Do as we say, not as we do.

The Telegaph has reported some new findings from the brilliant Open Europe, demonstrating just how amazingly hypocritical politicians really can be.

Not only are MEPs (not the UKIP ones) in the European Parliament going on hugely expensive fact finding missions that are a huge drain on taxpayer's cash - £175,000 for a trip to Angola, £101,000 to Panama and Chile etc. - but the likes of Labour grandee Glenys Kinnock left a carbon footprint of over 26 tonnes of CO2 between 2004 and 2009. This from the people constantly talking of an impending doomsday and tax on ordinary people wanting to fly for their annual holiday. Pretty disgusting stuff, all in all.

Laws should go.

How very disappointed the constituents of David Laws must be. Many thought he was "one of the good guys" as shown time and time again on TV reports today in his constituency in Yeovil. Yet instead this fast-rising star has been exposed as being the same as all the rest, paying his partner £950 a month in rent. Anyone who says Laws has done anything other than pad out his partner's bank account to the tune of £40k with payments that were illegal from 2006 onwards is being very generous.

With the public already baying for blood post-Expensesgate, having figures tainted by such dodgy goings-on in such prominant positions in the government is a recipe for disaster.

Little by little.

UKIP are a wasted vote hey? It seems a lot more people ignored such advice in Thirsk and Malton this time round. Okay, so it's steady progress. But a 3.5% swing is not to be sniffed at. In fact it was much better progress than the Conservative and Labour candidates who saw a small gain and a massive loss respectively.

No one ever said this was going to be easy. But going from 3.1% to 6.6%, percentage more than doubling, is very good progress.

Cameron kicks the crap out of his conservative MPs.

What is the point of having a quasi-Tory government with a Tory Prime Minister when the whole agenda is skewed towards being anything but conservative? Yesterday we had Nick Clegg admitting what UKIP has been saying for years, that both he and Cameron say the same thing using different words. Today we have David Cameron successfully curbing the backbench influence of the 1922 Committee, with it now effectively hijacked by Cameron loyalists and front benches arse-kissers. It is supposed to be a independentish body to help Tory backbenchers hold the government to account. No longer will it be so.

Of course David Cameron is not stupid and wouldn't dream of allowing those Tory MPs with crazy ideas like withdrawing from the EU, restoring grammar schools and bringing in flat tax - you know, all that nasty conservative stuff - from having a voice and holding to him account and has effectively taken down a lot of backbench influence with this move. What sickens me is that the result - 168 to 118, means that a lot of backbenchers have helped Cameron. I bet a lot of these are the newbie MPs who ConservativeHome have been endlessly hyping as "Thatcher's children" and "independent thinkers". No, just more career politicians bribed by empty Cameron promises. Party before country, self before principle. How could any self-respecting small-c conservative join the modern day Tories who are clearly so anti-conservative?

UKIP - we are here to stay!

I've spoken about this lots of times before, but it still bugs the hell out of me. Oh little UKIP, just a political irrelevance shaped like a single-issue Tory pressure group, say the Tory media. The Telegraph are at it again, talking up UKIP's potential to influence and damage the Tories.

Obsessed we in UKIP are perceived to be about the issue of the EU, and I can understand why to a point. We certainly don't help ourselves at times. But the days of UKIP caring solely about the EU are well and truly gone and never coming back. And as scary as it may be to some of the pro-Tory old guard, I as youth Chairman of UKIP wouldn't consider the Party's work to be done when we leave the European Union. Not even close.

Just as on the EU, in fields like education, tax, crime and immigration, a consensus has developed in Westminster and it has spread into the pours of this country, poisoning our political system and paralysing the British public into apathy by offering no real choice. It is only UKIP that wants grammar schools, flat tax, a massive expansion in prison places and a firm but fair immigration policy. The Tories least of all can be trusted to bring about any of this in the future - only a UKIP government with a UKIP Cabinet and UKIP Prime Minister can bring that about. It may take decades, but guess what? I'm 20 and I've got plenty of time and effort to give, as have many new UKIP members who want a full political revolution in this country, and NOT just when it comes to the EU. We are not going anywhere, EU or no EU.

Our elitist Parliament.

I have long held the view that one of the reasons that Britain is in such a state is because our politicians are so utterly out of touch. Not just because they surround themselves with yes men, or have largely abandoned any ideological vision for the Britain they want to govern instead wanting power for powers sake, but because they come largely from such privileged backgrounds.

38% of Tory MPS went to Oxbridge. The figures are 28% for the Lib Dems and 20% for Labour.35% of MPs went to private schools.

Of course those from well-off backgrounds should of course play a part in politics, but such statistics are incredibly alarming. Having given a talk to Westminster School where Nick Clegg attended as a boy, I just cannot believe the difference in education I received. He ate pheasant for lunch, I watched boys be violent and smash stuff up. I find it hard to believe that he would ever understand what life in the country's worst comprehensives is really like. Making class sizes smaller is simply not the answer, but it is his main proposed solution. Cameron sickeningly wants to bribe good schools to take on poor kids via a "pupil premium".

While UKIP's leader Lord Pearson may have attended Eton College himself, he is living in the real world and doesn't pretend that we live in a fair and equal society, turning a blind eye to social injustice as it is. He champions a cause which will bring tremendous opportunities to poor young people by abolishing tuition fees and restoring grammar schools. while Clegg, Cameron and the Labour Party itself do not.

We are in the 21st century and such elitism should be a thing of the past. Instead, thanks largely to the destruction of selective education, social mobility in this country remains dire. How will working class boys and girls ever see politics as something relevant to them if they cannot identity with any of the individuals they see on TV talking about "understanding the change we need". I know how much I struggled.

How badly does David Cameron want power?

The game plan for the Cameroons' Tory "modernisation" plan has always been to get back into office. They now have the opportunity to do so - but only if they give sufficient concessions to the Liberal Democrats on changing our voting system. A referendum and free vote for Conservative MPs on electoral reform is likely to be the minimum that Nick Clegg will be able to pacify his grassroots with.

Labour have now thrown a curve ball by offering a coalition not led by Gordon Brown that is likely to be more receptive to electoral reform than the Tories. Cameron I suspect will now struggle to keep Nick Clegg's attention for a bit and a more decisive concession on PR may have to be conceded. What this all boils down to, is how badly does David Cameron want power? How long can he wait to be Prime Minister and can he afford to give the Liberal Democrats what they want without causing a mass of disharmony within his own Party?

Anything could happen. But put it this way; I've stuck some money on David Davis being the next Home Secretary. I think Nick Clegg will in the end decide that Labour look too much like damaged goods. Sadly, I don't think we're going to get anything like the electoral reform I would like to see. But I hope I'm wrong.

Tory, LibDem, it doesn't matter.

Another hilariously out-of-touch tirade against UKIP, this time from Harry Phibbs of the Daily Mail. Phibbs just doesn't seem to grasp the fact that UKIP is a Party that wants Britain to leave the EU. No negotiation, no reform. We believe fundamentally that a reformist approach as proposed by the Conservatives is useless, especially from a Party that fully supports EU membership and wants it to expand in the future so countries like Turkey can join. That is official Tory policy.

Why then would UKIP members like me give a damn if David Cameron is our next Prime Minister or not? His position of seeking renegotiation has no value or appeal to those supporting UKIP like me. If anything, Nick Clegg's support for an in or out EU referendum is more tempting. Much more tempting.

It is also important to point out that Lord Pearson raised the ire of many within the Party by standing down and supporting those with the guts to publicly support EU withdrawal. Phillip Davies, Douglas Carswell and Phillip Hollobone, the only Tory MPs who openly support UKIP's stance on the EU. They faced no prospect of being ousted by UKIP. What is more, Pearson offered to stand UKIP down at the General Election in return for the promise of a referendum on EU membership from Cameron. David Cameron didn't have the courtesy of bothering to reply and this is the man Harry Phibbs believes UKIP should be pining over?

It is sheer self-indulgent bullshit to insist that a Tory government would do more to placate those who support UKIP's agenda than a Labour or Liberal Democrat one would. We want an EU referendum, grammar schools, flat tax and so many other things that none of the LibLabCon are offering. David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Nick Clegg, it doesn't matter. We are busy working towards a UKIP government.

We need Proportional Representation.

How can it be right that the Alliance Party who won 42,000 votes are going to have more representation in the House of Commons than UKIP who got the support of 917,000 voters?

One of the best outcomes of a hung Parliament situation would be the introduction of Proportional Representation. It is an issue that has been heavily politicised, but there is a morale question here that needs answering. The issue of PR is not a political point scoring game, but it is about the very legitimacy of our democratic system itself. Well over a million of the British electorate at this election are going to have no one representing the Party they voted for in the House of Commons. That is a situation that requires a remedy.

Don't let Barking happen again.

The BNP have been bigging up their chances of taking Barking and Dagenham Council outright. Instead today they have lost every single one of their Councillors in Barking. Labour have decimated them.

It is quite obvious that those who vote BNP are a) in a small minority and b) are making a protest. The media need to stop talking this bunch of jokers up and the establishment need to start addressing fears on immigration. I don't expect either to happen though, and so it will be UKIP still as the only Party with an immigration policy that has sensible limits on all who wish to contribute to our great country.

For now though, the BNP have lost decisively.

Bad night for UKIP, but small progress.

No spin, no partisanship, straight talking. I expected UKIP to do better at the General Election.

As Gawain Towler points out to The Telegraph, UKIP has made significant progress on our 2005 General Election performance. Yet that was a shambolic 2005 campaign known mostly for Kilroy's acrimonious departure and founding of a rival Party that split votes and allegiances. It was also, with Roger Knapman as Leader, a campaign focused almost entirely on the single issue of the European Union.

Of particular concern has to be the fact that Nigel Farage came nowhere near winning in Buckingham, ending up third. On a national scale, we have still not managed to create those 'UKIP marginals' required for serious targeting at the next election. Progress has been made in patches, but overwhelmingly we remain some way behind the LibLabCon in constituencies. The number of seats we have finished behind the BNP in is also not good.

UKIP can perform in European Elections very well. But then it should; after all, we represent a huge swathe of public opinion on the issue of the EU and the public are far more inclined to rebel against the 'establishment' at Euro Elections that are seen largely as irrelevant. 

If UKIP is to be taken seriously and start seriously challenging for parliamentary seats, we need to start focusing much more on issues like jobs, education, crime and hospitals. This has started to a degree at local level and UKIP's Councillor base is steadily increasing. But more needs to be done. It will be interesting to see if Lord Pearson now commits to wanting to remain as Leader for a full term or whether we have a leadership election on the horizon. Either way, this General Election should act as a bit of a wake up call.

If a Lab-Lib coalition ends up giving us proper Proportional Representation, the whole game changes and UKIP can expect 20+ MPs at the next General Election. If not, we may have to build for a time yet until our 900,000+ General Election voting base leads to a UKIP Member of Parliament being elected.

A surreal one.

I was expecting today to be focused on exit polls, newspaper headlines and election predictions. Instead, the man who inspired me to first get involved in politics and is a true hero of mine has been lucky escape a plan crash alive.

People can say what they like about Nigel Farage. But at least you know where you stand with him. The key I think to where the likes of Brown and Cameron have gone wrong nowadays is that they are too scared to offend anyone. Nigel isn't like that. He knows that people are going to disagree with what he says and what he stands for. But knowing that and saying what you feel anyway makes you much more likeable to those who do agree with you. It also makes them a lot more loyal and staunch in their support which is why UKIP is at times more like a family than a political Party to me.

Thank God that Nigel and the pilot of the plane are both alright. My day today has gone from one of politics to of reflection. Whatever happens tonight, life will go on. And I will be proud to continue to stand alongside Nigel Farage, fighting the good fight.

A Greek tragedy.

There is little point in voters in Greece kicking out their government and voting in a new lot - it is not the Greek government that controls the currency of their economically devastated country.

Today violence has reached new levels and people have been killed in a firebomb attack in Greece while protesters have tried to storm the Greek Parliament. This is the very real reality of crippling economies with a single currency that does not allow a government to devalue its currency nor sets its own interest rates. Far worse, it means voters have little choice in terms of solution short of voting for a Party that wants to drop the euro. Having the euro is not the only reason Greece is in such difficulty, but it is a straight-jacket that has certainly made the economic burden far worse.

The EU project has very real victims.

London calling.

Make sure you watch Question Time on Wednesday evening, as moi is set to make an appearance on behalf of UKIP. This will be my second appearance on the show and I am thoroughly looking forward to leading the UKIP charge for votes the night before polling day.

All this and I've got an exam Wednesday morning that I'm busy revising for!

Back from Barking.

If it wouldn't have been for the huge media hype, I would have never guessed Barking was the BNP's top target seat. I went down with my missus this Saturday expecting staunch BNP and Labour activism in the city centre. Instead it was UKIP with a huge presence the weekend before election day, with candidate Frank Maloney and UKIP Leader Lord Pearson working the interested crowds very effectively. We also had some of Frank's top boxers campaigning with us including one of Britain's very best, Ian Napa, who it was brilliant to meet (I am a big fan).

People in Barking have recognised that Labour have failed. The influx of new residents and a lack of housing has caused major problems locally. But the people of Barking are terrified of the BNP getting in, mainly because a number of people who pledged their support to Frank Maloney and UKIP are not wanted in this country by Nick Griffin.

Thank God people in Barking have a candidate who wants to bring in proper border controls - including on those from inside the EU - in Frank Maloney. The Lib Dems and Tories I spoke to were very friendly and we all agreed on one thing: thank God the people of Barking have options other than Labour vs. the BNP. Whether they take them or not is another thing altogether, but I would be surprised if Frank Maloney didn't surprise one or two people come election night.