out their message.


14 posted on 04/13/2013 8:05:00 AM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear (Great vid by ShorelineMike! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOZjJk6nbD4&feature=plcp)
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To: St_Thomas_Aquinas

Well, basically what we have is a first past the post system, which has its ups and downs.

The fact is, currently there are zero UKIP Mps. The three main parties all have strongholds (much like your congressional system) with swing seats in the middle that determine elections.

UKIP have no strongholds yet as such, because they have always been seen as a conservative single issue protest party. I am absolutely certain that this is going to change
hugely by the 2015 election.

UKIP will probably be able to coalition with the conservatives if the need arises, but unless they get what they want regarding an EU referendum, they won’t join, though they may prop up a minority government.

We currently have a conservative/liberal coalition government.....it’s crazy, a centre right (so called) and centre left to hard left party in government together.

The impact of that has been, that conservative principles have been sold out, and the party has moved left. (as Nigel Farage says they are more interested in gay marriage and wind turbines!).

That leftward drag could be reversed to the right if UKIP and the Conservatives have to work together which is a good prospect.


15 posted on 04/13/2013 8:07:50 AM PDT by UKrepublican
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To: St_Thomas_Aquinas

How has that been working out for you for that last 13 years? You have had Bush, Bush, McCain and Romney. That is a huge period of time and the effects of that, coupled with the fact it has allowed Obama in for 8 years will without doubt cause a catastrophe for coming generation, not even considering the foreign policy disaster. Your rights are under attack, immigrants are causing chaos, and your debts are huge.

Consider the GOP had political domination for years in that period, and you got what out of it? Like the others, they re arranged the deck chairs on the titanic. What is the point of fighting for power and supporting a Party if they completely ignore the principles you believe in?

One could argue the Dems were only showing their true colours all along. Conversely, the trouble for the GOP is, even with that open goal, they didn’t show theirs.

We shouldn’t have to wait once in a generation for a Thatcher or a Reagan to come around, the people deserve better.


16 posted on 04/13/2013 8:15:47 AM PDT by UKrepublican
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To: UKrepublican

Taking over the GOP is a practical possibility (see the success of the Tea Party in 2010), as opposed to a third party (Ross Perot), which will simply split the vote on the right, insuring failure.

The Tea Party has demonstrated success in congressional elections, defeating GOPe lifers.

The presidency is the toughest nut to crack. We need to close our primaries (impossible now since we don’t control.the apparatus), or rally behind a single conservative early.

If we can’t pull together a handful of billionaires (milliardaires?), the leading right wing talk show hosts could do the same.

I urge Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity to gather in a smoke-filled room to do what has to be done. This is our last chance.


17 posted on 04/13/2013 8:29:17 AM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas
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To: St_Thomas_Aquinas

I agree, and I think at Presidential level a third party is not possible, but I do think it is in localized campaigns as the Tea Party showed.


18 posted on 04/13/2013 8:44:51 AM PDT by UKrepublican
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