16/09/2016 - Live Afternoon Session UKIP Conference

They are doing the knocking up for us. It is a remarkable exercise and

it is not difficult. Don't over promise. Don't promise at all. I

never promise I say to people look, we'll do everything we can for you,

but I can't make promises we're not in power. When we are, hopefully we

will, but it is those simple things you can do and do them well and in

the next few weeks we will be producing a guide to tell and

instruct how you can make a difference like we have done because

in your seats, they maybe more demo graphically suited to Ukip you can

make that difference and if you start acting like a councillor

people will reward you by making you their councillor. It takes hard

work, but if you knock on the doors and you start off saying, "I'm Tim

Acre, is there anything we can do to help? Blimey, I thought you were

going to put your arm out and instruct me to vote for you." That

keeps the door open for 30 seconds more because you're offered

something. You're the boss. The people are the boss and there is a

why Ukip have grown as successful because the other three parties have

forgotten what that means. APPLAUSE

They were given an incredible reminder on polling day. This

referendum is a revolution. People who know me, I always say the

revolution is coming and the revolution is coming, but just not

on the BBC! It has redemocrat advertised our countriment all the

people who registered to vote, voted for Brexit. They now know where

their constituency polling stations. When you vote once, you have vote

many times over. I lost by 800 votes last year. But 3,000 people

registered for the referendum, what might have been? But you don't win

the next war by fighting the last one. If you two streets a week it

makes a difference because people will say, "I saw the Ukip lot out

the other week. They are knocking on doors. You only see the others at

election time." We can do this and I'm optimistic of the way forward

because the other parties now, they're broke. Theresa May can't

smile. LAUGHTER

And resorted to taking our policies and packaging them in a way that

would question them in the first place. The Labour Party, well, the

Labour Party, goodness me. Well done Agent Corbyn, you're doing a

fantastic job! There is one more, the ginger one from up north! Well,

you know, and we have that opportunity because Brexit allows us

to solve the nation's problems and when you look at what issues are

coming they affect us in Local Government. Who heard of pay to

stay? No. A couple. I see a couple. Pay to stay is a Tory poor tax. It

is a tax on the poorest in society. They're going to levy taxes on

council tenants who you could have a married couple earning ?15,000 a

year, they would be taxed by virtue of living in a council house. Do any

of you think that's fair at all? And you think of the money we're sending

abroad in foreign aid and they decide to tax our poorest. I don't

care in the Labour Party is in a shamble and I don't care if Theresa

May thinks it is not OK to be elected Prime Minister, you disgust

me with your politics. Why is this Conservative Party, this

Conservative Government so keen to squeeze the poorest in our society

so that they can throw billions overseas? They should be ashamed of

themselves. APPLAUSE

We now can branch out and create policy positions that can attract a

new wave of support to us and I'm very confident under Diane's

leadership we will go from being a 13% party to a 23% or 33% party. We

can do it. We are the people's army, aren't we?

Well, I tell you what, if she wants to wait until 2020, that's fine by

me because it gives me four years to sharpen my pitchfork!

We have an incredible opportunity, but get out there. Let's speak to

the people. The people rose up and now they're looking for political

leadership. We can do this. Our best days are so far ahead of us and each

day that passes gets us one step closer to achieving that dream we

have of this country being the greatest in the world. We are Great

Britain, let's not let the Tories or the Labour Party or the Liberal

Democrats talk us down anymore. Let's get our country back the get

out there, talk to the people, and let's make sure this country is

great once again. Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE Well, that's the whole zest of it is a winning formula from

somebody with great experience and I think as we become more professional

in what we do with council elections and the branches and hence we had

the first branch chairman's conference in Derby a couple of

months ago and that is what we intend to do. So we will win and

thank you Tim for all your clear advice.

Moving on to north of the border to, also a great rugby nation I have to

say, David Coburn. APPLAUSE

Hello conference. How are we all doing? Good, well, Michael Crick

asked me this morning before I had my porridge, he said, "What's the

purpose of Ukip now you've got Brexit? What's the purpose of that?"

I said well, Mrs May has stolen all our ideas, she has stolen our

policies, what would she do if Ukip seized to exist. It is more

important than ever to make sure we are around, to make sure the ruling

party, whether it be Labour or Conservative have something to think

about. And hopefully we will become that ruling party. That's my

objective. That's our objective in England and it is certainly our

objective in Scotland where the Labour Party have completely

collapsed. APPLAUSE

Well, I can tell you, the only campaigners for Brexit on the

streets of Scotland were kippers! Scottish kippers! Tom Harris the

former Labour MP or MSP, he is an MP, I believe, who is running the

Vote Leave campaign for the Tories stoogies, he was invisible as was

his campaign. And Go in Scotland, they were completely manned by

Ukipers, it was Ukip that won it. The SNP expected 80/20, well we got

60/40, we didn't win, but 40% is a good number of people.

APPLAUSE If it hadn't been for those Scottish

kippers out on the streets I can tell you right now, it would have

been 80/20. Thanks to all the Scottish kippers that got out there

and lots of other people came up from England to help us as well.

APPLAUSE Sadly the Scottish election well, it

was a re-run of the general election, something we expected

here. We got squeezed and the Scots voted, more importantly, to stop the

SNP. That was their greatest fear, it worried them more than the

European situation. The vote coming from the Labour Party, about 10%,

shot across to the Tories because they were already in the Parliament

and the BBC kept us off the media which was a disgrace. But anyway, a

lot of votes went there and it stopped sturgeon having a majority

Government which was the objective. Sadly, but we did very well, we

increased our vote massively. It is always a good thing to do that and

we are moving more and more towards getting people elected and that's

our objective in Scotland. I think that Route Davidson has let down the

Conservatives in Scotland. She was very rampantly prothe European Union

and that has upset a lot of Scottish Conservatives. Many of them are

hoping, or wishing to vote for Ukip and the only thing that's holding

them back is the fear of Scottish nationalism and I'm going to be

working with fibre of my being to get across the idea that they can

safely vote for Ukip and that will be a vote that will work in

Scotland. APPLAUSE Some of our campaigns have

gone very well. We had a campaign about the named person Act. It was

brought up by the SNP. They wanted someone to check on every home in

Scotland, to check on every child. That's not on. That's not a

democratic society. We made a fuss about it. We were on the telly about

it a lot and we galvanised the other parties who voted for it and the

Conservatives abstained so they were equally guilty. We were the only

party in Scotland opposing this and we won and it was in the courts,

they have turned around and said this was illegal legislation and

said the perpetrators were authoritarian and that's from the

Supreme Court. APPLAUSE

This shows that Ukip in Scotland are being effective and we will be more

effective. Well, wee Jimmy Cranky has been running around Europe

speaking to every president there is plus all the presidents in the

European Parliament. I think there are five of them. Seven of them, is

there? Good lord, I must have missed a couple. Anyway, there are too many

of them I can assure and you're paying for them, you lucky people.

Jimmy Cranky was running around making the big oh, Scotland is

staying in, we're going to have a special deal. Well, I went to see

president, what's he called? President Shults he invited me in

for coffee. I thought I'll have a convention with him and see what he

says. Anyway, he said Scotland will not have a special deal. There will

be no special deal. He received, wee Jimmy Cranky as he would receive any

Prime Minister, from any of the German States as a matter of

courtesy. There will be no deal. We entered the European Union together,

we must leave the European Union together and that is that.

APPLAUSE He told me, he no more wanted the bellicanisation of

European States than we do. He doesn't want for example the

problems in Spain with various parts of Spain wishing to remove

themselves. He doesn't want to aggravate that or any of the

problems that are happening in other parts of Europe. He is not

interested in that, so whatever she says, she is talking nonsense.

Brexit will be Brexit and Scotland will be out. She has to stop this

nonsense because what she is doing is harming the Scottish economy.

Scotland needs certainty, it needs to know where it is going, that it

needs to be part of the United Kingdom. We voted for it. More Scots

voted to remain in the United Kingdom than voted to leave the -

remain in the European Union. We need to stay in the United Kingdom

to make sure our country is strong. We cannot divorce from our nearest

and closest ally in England that we have been together for with for the

best part of 300, nearly 400 years, it is simply not on. Scots knew when

they voted in the referendum on Scottish independence that we would

be voting in the future. We must abide by the rules and the Scottish

Nationalists have got to get that through their head.

APPLAUSE Inconveniently from Madam surgeon, a third of SNP voters voted

for Brexit. Not all of them like the idea of being ruled from bles

anymore than we do. According to section 3 of the Scotland Act the

First Minister cannot pronounce on the constitution. She should get on

with the business of running a country where it has got a ?7

billion deficit and sort that out first.

We can't have a barbed wire fence 50 miles from Edinburgh, it is

unimaginable. She is bringing in so many immigrants. She wants to bring

more and more into Scotland and she is desperate to keep them, she is

putting them on Scottish islands! Presumably because they can't escape

so quickly! A lot of them want to move to

Birmingham and London where there are more people of their own

background, and they want to start their own business. And in Scotland,

where the already problems with unemployment, it is bad for the

people who already live there and they cannot set up their own

businesses. And these people are proud, they want to contribute to

society. It is not fair of her to people in and to think Scotland is a

separate unit. We must work on our frontiers as Great Britain, not as

individual parts of the United Kingdom. We need to be ahead of the

game on this. We have to start thinking how Scotland, Ireland other

parts of the UK fit in so that we do not have a problem with the

different parliaments and the rights of those parliaments and the rest of

it, and all the arguments that account for that. We must try and

persuade people that having a parliament is a good thing, but we

must have a UK Parliament, and that is important. We must start making

sure that the constitution is something we will develop. Ukip are

the only people not frightened to talk about change. The other parties

don't want to talk about change. We do. To that end, we have been

working on a constitution that can work to keep the United Kingdom

together. That is our objective. I suggested the idea of an ancient

Saxon name for the parliament. We need to try and make sure the

British constitution works. We cannot go on with this Civil War

being created by the SNP. But the good news is that they are starting

to fail. People are realising they are not sensible. They are not

bringing solutions. Just shouting Scotland is not going to solve

unemployment or a deficit in the economy. Now is the chance for Ukip.

The Labour Party has collapsed, there are a lot of votes to be got

there. I am going to go after those votes. I will make sure we have good

representation in Scotland and perhaps in the future, a Scottish

Government which is the Ukip flavour. So there you go. Thank you,

David. Now we go on to somebody who is as extremely experienced in his

field, a long term Ukip exponent. If you have ever heard him speak on the

subject of energy to a technical conference, I have no idea what he's

talking about. But hopefully, it will be broader today. He may touch

on Hinkley, on, off, whatever is going on, and where from here? Roger

Homer, MEP. Good afternoon, everyone. It is

shaping up to be a great party conference. We have heard super

stuff from David Cockburn and other MEP colleagues from this platform,

so you can see what a great team there is in Brussels and I am happy

and proud to work with those guys. This is our first conference since

our great victory in the Brexit referendum. This is the conference

where we say farewell to Nigel Farage, at least as party leader,

although I think we will see a lot of him in the future, and where we

beat as our new party leader Diane James. I would like to add my voice

to the tributes that have already been paid to Nigel. Each of us in

this hall today has played a part in the Brexit campaign. But I doubt we

would have won it without all the tireless efforts that Nigel has made

both during the campaign and during the two decades when he led and

inspired the party. We all know that Nigel is going to be a tough act to

follow, but we wish Diane James every success is our new party

leader. She has a very challenging job to do, but she has the skills,

the character, the determination and the media savvy to succeed. I am

sure she can count on the support that all of us in this hall and

throughout the party in the task that she has undertaken. Diane will

be making her own decisions and appointments for policy spokesmen

for the party. If so be, I shall be happy to pass on my responsibility

for industry and energy to whomever she chooses to a point. But I have

had the privilege of speaking on energy for the party for the last

four and a half years, so perhaps I may take a few seconds to outline a

few key thoughts on that policy area. First of all, nuclear. I have

always been convinced that nuclear energy must be a key element in a

rational British energy policy. So initially, I welcomed the decision

to proceed with a new nuclear power station, Hinkley C. But I have

become increasingly concerned about the costs. Nuclear power is

potentially cheaper over the lifetime of a reactor, yet we have

struck a deal which makes nuclear energy as expensive as offshore

wind, and that at a time when fossil fuel prices are declining. Add to

that the increasing concerns over security with the Chinese

involvement, and we have to conclude that Hinkley C is a bad deal for

Britain. In fact, I would draw a parallel. It is a vanity project. It

is grossly expensive, and I would put it alongside High Speed two is

one of those white elephants which are going to burden our children and

grandchildren with debt. Let's turn to renewables. I am the party have

been opposed to wind and solar for a range of reasons, but mostly because

they put at risk both affordability and energy security. That is true

today, but we need to watch developments closely, because the

costs of solar and wind are reducing. The industry is claiming

what they call parity for renewables. They are wrong to do so,

because they choose to ignore the additional costs caused by the

intermittency of renewables. But equally, there are rapid

developments going on in large-scale energy storage. Today, we don't have

the massive storage which would overcome the intermittency problem,

but in ten years' time, we may well have. That doesn't mean we are wrong

to oppose renewables today. If I am right and renewables will become

economically viable, with reduced costs and massive storage capacity

by 2025, we shall still look back and ask why we squandered vast

resources covering the country with equipment which, from that future

vantage point, will look hopelessly clunky am old-fashioned and

inefficient. So let's keep those thoughts in mind. Then let's

consider gas. It was the Labour statesman Aneurin Bevan, and the

Labour Party used to have statesmen back in the day, Aneurin Bevan said

Britain is an island made mainly of coal and surrounded by fish. And

colleagues, we will have those fish back after Brexit. But if Aneurin

Bevan were around today, he might say that Britain was an island built

on gas and surrounded by fish. There are real concerns amongst the public

about shale gas and possibly some concerns in the party. That is not

surprising, given the negative propaganda we have seen surrounding

the technology. But an independent Britain needs an independent power

supply, and we cannot afford to ignore the potential under our feet.

If the shale gas reserves are anywhere near some of the estimates,

the impact on the economy, prosperity, jobs and energy security

and balance of payments and tax revenues will be dramatic. It would

be irresponsible to ignore so great an opportunity. But let's return to

the main theme of our conference today, Brexit. During the referendum

campaign, I was careful to warn of possible economic volatility after

the Brexit vote. I felt that if we won the Brexit vote, we would face

months, perhaps years of negative headlines. I thought our job would

be to go out there and say, hang in there, there will be benefits. But I

have been amazed by the headlines we are getting. We are doing better

than my wildest dreams. There has been no Emergency Budget. Mortgage

rates have not rocketed. House prices have not slumped. The FTSE is

ahead of its pre-Brexit level. High street spending is up. Confidence

has recovered in service and manufacturing. Cars are selling.

There is a tourist boom in London and across the country. Hotels, bars

and restaurants are full and that is not just Kippers celebrating!

Countries around the world frustrated in their efforts to

negotiate with the EU are queueing up to open up trade talks on deals

with the newly independent UK. OK, the pound is down, but that has

proved a tonic for exporters and has had a huge positive impact on our

balance of payments. Many economists would agree that the pound was in

any case overvalued and needed an adjustment. So what has suffered

from Brexit? The reputation of George Osborne has suffered. And of

the Treasury, and of Mark Carney at the Bank of England. And the IMF,

and President Obama, and assorted banks and consultants and

accountancy firms and ratings agencies. They all called it wrong.

This is an example of groupthink at its worst. Some of the whining

Remainiacs are calling for a second referendum. But what would they say?

This guy didn't fall. Project via has imploded. It has vanished in a

puff of smoke -- Project Fear. They have no case to argue. On social

media, some voices are saying that now we have won, Ukip can pack up

and go home, mission accomplished. No more to be done. Some suggest

that the Ukip MEPs should resign in a body in a great gesture of

triumphant hubris. But remember that our country has voted for Brexit,

but we don't have Brexit yet. Today, Britain is still a fully paid-up

member of the EU. We are still subject to EU law. We are still

paying billions for the so-called privilege of membership, and we have

a Prime Minister who insists that Brexit is Brexit, but doesn't seem

to know what Brexit means. So let's tell her. Brexit means independence.

It means we are no longer subject to EU laws and EU policies. It means we

will pay nothing to the EU budget. We will control our own borders and

our immigration and our fisheries. And as a strong and independent

nation, we will make the same sort of deal with the EU that we would

make with America or China or any other country. We will not accept

the Swiss or the Norwegian models and the dodgy compromises with

Brussels. APPLAUSE So colleagues, our job is

not finished yet. We have to hold Theresa May's kitten heels to the

fire, to make sure there is no back sliding. I occasionally read a

little poetry or history and although I'm not a religious man I

found a prayer of Sir Francis Drake which fits the bill for these

circumstances. Sir Francis Drake faced the Spanish armada, possibly

the greatest military machine the world had seen, but they say he

insisted on finishing his game of bowls before going down to blow the

European fleet out of the water. What was his player, Oh Lord god to

endeavour any great matter, grant us to know that it is not the

beginning, but the continuing of the same until the endks until it be

thoroughly finished which yield ith the great glory. Colleagues, we have

won battle, but the war won't be won until Britain is independent again.

APPLAUSE Colleagues, I said to begin with

that we owe a great debt of gratitude to Nigel Farage, not just

in this hall today, but the whole party and indeed, the whole country.

But perhaps just perhaps, the whole of Europe will also be in his debt.

About in no doubt that our Brexit victory has inspired others across

Europe. The Swedish Democrats, wasn't it wonderful to have one of

their representatives with us today with his message, but it is not just

Sweden, there is the AFG in Germany and the five-star movement and the

group in Eastern Europe which is in revolt against Brussels' migrant

plans. Let me close with one last quotation from William Pitt the

younger in his last City of London speech in 1805 after our victory in

the Battle of Trafalgarment he said, "England has saved herself by her

exertions and will save Europe by her example." Colleagues like Martin

Luther King I have a dream, a dream of a free and prosperous Europe of

democratic sovereign nations linked only by free trade and voluntary

inter-governmental co-operation. I believe that that dream is closer

today than it has ever been in my lifetime. And if it comes about,

much of the credit will be due to this party. To Ukip. We did it. Well

done, colleagues. Well done. APPLAUSE

Well, I told you he was an expert. Isn't it interesting conference,

isn't it really interesting we have in Ukip some of the highest

experienced spokesmen in various areas, when compared with some of

the other parties and what they babble on about without any

experience and never having proper jobs! Anyway, I have one special

announcement. The Ukip in London Assembly drinks reception. It is in

the function room between 5pm the Hilton Hotel. All welcome. I hope

they have got a big room and a lot of drinks! In closing what today is

a momentous day of change and the end of an era I would like to ask

our party chairman to come back and close the conference for today.

APPLAUSE Ladies and gentlemen, have you had a

good day? Yes. One final cheer if I may for three of our excellent MEPs.

Spo APPLAUSE

In all the years that Steve couther was the chairman I don't think he

ever finished a conference day early. So I'm about to do something

that I'm going to have fun with him in years to come. We've got through

our agenda. That's extra helpful given that we have found out that

we're going to be bout a drink by London! Thank you so much for come.

Today has been a historic day for our party. It will be one that we go

online and we look back on over time and time again. I saw the look on

Nigel's face as he walked out of this room. He was close to breaking

point with emotion, it was wonderful. Let's give him one last

cheer, shall we? APPLAUSE

That's the way. We have our gala dinner tonight and we have another

very interesting day ahead of us, it would seem tomorrow, we're going to

make the most of it, we're going to show this country what our party are

capable of doing. Have a great night and we will see you in the morning.