Ukip's only MP Douglas Carswell quits party

[Denzil_DC]

Ukip’s only member of parliament, Douglas Carswell, has quit the party, announcing on his website that he will become an independent MP.

...

“I will not be switching parties, nor crossing the floor to the Conservatives, so do not need to call a byelection, as I did when switching from the Conservatives to Ukip. I will simply be the member of parliament for Clacton, sitting as an independent.”

In a sign of the deep divisions within the party, however, Carswell immediately faced calls from the Ukip donor Arron Banks to trigger a byelection so the businessman could stand against him.

Andy Wigmore, a spokesman for Banks, said: “The net has been closing in. There is a Ukip national executive committee meeting on Monday and he [Carswell] knew he was for the chop, so jumped. He should call a byelection and Arron will stand against him.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/25/ukips-only-mp-douglas-carswell-quits-party

[T_i_B]

1. Aaron Banks being as classy as ever in response....

Last edited Sat Mar 25, 2017, 02:29 PM - Edit history (1)

Not!!!

Link to tweet

Anyway, enough of UKIP's vile, bullying sugar daddy and back to Carswell. The following paragraph in his statement irked me.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/douglas-carswell-quits-ukip_uk_58d65a5de4b03692bea65e18?

I will be putting all of my effort into tackling some of the local problems affecting the NHS in our part of Essex, including GP shortages and the threat to our local Minor Injuries Unit. In that spirit, I called a Westminster Hall debate last week about the future of primary care in our part of Essex.

Clacton is an area that has been crying out for a new hospital for years. But in the 12 years Carswell has been an MP all he has done has been to campaign loudly and dishonestly for our trading arrangements with the rest of the world to be ripped up, and in the process he has been responsible for turning local politics in the Tendring Hundreds into a far right version of the "Peoples Front of Judea" sketch from Life Of Brian. Lots of right wing splinter groups all moaning endlessly about immigrants, even though the area is overwhelmingly white indigenous English. And the very real issue of health and social care provision, which is the biggest issue affecting an area where the local economy is based very much on retirement has been given far too low a priority.

[lunasun]

2. Hey ukip

[Denzil_DC]

3. And another one ...

Last edited Thu Apr 6, 2017, 01:44 AM - Edit history (1)

Mark Reckless blocked from returning to the Conservative Party amid rumours he is quitting Ukip

A former Tory MP who defected to Ukip and is rumoured to be considering joining the Tories will be blocked from returning the Conservative Party.

Mark Reckless, a member of the Welsh Assembly, has allegedly applied to sit alongside the Conservatives. However The Telegraph understands that he will be barred from formally rejoining the tories.

There are suggestions that he will instead apply to sit alongside Conservative members of the Welsh Assembly. Mr Reckless did not answer calls or respond to messages.

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Mr Reckless left the Conservatives in 2014, triggering a by-election which he subsequently won. However the following year he lost the seat at the General Election to the Tories.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/05/mark-reckless-blocked-returning-conservative-party-amid-rumours/