Laurence Dollimore
NIGEL FARAGE has denied that UKIP misspent €500,000 of EU funding on trying to win the Brexit vote and electing MPs.
An external audit has found that the right-wing party broke spending rules by diverting taxpayers’ cash to its polling ahead of the EU referendum and in key target constituencies for the 2015 general election, including the Thanet South seat that Farage unsuccessfully ran for.
“We’ve been expecting this for years. We are in an environment where rules are willfully interpreted as suits,” Farage said.
“I’ve understood absolutely the rules. This is pure victimisation. I am the most investigated MEP in history. Look at what the pro-EU groups were spending.”
Rules state that EU funding can only be spent on a party’s activities at a European level, not on campaigns on a domestic level.
If the audit is confirmed, the party – currently cash strapped after moving out of its London headquarters – will have to repay €170,000 and will be barred from collecting any further funds from Brussels.
The audit discovered that the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE) – a European political grouping led by UKIP – financed polling in the UK between February and December in 2015.
The lion’s share of the polling was found to be ‘conducted in the interest of UKIP’, with €450,000 of the €500,000 being used by the party.
The audit claims the money was used to fund polling in Great Grimsby and Thurrock, Rochester and Strood and Cardiff South and Penarth, which were all UKIP target seats at the last general election in the UK.
After the election, UKIP used the funds to conduct several EU referendum attitude polls across Britain.
The party is reportedly furious the audit was leaked before it had a chance to see it, suggesting it was leaked by the European Parliament itself.
On top of this, Nigel and his MEP UKIP cronies, (more than twenty of them) have no shame in accepting a hundred thousand euros a year in salaries, plus (very) generous expenses, when their only function has been to sabotage our membership from within. These slimy toads were sent to Europe by British voters, in order to fight our corner in Brussels. Instead they fill their boots and complain that the EU is bent !
AND they are still doing it!
I find it most amusing that the EU can suddenly do an audit of Farage yet can’t produce it’s own audit for years. Something fishy about this.
Can’t wait to see the onslaught on QT and This Week tonight
Carlos,
stefanjo aka Aunt Sally will never answer your obvious and very relevant comment with anything like a rational answer if at all. He’s full of theoretical b/s sadly like so many who have destroyed the Left’s credibility in the UK. Like Labour MPs demanding more immigration, not a problem for them with their excellent salaries, property perks and stonkingly good pensions but you never see him criticise them – blind loyalty.
There is rampant corruption and kickbacks for the Brussels apparachniks but still Aunt Sally loves this corrupt business organisation because that is what the EU is and always has been. Like so many disillusioned Socialists and Communists, he would have bought the lie that Hitler’s Fascist party was really National Socialist. Serfs always need a ‘strong leader’ because they are terrified of self responsibility esta la vida
Stuart,
can you explain why since the Brexit vote 500 British Jews at the German embassy in the UK have applied for German citizenship (normally 25 Jewish pax apply per year)? This happens though they well remember what our parents had done to their parents. And why, since Erdogagan started arresting his opponents, 4700 journalists and acacemics from Turkey have applied for asylum in Germany?
Could you possibly concider that fascism is going to penetrate the new anglo-american alliance, while Germany becomes more and more attractive for anti-fascists?
Jews know that many Germans have a huge guilt complex over the mass exterminations carried out by Aut
strians and Germans and they are making a typically shrewd Jewish assessment of the financial situation in Europe.
I think that this time they have made a big mistake – if the Euro goes then a new Mark will attract a huge premium making German exports far to expensive. I notice that sour faced Schauble is making more threats along with the fat frau, keep on with this it could get very interesting. Many of my French neighbours can see clearly the Brexiteers position and would like the chance to hold their own referendum. They do not like Hollande or the line he is taking, same goes for many Dutch as well.
Once again the arrogant parasitic politicians are not listening to the people. The French people have an historical answer to this – bring it on.
As an immigrant, you’d be the first on Marine Le Pen’s tumbrils Stuart.