Another Conservative defecting to UKIP

Spell checker.

Strood not Stroke.

A good name for a defector to UKIP.

Just seen him trying to justify himself on the news. My first thought was there are a lot more tory MPs who look just like the two defectors. I wonder if they are all queuing up to join them.

How many more, from which party??

It's all highly entertaining. It's about time Westiminster got a real shake-up, they had become far too complacent - believing nothing and no-one could ever challenge the usual two-horse racers.

I've been trying to watch the UKIP programmes (bad form BBC to have such poor sound quality for the first 20 minutes or so) but the programme cut off after 50mins . Apart from their NHS and anti-gay marriage, from what I saw in that 50 minutes I liked the sound of it. At least none of them looked and sounded like they'd just walked out of the Eton/Harrow bubble but still believing they know the general public's needs and wants. Their mates-rates would work out cheaper as well

Westiminster? Must be approaching bedtime ...

Lovely picture, HollyDaze. One of my sons has two Westies.

What picture? My next door neighbour always has Westies - and she always calls every, single one of them Hamish.

In my head....Westiminster.

Oh I see - a vision that brings a smile durhamjen

UKIP if you like, I'm going off to bed as well.
Night night, Hamish.

We lived near Strood when Reckless was elected, and I am sure I remember that the first time he appeared in the press was after he had got seriously p****d in the Commons bar.

But the popular appeal of UKIP both to the public and to MPs, is worrying. Listening to Farage on the news yesterday, it is even clearer than ever that he knows exactly which buttons to press to activate people's worries and fears. Whether his party could actually solve the nation's problems is another matter.

But my, isn't he enjoying it all?

And he's got the Cameron and Milliband brigade pledging this, that and the other! What a bunch!

What a bunch indeed. I came across a quote from Mark Twain recently "If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it"

What planet are we on?

Nigel Farage, a commodity broker, financial trader, dealer in commodities and derivatives, the very things which broke the banks so that we taxpayers had to bail them out to save people's savings.

Read Flashboys by Michael Lewis, Farage is one of them.

Goodness! Another one ordering us about...

I personally find Farage terrifying. Like a sort of creepy pervert that offers people whatever he thinks they might want in an attempt to whisk them away. [I'm not joking, by the way, but deadly serious ].

They could be a double act - the one who defected to UKIP and the one who texted explicitit photos of himself without his jimjams

Reckless and Brainless

https://fullfact.org/news/7_key_factchecks_nigel_farages_ukip_conference_speech-35493

www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/28/tory-whips-threat-possible-defectors-ukip-conference

You'll have to think up some more names , Soutra, for the others who will follow after this. Or do you think there are lots of Tory MPs quaking at the thought of Grant Shapps?

Like a sort of creepy pervert that offers people whatever he thinks they might want in an attempt to whisk them away.

Isn't that what they all do

I think the rats have started to realise they need to desert the sinking ship before they go down with it. Has UKIP published a manifesto yet? Their 'policies' seem to change with the tide.

Found one! It was produced for the European elections in May.

d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/themes/5308a93901925b5b09000002/attachments/original/1398869254/EuroManifestoLaunch.pdf?1398869254

Is the manifesto that important? Not like any of them stick to their promises is it! The manifesto tells you what you wouldn't want to vote for - the rest is just smoke and mirrors.

Does anybody share my view this is possibly a bigger problem for the Conservatives BUT Labour should perhaps be a little more, how can I put it, less cocky as time might show they are finding UKIP are gaining ground in their heartlands too.?

It has to be said UKIP have a mixed bag of ideas but I don't think their focus appeals to just left/right voters and after all they are already taking votes from both parties aren't they.

As for Mark Reckless, or indeed any other politician of any colour, I understand they have a right to their decision but I feel that they have had so much backing and groundwork done by their constituents it is a form of betrayal and whether it was Reckless, Balls or Miliband I would still feel that way.

I think it's the timing which has shown more about the character of the man. To defect is the name of the game but to maximimise self advertisement and harm the people you have 'so called' respected at the very start of the conference tells me all I want to know.

He was being interviewed on Daily Politics and Andrew Neil played a phone message he had left 'the day before' he defected telling the party he was going to Birmingham to help the candidate with her canvassing, all sweetness and light confirming his attendence, cowardly I call it whether he was a Tory, Lib Dem or Labour.

I know the reply will be he had to do what he thought best, I agree. It was the way he did it and the timing that shows more about the man than the defection itself IMHO.