Me and Farage and Manston corruption and Thor today

By one of those quirks of fate I bumped into Nigel Farage today about 10am outside The Goose pub on Harbour St and then Shipshape café on the seafront.

He was surrounded by about 20 press and TV journalists from BBC and ITV: Nigel holding a pint, Nigel drinking a cup of tea, Nigel shaking hands with a few passersby.

You know the sort of thing. Yawn.

So I shouted a few questions to him:

• Manston is in your manifesto to reopen – but it’s on the aquifer: when did you know that?
• Is it a good idea given Manson is contaminated?
• Will you call for a Police inquiry into Infratil and TDC and KCC removing the monitors?
• What about Thor mercury contamination?
• Where have you been Nigel – when will we see you again?
• What about the TDC corruption – a Police inquiry?
• Your senior politicians: Latchford and Wells were involved in many of these issues weren’t they?

I'm annoyed I forgot to ask him about the Manston Parkway airport rail station - without an airport. Or the 2% NATO and EU army etc.

At first he ignored me as you’d expect.

Then he said Manston was raised in public to him back in 2012 (you can seem my notes on this blog at c.March 2012) – then went silent when I said he’d done nothing.

And I asked him what he would do. Silence and looking sheepish. Bizarrely at one point one of his c.20 activist cronies shouted “leave him alone” as if being questioned by the public on his manifesto was some sort of outrage(!).

He harrumphed about manners at one point but I said this was local politics and public unlike his ticketed meetings or non-attendance at hustings.

Bizarrely on the TDC corruption point he admitted he knew about it(!). But then went silent when I asked him what he’d do about it.

And that some of his senior Ukippers were involved in it as Tories(!).

A few utterly pathetic questions from the journalists like “how will you celebrate if you win” etc and then he ducked into a Range Rover and cut his walkabout short.

So there we are.

He knew about Manston and the aquifer and Infratil/TDC fraud back in 2012.

He did nothing despite his promises.

Now in 2015 he has reopening Manston in his national manifesto.

And dodging any meaty questions as to why. Or the contamination.

If he’s going to lie and prevaricate he needs to do better than this.

And how would he a stand up to rigorous questioning in parliament?

I think he’s an utter scoundrel.

But vote for him.

That way Manston will be prominent in terms of Infratil and TDC/KCC for months and years.

KCC election in May 2017 and MP2020 - if not an election before then.

Tim's titbits: a few misc. points:

Use you vote as you see fit. But my view is don't vote - falling turnouts deny legitimacy and ensure better and more different policies than the parties crowding around tuppence off tax.

If you do vote then vote Farage or Targett- let's ensure the spotlight is on Manston when Farage disappears.

Vote out the rascals:

* Everitt - Port secret £3M loss and Pleasurama tax haven fraud
* Bayford - Pleasurama tax haven fraud
* Eileen property civil servant: fake consultations and delays on Pleasurama and Pav and bizarre property company
* Wells: Ukip turncoat chancer
* Latchford: Manston and Infratil fraud with monitors
* Heale: NF-er and nothing done at KCC

NATO 2% defence plan: this annoys me with Farage wittering on about it as:

* it was only agreed last year...by NATO. Well I never NATO voting for a larger budget for itself!
* UK defence has been running at 2.4% for several years with Afghanistan etc - one of the highest defence budgets in the world never mind EU
* 2.4% would probably be even higher with Trident renewal
* Germany - most at risk form Russia - along with almost every EU nation spends about 1.4%
* So much of a danger is Russia (yawn sabrerattling) that the USAF is closing its main air bases in UK and reducing troops in Germany to their lowest ever levels
* And the UK is ending its own 20k troops in Germany (from 1945) by 2018
* the new F35 fighter jet may never fly as its too expensive and delayed...says the US Defence Secretary and cheaper drones may be used
* and the same issue with the Eurofighter: expensive junk
* and the MOD is probably the most incompetent gov dept eg helicopters that can't fly, launch codes lost - even Trident being unable to get out of its loch: giving them more money would be idiotic
* UK troops outside UK are 3k in Cyprus, 1k in Ulster and 1k in Falklands. Hardly the Cold War.
* the USA has a more sensible policy with a reduction in Western Europe and more support to Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey
* an EU army? There's 2 already. The French-German c.2k troops in Strasbourg, and the Nordic Battle Group rotations every 6 months - including UK. Each of about 2k troops. Both of which not really used while France deploys 2k troops to Mali and Chad etc - where the real conflicts are. And of course nothing done about the slaughter in Syria or Libya and collapse of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Despite border/ethnic disputes by Putin in Georgia and Ukraine and Bear bomber (more Cold War junk) radar tests in Europe and Guam there has never been a more secure Europe, Americas and Asia.

Britain's threats are not Russian nukes or tanks rolling into Berlin but dictators and failed states in Africa and the Middle East. Or a few pirates in dinghies off Somalia or Nigeria.

Afghanistan and the 10k UK troops deployed there will probably be the last large deployment in our lifetimes. Certainly outside of Sudan or Liberia or Congo.

Rather those failed nations require diplomacy and aid and good governance not tanks rusting in Aldershot or HMS Kent on suntan tours.

Or twits like Farage wrapping himself in the flag for a world that ended in 1991.

Time for Change
www.votegarbutt.co.uk
@timg33