UKIP leader pops by for a swipe at EU (From Swindon Advertiser)

UKIP leader pops by for a swipe at EU

7:54am Tuesday 29th April 2008

• Print
• Email
• Share

LOCAL authorities should have more power to help their communities, according to the man at the helm of UKIP.

Nigel Farage popped into the borough yesterday to promote his party ahead of Thursday's local elections.

And he slammed the EU for fortnightly rubbish collections and the recent spate of post office closures.

Mr Farage, who was the guest speaker at a public meeting at the Nightingale Hotel in South Marston, said the UK was being excessively governed by EU directives.

He said: "This idea of fortnightly rubbish collections is appalling. It's all because of EU landfill rules. This thing about putting spy cameras in bins to make sure everything goes where it's supposed to be is just silly.

"I'm not against recycling at all but I am against the EU directing us on what we should and shouldn't do. I'm old enough to remember when we would get money back for bottles and everything was in brown paper bags.

"I think we did a better job 40 years ago than we are doing now.

"Regarding post offices, everyone's busy blaming each other and not really doing anything for the communities.

"I come from a village in Kent and I have seen what a huge difference closing post offices make and all this because of an EU directive.

"There's this talk about post offices not being profitable but how are they supposed to be if the profitable products are taken away?

"We're the only party that wants a debate and believe in the post offices and the services they offer. In Italy, they are giving post offices more business so they can stay open, so why can't they do that here?"

Mr Farage said it was wrong that 75 per cent of local authority funding comes from Westminster.

He said his party not only believed that taking orders from the EU was unnecessary but that there was too much power centrally.

He believed that if local authorities were allowed to collect tax and spend it on issues important to the area it would make a huge difference and communities would be better off.

Mr Farage also said UKIP would ensure there were more bobbies on the beat and that police chiefs should be elected locally.

And he had a simple message for voters in Swindon ahead of the elections.

He said: "I think people should vote for UKIP because we are against the EU controlling how we deal with issues that affect us.

"The three other parties are quite happy about this but we aren't.

"We've got three social democratic parties in Britain and you can't put a cigarette paper between them when it comes to how they deal with the main issues and that's why I think people will vote for us."

• Print
• Email
• Share