17/09/2016 Westminster Hall

Are we all feeling re-energised after yesterday? I have to say after

the gala dinner I hope to see more. Thank you for coming on our second

day here in Bournemouth. It's going to be a very interesting day. As

some of you will hopefully be aware, the new leader has requested a few

amendments to the agenda for today so there is a revised agenda. Some

point mid-morning we will put that on the screen to remind everybody

who is speaking and at what times. I will hand over briefly for the

chairman for this morning's sessions are deputy treasurer. I will be back

to present some gold medals as chairman later and to chair the

afternoon sessions. I hope you have a good morning. I want to make it

clear what we are doing with regard to motions, and exciting element of

today's agenda. Proposed motions are being printed. We left it late so

people could have as much time as possible to submit them. We have

chosen five motions which we will try to discuss being printed on

pieces of paper to be put up outside the conference hall. Have a read of

them, if you wish to propose or second the motion or Paul Jordan aim

down to argue against, please do, then we will argue those later in

the day. I will hand over to our deputy treasurer. APPLAUSE.

Welcome, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, today. I think it's going

to be some very good speakers, so I do see some people with some heavy

head today, so I think you all had a good night, or some of you did last

night. Perhaps too much. But without any further ado I would like to

introduce you to Julia Reid MEP, the Ukip South West MEP and the health

spokesman. APPLAUSE. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen

and welcome to the second day of the first national conference to be held

since our successful EU referendum campaign led to 17 million people

voted to leave the European Union on the 23rd of June. CHEERING. As those

of you who are here yesterday no Friday saw the departure of three of

the people who had been fundamental in the success of our party and the

EU referendum campaign, and first to deliver his farewell speech was Paul

Nuttall, who after six years stepped down as deputy leader. He was

followed by Steve Crowther, who has also decided to relinquish the role

of party Chairman after six years, and finally, we were treated to our

outgoing party leader 's speech, which saw Nigel on top form as

usual. Like me, many of you felt we were at the end of an era, although

they are not all here today, please can I ask you to give a huge round

of applause to all that these three individuals have done for Ukip and

our country -- applause for all they have done.

So, as the pre-thing-mac referendum era ended yesterday, the

post-referendum era began with the announcement that Diane James was

elected by a sizeable margin as our new party leader. APPLAUSE.

In her first speech to conference in her new role, she explained her 100

day plan and her vision of how Ukip will move forward towards winning

seats at Westminster in the next general election. Telling to reason

me that we are the opposition in waiting. APPLAUSE. She finished by

saying that as one grammar schoolgirl to another, and as a

grammar school girl myself I understand what she means, Theresa

May had to stop messing about and get on with Brexit. APPLAUSE. I am

sure all of you today will join me in congratulating her on becoming

Ukip's first female party leader, and pledge our support to her as we

now move forward on the next stage of our journey as one of the UK's

newest and most exciting political parties. APPLAUSE Fatah side we had

excellent speeches from William Dartmouth, our trade spokesman --

that aside, who explained why the UK does not to be in the single market

-- need to be in the single market to trade with the EU. Lord Stevens

of Ludgate who delivered an entertaining speech about the EU

referendum in the context of Westminster and House of Lords was

also extremely amusing. We also had excellent speeches from one of our

EF DDE colleagues, Peter Lundgren, the MP, one of the Sweden Democrats,

and from six Ukip MEPs, we heard on their briefs, on the Commonwealth,

fisheries, immigration, how to win elections, which you must agree with

me as most important, and about Scotland, and finishing up our

conference yesterday with a round-up brief about energy. The day was

finished by an excellent gala dinner which took place at the Hilton. I

for one have the most enjoyable evening and would like to thank the

organisers, Paul Oakton, Lizzie Fade and Diane Baulch. Thank you for

those who made the effort. APPLAUSE. I would like to thank those

important people who put their hands in their pockets, off on numerous

occasions, in response to the various fundraising activities they

had last night, so thank you for your continued support to our party

funds. APPLAUSE. We have today's excellent programmer speeches to

look forward to and I hope you will also visit the exhibition area

upstairs and a fringe meetings being held today as well. On a more

personal note, I can tell you that as a founder Member of Ukip who

campaigned long and hard for a EU referendum, the result of the 24th

of June was an extremely joyous occasion, one I had been campaigning

for on and off for many years. In Poole, where the votes were being

collated, it was extremely nerve wracking as at the beginning of the

Count it looked like the result could go either way. This was made

even worse by the Remain supporters gleefully announcing as we walked in

that Nigel had just conceded defeat. Nigel can be wrong occasionally, not

very often, but just occasionally. For those of us who are long-term

Ukip members, the last 23 years has been a lesson in triumph of hope

over despair. As Nigel said yesterday, we have had our highs and

downloads, and I believe it is indicative of our determination and

courage in the face of adversity that we now find ourselves on the

brink of Brexit. All too often, we have had people telling us that we

were wasting our time, that we'd never get a referendum, and even if

we did, the British people would never leave the EU. But despite

this, we carried on, delivering leaflets, holding meetings, and

standing in elections, even though we were often ridiculed for polling

only a few votes. However, far from being a waste of time, all those

leaflets we delivered sowed the seeds of Brexit, as more and more

people rallied to our cause. I'd like to just give thanks to all

those people who get out on the streets in all weathers and stick

leaflets through doors and hold street stands, and we must applaud

them because they have brought us where we are today, so thank you

very much. APPLAUSE. . So, here we are now, those people who told us we

were wasting our time have been proved wrong, and we have shown what

a small band of passionate and committed activists can achieve when

they are led by a brilliant, charismatic leader such as Nigel.

Diane, I am certain, in her own way, will continue to inspire us to ever

greater success, so our party is going forward, and roll on the next

general election. APPLAUSE. I would like to finish with a few words

about Gibraltar, as an MP for Southwest County and Gibraltar, I am

proud to represent the people who live on the rock, and this time last

week I was there to help celebrate their national day. Unlike we

Brexiteers, who were thrilled by the result of the EU referendum, the

prospect of a Brexit has come as an unwelcome shock to the majority of

people from Gibraltar. The 96%, as they call themselves, are

understandably concerned as to how Brexit will affect them bearing in

mind their neighbour to the north. However, the vast majority

recognised that in the same way as they do not want to share their

sovereignty with Spain, the majority of the British people do not want to

share their 70 with 27 other Member states. APPLAUSE. -- share their

sovereignty. They are concerned they may be used as a bargaining chip

during the Brexit negotiations. On a number of occasions during my time

there, the chief Minister said, as Brexit means Brexit, British means

British, no means no to shared sovereignty with Spain, and

friendship means friendship. On that note I would urge all of us in Ukip

to reaffirm our party's commitment to the people of Gibraltar. APPLAUSE

. And to continue to support them in

their desire and determination to Remain independent, self-governing

and British. Thank you. And on that note, I would

just like to say, please enjoy your day. APPLAUSE.

Thank you, Julia. The conference, from that, shows a resounding

support for Gibraltar, and I think we all agree with that. Mark

Harland, is he here? He is. There you are. I thought you were going to

come here. Our next Speaker is Mark Harland, the chief executive of

Sovereign Draw, one of the great methods we use to raise money for

Ukip, and all the things we need to do in electioneering, so Mark will

tell us more, thank you very much. APPLAUSE.

I am slightly earlier on the programme than originally planned so

it's just as well I came downstairs. APPLAUSE. Mr Chairman, ladies and

gentlemen come good morning, once again it is my pleasure and

privilege to present an update, progress report on the Sovereign

Draw, Ukip's very own lottery. I hope you have already seen the back

page of our excellent conference programme in which we have

highlighted the achievements to date of the Sovereign Draw, which is now

in its fifth year, believe it or not. So what I am going to do now is

going to a bit more detail and tell you a bit more about what we have

said on the back. Raising the necessary funds to function has

always been a major problem for any political party. More so for us in

Ukip, who don't have the backing of the establishment's deep pockets nor

the parties with donations from big unions, but that is what makes us

different, and long may that continue. APPLAUSE.

Launched over four years ago at the 2012 sprinkle friends in Skegness

which seems a lifetime away, the