Tim Worstall points out (rightly) that the MEP Tom Wise, who was the subject of a rather damning report in the News of the World about MEPs "riding the gravy train" hasn't been a member of UKIP for some time. Ashley Mote, the MEP who was sentenced to nine months in jail for benefits fraud and attempted to avoid prosecution by claiming immunity as an MEP, had the whip removed by UKIP within weeks of his election. As for Robert Kilroy Silk, I'm sure that UKIP would feel the less said, the better. In 2004, UKIP had 12 MEPs elected. In other words, they've lost 25% of their elected representatives, mostly under a cloud (and Godfrey Bloom isn't exactly a walking advertisment for a modern political party either).
This does rather beg the question though - what does it say about the party that thought the three of them were fit to nominated in the first place?
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When members voted for Tom Wise, they were not aware he was a crook, just as the didn't Ashley Mote. In fact, Ashley Mote's wife only found out at the count in 2004. Kilroy may be a plonker but he's not a crook but I presume that's why you rather tailed off on that one.
And I only wish more politicians were like Godfrey Bloom: intelligent, straight forward and honest. He's also been proved right on so many issues with people like Sir Alan Sugar agreeing with his opinion that positive discrimination is a bad thing and women suffer from maternity legislation.
Strict checks are being put in place for any potential UKIP candidates but we hardly hide away and bury our problems, do we. If they've done wrong we kick 'em out. Not like any other political party I can think of.
My point wasn't about the crookedness per se of the three of them (though indisputably Kilroy is only a plonker whereas the other two are too crooked to be MEPs).
My point was that UKIP, amongst all the parties, has lost a much higher percentage of it's elected representatives than any other party (and for all the cracks about "not like any other political party" the Tories at least have been reasonably good recently at booting out the crooks - viz the Conway saga).
Ask yourself what Lib/Lab/Con would have done in the same circumstances. Would they have given them the order of the boot or covered it up? I would put money on the latter.
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