Tag Archives: Suzanne Evans

Divisiveness or Subterfuge?

If has not been that long in the face of danger, challenge or just plain confusion, yet what are we left with to believe? So let’s take a look at Suzanne Evans. She was born in Shrewsbury. Oh Sarcasm! ‘Shrew’s bury’, a woman of violent temper to be put in a grave. I just could not make this up, I am not that creative, oh wonders of fate! The fact that a shrew is also a mole like mammal hits the noisy triangle again in loud succession.

You see, this all started with the comment that we can read in many papers “Suzanne Evans sacked as Ukip spokesperson after labelling Nigel Farage a ‘very divisive character’”’ (at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/suzanne-evans-sacked-as-ukip-spokesperson-after-labelling-nigel-farage-a-very-divisive-character-10330417.html). in addition, the Guardian had this subtitle ‘Party’s most prominent female member incurred boss’s displeasure after giving interview saying he would not front EU exit campaign‘, now here is the issue.

How could she be this ‘naive’ as a spokesperson (the word ‘stupid’ seems slightly harsh)? Consider her career: Working at BBC from 1987 to 1999, which includes ‘Today’, BBC World service, BBC Radio 5 and local radio programmes. After that 10 years as a marketing consultant and later as a communications director. She joined the Conservative party in 2010 and switched to UKIP in 2013. So with 25 years of work as a journalist, PR executive and a politician, she goes on with the words as stated in the Independent “In an interview on BBC2’s Daily Politics show, Ms Evans, the party’s deputy chairwoman, said Mr Farage was a “very divisive character” in terms of the way he was perceived, although she added he was “not divisive as a person”“.

And that went over well? Oh Suzanne, you having a quarter of a century of presentation experience, you did not see this coming? So on a BBC2 show you get the limelight with this expression, what was going on?

So this is where we should wonder, in the first, who was divisive? And was Suzanne Evans trying to create hostility between people, or was she employing deceit to achieve change? Let’s face it, Nigel Farage should NOT have handed in his resignation. It might have seemed like a noble thing to do after losing his constituency, but he was the appeal to millions of voters (3 million voted for HIM), well over 95% were all about Nigel. Was it not XTC that was making plans for Nigel (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXNhL4J_S00)?

So this 70’s song has the following lines:

We’re only making plans for Nigel
We only want what’s best for him
We’re only making plans for Nigel
Nigel just needs that helping hand

Yet the reality is quite different.

His initial wrongful resignation gave way for the acts by MP Douglas Carswell, who is the only UKIP MP with a constituency, now we see the ‘presenting’ words from Suzanne Evans. It is not uncommon for a party to see the seconds in command to ruffle the feathers to get the limelight. In Australia we had Julia Gillard, who must have heard about that Julius Caesar play and thought, she could do that too. Yet, the opposite view of this can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqXq5n4-ta4. There is no clear point on what exactly happened. Yet, is an internal hostile takeover so unimaginable? Now consider the Gillard clip at 6:33 “Over dinner Bill Shorten organised the revolt”, isn’t he in charge of the Australian Labour party now? So as we have seen these acts before and we will see them again in the future, we must wonder what exactly was the endgame, Suzanne Evans had in mind, because someone with 25 years of experience does not go on the air on BBC 2 so unprepared, especially when you are the spokesperson. This was about something else entirely. Was it to clear the decks, to stir change? You see, if she had planned this and if the responses were monitored, could an aggressive outspoken Nigel Farage in the media have been the endgame of round one?

You see, no matter how fired she is getting now, if Douglas Carswell is trying to refocus the minds of the UKIP voters, than this was not a bad play to get momentum on change. That view is getting stronger when we see the BBC article ‘Douglas Carswell does not fit in with UKIP – ex-Nigel Farage aide‘ of June 11th (at http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33089917), where we see the quote “He said: “I think he sees UKIP as a way of being an independent, whereas actually the way of being an independent is to sit as an independent MP“. Now the funny part is, is that I saw that same thing coming on May 16th, so more than a month earlier in my blog ‘You be Kipping?’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2015/05/16/you-be-kipping/). Interesting that I had this view 5 weeks earlier than the insiders who reported on this. Equally interesting is the quote by Raheem Kassam as he states “he was so embarrassed of some people working for the party during the election he had to lock them behind closed doors when showing journalists around UKIP headquarters“, which was a BBC quote from the Guardian. I think that those ‘embarrassments’ might be regarded as political newbies, utterly devoid of political correctness. In that atmosphere trained conservatives like Douglas Carswell and Suzanne Evans could steer themselves reasonably fast into positions of power and shortly thereafter takeover. They would have sit quietly a little longer if UKIP has secured more constituencies, but they came second in many places, which means that their power play would get delayed for 5 years. Now, if the EU gets truly exited, UKIP will get a lot stronger as they advocated change long before the Conservatives did. The Conservative party wanted to hang on in the European group because until recent, it should have been the best course of action. It is the irresponsible acts by Greece and those ‘partially dancing to their own needs’ is why the step to secede is now stronger than ever. If the IMF and creditors had been massively firm from the beginning, this play might never have happened. Yet the inactions and allowing Greece to add close to 100 billion more in debt and even today as there could be another possible increase in the Emergency Liquidity Assistance facility, yet the amount is unknown (10 minutes ago, Reuters reported that there will be an infusion, but the amount is unknown). So at present, with the dangers of what Greece could do to the other nations in Europe, the UK has a first responsibility, which is the UK plain and simple. The fact that Nigel Farage had been saying that all along is not a factor. Yes, in this I did agree with Nigel Farage, but I had in on speculative foresight, a government must make decisions on actual facts and given certainties. There lies the difference; so even as Nigel Farage is now in the camp others are joining, the initial reasoning to enter ‘camp exit-EU’ was not the same.

This is at the heart of the change Carswell and Evans might have been gunning for. If UKIP had made it, they would have waited as their power core would have grown, but now, the valid tactic that a change is best done immediately, not later on. The Gillard move shows this, other moves have shown this and future changes will do the same thing.

I will be the first to state that the tactic was a good one, but to do it so eager on BBC radio 2 was not the wisest of actions (unless Carswell takes over and she gets ‘rehired’), as such Suzanne Evans is now no longer part of UKIP, which beckons the question, what will Nigel Farage do next? His first act is to get a good consultant trainer, to start educating the troops that Raheem Kassam kept behind locked doors. The plain truth is that Suzanne Evans will need to redeem herself somewhere and she knows behind which doors ‘the skeletons’ (read: less politically correct speakers) are. In that regard UKIP needs to bolster defences so that the gain made where they are in second place in several constituencies is not list, moreover, they can grow in almost half a dozen to leading position, which means that those places are all a threat for the labour (and some conservative ones), as this is all about the next wave. It is my view that some wanted to take over, likely both Evans and Carswell dreaming of the New Conservative Independent Strategy (NCIS), would make for great TV on cable would it not? That danger will remain for a little time longer, Carswell has the benefit of being an MP. Nigel Farage needs to work 100% harder (read: twice as hard) to keep the voters of this last election riled, to keep them interested and on point as they could sway even more of their friends. UKIP could become the threat they were meant to be in May 2015. Greece was always a maker or breaker of events, yet to what extent also depends on France and Italy.

That is still underplayed by many speakers all over Europe, also to some extent ignored by analysts all over the field, because the events for UKIP failed to be stronger in parliament, those analysts are promoting (as I personally see it) a managed bad news approach, yet the bigger danger remains Marine Le Pen from National Front. that danger can be seen in ‘France’s Le Pen announces far-right bloc of anti-EU MEPs‘ (at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33147247), the smaller Dutch player Geert Wilders now a lot more prominent will have the option to sway many Dutch voters in another direction too. That danger is not that big in the Netherlands, but it is not 0, so there is a danger and the Financial power players have cut themselves deeply by not acting against Greece a lot harder and a lot sooner, now we see, the consequences when the Status Quo is no longer tolerable: “Forming the group will give the MEPs more influence in the parliament. It will also mean that the new bloc’s members have access to millions of euros in extra funding as well as more staff and speaking time. To be valid, a group needs 25 MEPs from at least seven different nationalities“, so inaction will now have a massive reaction. If Nigel Farage gets to be a stronger speaker and collaborator for pro UK change, that shift will have massive consequences. So even as we read in that same article “UKIP has previously said it was “not interested in any deal” with Ms Le Pen or her party because of ‘prejudice and anti-Semitism in particular’ in the FN. UKIP leader Nigel Farage already heads another anti-immigration alliance in the European Parliament called the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group (EFDD)”, this does not mean that a minor coalition could not exist as it would propagate both views, visions and goals. As this evolves, the acts of Carswell and Evans now get a different light. They could have grown so much stronger if they had only waited it out. Now they will find out that they are in one case cut off completely (Suzanne Evans) and in the other case under non-stop scrutiny for now (Douglas Carswell).

So France will have a massive impact!

That last part is also at the core of the French financial consequences. You will have read on how it would not be an issue, how Michel Sapin had downplayed this on more than one occasion. In Bloomberg we see ‘French Bonds Infected as Greek Crisis Swells Euro-Region Spreads‘ (at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-16/french-bonds-infected-as-greek-crisis-swells-euro-region-spreads), which was given three days ago, long after I had made predictions of this nature (but not by how much). You see, the French debt is at 2.3 trillion Euro (interest around 64 billion per year), Italy is at 2.6 trillion (interest around 110 billion per year). You see as those presenters ‘hide’ behind debt in percentage per GDP, in an age of faltering revenues and no consumers, the entire GDP is a little virtual, even figmentive one could say, in the end, the debt per citizen is €36K for every French, and €43K for every Italian citizen. Again, this is not the right numbers to look at, what does matter is that these budgets need to come up with the annual interest and it needs to be within their budgets, which is not done correctly, so that debt number is only getting bigger, with now an additional push from the  Greek debt and Greek bonds. The UK might not have any part in the Greek bonds, when Greece falls, the Euro debts will need to be covered by the other players. It is the consequence of ONE currency! Which means that with the liquidity infusion, closer to half a trillion could be pushed over the field. Now France and Italy will not be the only one getting a jab to their coffers, but the large four (Germany, UK, France and Italy) will feel that pain, and it will hurt. That part had been downplayed for too long and soon it will be very likely that the callers come calling!

This is the power push both Nigel Farage and Marine Le Pen get to enjoy as they get to say ‘I told you so!’, that will be felt over the next 7 years, which means that the coming elections all over the board will see changes. The consequences and fallout for Greece will directly affect the power that Podemos in Spain (their anti-Austerity party). If Syriza pushes Greece over the edge (which is now more and more likely), Podemos could lose a lot of their voters as they run for the hills towards any political party eager to prevent this from happening to Spain, that too will fuel both UK and France in the next elections. It is too soon to state whether the Euro will stop, but at the centre stage is the need for governments keeping their commitments, which is only a temporary promise, as the next government is always just one election away. Syriza made that abundantly clear above all other issues.

That is the power Nigel Farage can tap into, that is the power Marine Le Pen will very successfully tap into and Geert Wilders will keep afloat in that boat collecting that bonus, but he will unlikely gain the power he would like from the Dutch voters, in that regard he had made too many wild statements, a flaw UKIP must now guard itself from as soon as they possibly can. Because public opinion will remain the killer of UKIP power for some time to come.

 

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You be Kipping?

I took a look at the Labour party yesterday and today we see that not all is well in the ranks and ranges of UKIP either. First to understand the issue, I have to take you back 5 days to an article BBC gave us (at http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32682732), in my view Nigel Farage killed during the elections, they lost a constituency, but overall they have become contenders in at least half a dozen additional districts, so Nigel Farage is making headway. When I read “I’ve ruled myself out… because I can think of at least half a dozen people who could do a better job“, I wondered, who could. Weirdly enough Douglas Carswell was pretty much the only choice remaining should Nigel Farage truly leave as party leader. I remain with the thoughts I had, the next political big-wig should have an economic degree. In many places (read: nations) some advisors seem to be giving weighted financial/economic advice, the advice is not necessarily wrong, but it is weighted to include personal agenda’s as I see it. The next PM needs to be able to see what is real and what is true, in economics those two are not always aligned.

So now we see the initial acts of Carswell and in addition, now we get two extra pieces. The first one is about the call for Farage to step down (at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/16/ukips-only-mp-joins-calls-for-farage-to-step-down), now we see the quote “He praised Farage’s “inspirational” campaign, which helped Ukip to win 3.9m votes at the election, but said that the party should reflect on how it should go forward – without Farage as leader“, which does not even sound nice in theory. Nigel Farage IS UKIP, plain and simple. He did not do it alone, but he took the flak, he took the heat and he stood at the first line of the battlefront every single day. Now, we see how Carswell, a snake in my definition, went rogue from the Tory side, now sheltered under UKIP as only remaining MP is seeing his option to take over and turn UKIP down the track into a mellowed independent side to make it all a little more leaning towards conservatives, especially as LD lost the power it did, an amalgamation of those powers would work out well for Carswell. If you think that this is out of the question, then realise the part I voiced earlier in my article ‘the after election party‘ on May 9th 2015. UKIP and LD seem to complement each other, so the step that UKIP turns independent and then see what of the Liberal Democrats Carswell can gain is not a bad option, you see the former conservative could not hack the ‘stairs’ to promotion the old way, so he changed his allegiance and in the by-election got the new coat. Now Carswell seems to have found his way to subterfuge and walk another path to his promoted life. Is this what is actual fact? It is just supposition as I see it from my point of view, yet is that so far-fetched? In addition to the article we need to consider Thursdays news (at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/14/nigel-farage-facing-a-coup-over-ukip-leadership), ‘Nigel Farage ‘facing a coup’ over UKIP leadership‘, here we see the quotes “Festering tensions at the heart of the party broke into the open after Patrick O’Flynn, the party’s campaign director, said Farage had turned into a “snarling, thin-skinned and aggressive” man during the election and warned of it turning into a personality cult” and “But a senior UKIP source said he had no doubt that a coup was under way, despite O’Flynn’s claims of loyalty. The source also claimed the deputy chairman, Suzanne Evans, as well as the party’s only MP, Douglas Carswell, and much of the UKIP press office in London appeared to be working together to undermine Farage“, which gives a reasonable indication that we are seeing a change with Carswell at the top and very likely O’Flynn as the new number two guy. Yet, when that happens there will no longer be an UKIP, it will shift towards a more general independent party based on the ‘CarFly’, or is that ‘FlyWell’ philosophy? Whatever name it holds, it will soon enough no longer be UKIP, not what the voters chose at least. I have my issues with Nigel Farage, yet the words on anti-EU are growing faster and faster in the UK, the Greek issue is only one cog in all this, yet it is the most visible one for now.

In all this UKIP will have to adapt to the minority is remains for now, but one where the infighting will become a larger issue. You see, the ‘leaders’ all hoped for a few more seats, which means that the top 5 players had the option for ‘a better life’, but that did not happen, they grew and they remain growing if they play their cards right, but the change is not the one Carswell considered and now he needs to get ahead. There is this old passage that states that it is better to rule in hell then to serve in heaven. This is what seems to be playing out. Will he be successful in playing the game he is?

I would not trust a person playing this game, because he who turns once, will turn again. Nigel Farage inherited this mess as we laid down his sceptre. Even though only one area was lost, implying a loss of 50%, the overall gain is pretty phenomenal. He should not have resigned as such. The fact that the UKIP members still want him is good enough, yet, here wonder what O’Flynn and Carswell opted for. They stated yes, and now they are playing for leadership. It seems that they are now playing with an open deck. This is the game of politics, to some extent we can accept that, but do the voters understand this?

The strongest quote we see comes from Arron Banks, a business man behind Southern Rock Insurance Company and the Brightside group. The quote is ““The truth is that Carswell got 25,000 votes but Nigel got 4m. The rank and file members know that. Nigel got 99.6% of the total votes to Carswell’s 0.4%,” he told the FT. “Patrick needs to look at himself before he goes around criticising others. They should let Nigel have a holiday after a long hard election rather than plotting a coup d’état.”” Arron is closer to the truth than many consider. When you combine the information and quotes from both the Guardian and the BBC, we see a play that puts Douglass Carswell and Patrick O’Flynn in the axis of a subterfuge coated overtake.

Will Nigel Farage rise to the challenge? That remains the question, but he better do it fast and he had better figured out who are the true leaders who believe in his party and who are there to overtake it all (or be in it for whatever selfish reason). As a conservative I will be reasonably happy to see the UKIP danger diminish, yet the way it is happening in is a little less clean. The fact and reality remains that should Nigel overcome the issues, the party will unite and possibly get stronger a lot faster, the players did not consider that, they just looked at the opportunity to take over, they do not wonder on the fallout that follows if they fail.

I have to wonder where UKIP will go to next, it all depends on those who remain standing when the dust settles. In the end, Arron banks stated it clear ‘Nigel got 4,000,000 votes‘, so Nigel should move visibly and vocally to settles his party. That’s just my view on this situation.

If you are a UKIP member, then you answer to yourself: ‘where do you truly stand?’

 

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