Claire Perry, Tory MP for Devizes, has been challenged to debate the EU in public in the wake of last night’s clash between Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg and UKIP leader Nigel Farage on radio and TV.
Neil Hamilton, the former Tory MP now in charge of UKIP’s campaign for May’s EU elections, has issued the challenge in his role as chairman of UKIP Wiltshire, the county where he lives.
“Full Marks to Clegg for challenging Farage, the leader of Britain’s eurosceptics. ‘Nul points’ to political cowards, Cameron and Miliband, the men with nothing worth saying,” he told Marlborough News Online.
“Farage has now definitely established his right to take part in next year’s General Election TV debates. MPs should debate the EU locally as well.
“And I challenge Claire Perry to debate the EU with me in Devizes or Marlborough in the next few weeks.”
Mr Hamilton believes that Farage got the better of Clegg by 60 to 40 per cent, a little higher than the official poll figure that followed the hour-long clash.
“The real losers were the ‘no-shows’, Cameron and Miliband,” he said. “The EU affects most big issues, from immigration to flooding and green belt development, yet the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition refused to debate.
“What stupefying arrogance. That helps to explain why UKIP is on the up — real people discussing real problems and providing real solutions. UKIP is the only party regularly holding public meetings because we believe in Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Businessman David Pollitt, the sole UKIP member of Wiltshire Council, is standing against Claire Perry at next year’s general election, also entered the fray.
“It was great to see Nigel again answering questions from the public and discussing important issues with them,” he told Marlborough News Online.
“Nick Clegg was this usual self, a disconnected ‘Westminster Bubble’ politician talking at the public. He failed to answer any of the questions put to him, instead he did what all the Lib/Lab/Con politicians do, repeat and repeat the few sentences their spin doctors have given them, irrespective of what the question was.
“It is very clear that Clegg is just the same as Cameron and Milliband in that he has led a very privileged, sheltered life away from normal working people. As a result, they do not understand the vast majority of people in Britain and what we want and value.
“UKIP are the only party fighting for the British people.”
Responding to Clegg’s claim that leaving the EU would isolate the UK, Mr Hamilton added: “Isolated outside the EU — along with 90 per cent of the world’s population and 85 per cent of global GDP, including the world’s richest countries.
“Is switzerland isolated? The USA? Japan? South Korea? Canada? Australia? China? India? Brazil? Not mention the Hong Kongs and Singapores with no natural resources whatever.”
And on David Cameron’s promise of an EU referendum in the next Parliament, he declared: “The referendum pledge is a delusion.
“If it’s right to have one on future treaty change why not one on all the previous treaty changes since 1975 when we were denied a referendum, which was exactly Lib-Dem policy in the last general election.
“Another broken promise from Nick, just like ‘no tuition fees’.
Only a vote for UKIP will deliver a referendum. Cameron would never have flip-flopped on this without UKIP breathing down his backbenchers’ necks.
“Now we need to put the same pressure on Labour and the Lib-Dems.”
