What next for UKIP

Now that the Withdrawal Agreement has been signed (renamed the UK-EU TRADE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT) we have to accept this as the Brexit deal - the only one we're going to get.

So we have to ask: Is there still a role for UKIP or do we have to quietly fold up our tents and disappear into the night?

Or is there something important still to do?

To see what a new vision might be, let's pause for a moment to reflect on why so many of us joined UKIP in the first place. In my own case (Norman Taylor), I had not been interested in politics for some years. This was partly because I was living abroad and partly because I was too busy raising a family, running a business and trying to make a living. I think I somehow assumed that nothing much had changed since the defeat of Hitler and the collapse of Communism. If there had been any changes they were a follow-up to the defeat of these anti-democratic philosophies.  It seemed likely that we were moving steadily forward to a more equal and democratic world.  And then I read a draft of the Maastricht Treaty.

My first reaction was one of shock. Had we and our allies defeated militant tyranny only to see it re-established through politics? Surely everyone could see through this attempt to implement the visions of Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin for a Europe run by the unelected. Why would laws only be initiated by an unelected Commission? Why were regulations to be imposed on all countries irrespective of their differences? Why would a Parliament have so few powers? Why was debate effectively stifled? Why were countries to disappear into a Europe of the regions? Who voted to install a Franco/German empire? We certainly didn't in Britain; John Major never put it to the people.

As I read, studied more and discussed politics with senior figures in the Commission and elsewhere, I realised that the Treaty was no aberration but the expression of a new world philosophy with roots in both Fascism and Communism. They both propose that the world is too complex for ordinary people to understand and so power has to be exercised by an intelligent and educated 'elite'. This self-serving philosophy is gleefully accepted by both the extreme left and right who hold the same contemptuous views of 'the people'.

But the philosophy is not limited to extremists on the left and right. As one moderate, well-educated  acquaintance  put it to me:

"I cannot accept democracy in everything as the people may then vote for things I disagree with".  He said this without blinking and without realising just how arrogant it is.

It has become clear to me that this philosophy has gained so much ground that it is accepted without question as the 'natural order'. No longer do we question being governed by the unelected in the United Nations, or the judges and quangos in Britain.

This, then, is the mission for UKIP - to build a true democracy in Britain for the rest of the world to follow.

We need to ensure that

all public organisations exercising power over us are directly led by genuinely elected representatives e.g.

● Abolish the House of Lords - replace it with an elected Senate of 100 members.

● Judges on the Supreme Court to be elected

● Proceed with the Boundary Commission’s proposals for more equal voting numbers in constituencies.

• Ambassadors and United Nations representatives to be elected.

●  National and Local Referenda on issues which cut across party lines and when demanded by 20% of the affected electorate - outcomes to be binding.

●   All Heads of State Organisations to be elected for set terms of 4/5 years e.g.:

·         Prime Minister, Quangos, Local Hospital managers, Judges, Chief Constables, Universities, Academies.

·         Elections for these appointments to coincide with national and local elections

●  Localise the NHS and introduce an insurance-based system like that of The Netherlands.

The above is not an exhaustive list. Some of the measures are already UKIP policy, the rest follow naturally from a deep desire for democracy. It is also not ‘pie in the sky’: many similar measures have been tried and tested in democracies in the USA and Switzerland.

We also need to recognise that the 'traditional' parties will never do these things; they have too much interest in maintaining the status quo. Only an independent party like UKIP can address the issues.

But, to introduce them in the UK, we need first to develop simple messages that resonate with ordinary people. Such messages must be straight talking and in ordinary language people will understand. Social media is winning this short attention span war and both main parties know this.

●  Decide on Democracy

With a new philosophy and (better) key phrases, we can zoom down to manifesto-level policies e.g.

• An assembly for England. Located in the Midlands/North.

• Re-define the sovereign’s role in protecting democracy e.g. ability to reject transfers of power abroad.

• Introduce a modern Treason Act.

• Contracts of employment for MPs, including grounds for dismissal.

• A time limit for MPs’ tenures e.g. three terms.

• Eliminate the roles of unelected Special Advisers.

• End unscientific and expensive ‘climate change’ prevention actions.

• End the BBC's licence fee which amounts to a left-leaning support tax

• Provision of Grammar Schools to be decided by the local electorate.

As with our proposals to leave the EU, it will take many years to convince the electorate. Once again, we will be smeared as ‘loonies and fruitcakes’ – until the voices of the people force the ‘elite’ to accept our arguments. It has happened before; it can happen again.

NB The above does not represent official UKIP policy but is a proposal from UKIP Ashford members as a contribution to the debate about the future of the Party.