2009 Euro Elections
The candidates were:
1. Gordon Parkin – a hard working party man who deserves to head this list, also Chairman of the Stockton-on-Tees Branch I hope he will do well.
2. Sandra Allison – wife of Steve Allison, both are hardworking Ukippers! Sandra is the Chairman of the Sedgefield Branch.
3. John Tennant – IND/DEM Researcher in the E.U Parliament in the Agriculture and Fisheries Committee. I am pleased to have been chosen by the party faithful
The Result:
Young People Today.
This is something that UKIP should consider when contesting ANY election. The party policy is to attract the 9 million people who voted in 1992, but did not do so in 2005. I believe that a large proportion of these people were those in the 18-25 age group.
How do we attract these young people and those voting for the first time? In my experience young people listen to young people, rather than to their parents or to anyone of the same age as their parents. Therefore, putting forward a young candidate such as myself would present them with a Candidate they could relate to more easily.
In 2004, UKIP achieved 12.2% of the vote in the North East, roughly 95,000 votes. If we were to add possible votes from young people and first time voters, perhaps we could make our share of the vote in 2009 in the region of 17-19%. This is the target share of the vote in order to win 1 seat.
What Have I Done So Far?
Since having become a member of the United Kingdom Independence Party in January 2008, I have frequently been in debates about a number of issues that concern me and UKIP with many members of the public.
I have made some platform presentations regarding the European Union to students at my University, which were well received, some of whom said to me that they had changed their view on politics surrounding the E.U.
Because I am a supporter of an Independent Britain, I have often leafleted the ‘Campaign for an Independent Britain’ newsletter in my local area in order to raise awareness of the issue of the European Union.
I am in contact with Nigel Farage, our Leader, Lisa Duffy, Young Independence Chairman and the Stockton South prospective candidate, Kelvin Mirfin, all of whom have been incredibly helpful in making me feel at home in UKIP.