Balance from Sky News

At last, Sky News has tried to balance the way the BBC has been signposting protest votes towards the totally cynical UKIP camp. The question is: what has UKIP actually DONE with its time in the European Parliament? Answer: nothing.

Sitting around committing sabotage is the UKIP way. Libertas gets out there and changes things for the better.

Supremacy of the Law inDoubt

David Cameron has announced that Members of Parliament should be subject to the full force of the law. It is worth reflecting on why this statement is necessary. Libertas will campaign to ensure that the supremacy of the law is never left in doubt.

Fuzzy Transparency in the European Parliament

The Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament (Annex 1) detail the transparency requirements for MEPs. They must make a personal, detailed declaration of their professional activities and any other remunerated functions or activities (Declaration of Financial Interests) and place it in a register maintained by the Parliamentary authorities.

The level of 'detail' accepted by the Parliamentary authorities means that the Declaration of Interests fails to do what it is supposed to do. For example, Nigel Farage (UKIP)declares "Commodity Broking" and "Journalism" without further comment. Sharon Bowles (LIB DEM) just says she is a partner in a law firm. On the other hand, Caroline Lucas (GREENS) does declare her additional income. Jeffrey Titford (UKIP) declares three words under 'further information': 'property', 'rent', 'pensions'.

These declarations are made in arrears and they are so badly administered that they contribute almost nothing towards transparency.

Libertas will ensure that transparency systems are properly supervised by the European Parliament authorities. Go to the EU Parliament web site and see your MEP's declarations for yourself.

Source http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+RULES-EP+20080218+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN and MEP pages on the Europeaan Parliament web site.

EU Needs Better Supervision

Efforts by the European Commission to improve law enforcement capability on the EU borders are dogged by duplication and inefficiency. A recent report by the European Court of Auditors says that such a project in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine costing 166 million euro had unsatisfactory results.

Experienced Libertas MEP's will drill down into all areas of EU activity and ensure that the management systems are working properly. This is essential before we start discussing any kind of expansion of power or increase in budgets.

Source http://eca.europa.eu/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/2362310.PDF

Big Decisions Through the Back Door

Politics in the EU seems to be about getting things done on the quiet and this is wrong.

The British Government asked the Commission to progress Montenegro’s entry into the European Union, but they did it in a meeting of fisheries ministers so that no-one would notice.

This is within the rules, but democratically wrong. Libertas will campaign tirelessly for more transparency in the way the Council operates, particularly when it discusses new laws and enlargement.

What Is the European Parliament?

The European Parliament does not make laws, it acts as a kind of people’s watchdog over the activities of the Eurocrats and national governments. It can only reject a legislative proposal from the European Commission with a majority in favour based on the total number of seats, not the number of people who turn up to vote. With an absenteeism rate of 30%, this is hard to achieve.

The sleaze associated with expenses is at least equal to what we have seen at Westminster in recent weeks and the travelling circus where the whole Parliament moves to Strasbourg once a month is a disgusting waste of tax-payers’ money – nearly £200 million! Libertas will campaign to put an end to this nonsense.

Those Who Stand By and Do Nothing

If the sleaze allegations against Parlementarians were made against people in the Public Service, the politicians would be baying for blood. Their corruption inquiry would not only look at those who had actually done wrong, but those that knew what was going on and failed to do anything about it. Libertas will not accept double standards in the European Parliament.

Promises Too Late

The adoption of the Libertas pledge by the Conservative Party is twenty years late. Promises are made before, not after.

Betrayal of EU Election Principles

The EU parliamentary election system was introduced to counter-balance the fact that many governments sitting in the Council of the European Union were elected by less than 50% of the universal suffrage in their countries.

In order to improve the democratic basis for EU decision-making, the European Parliament elections were designed to allow the voices of smaller political grouping to be heard under a system of proportional representation. In the UK, this democratic mechnism has been subverted by the determination of the main political parties to discuss national issues in European election campaigns and by the refusal of the media to treat smaller or newer political movements with the apporpriate consideration.

While this is about freedom of political choice rather than money, this is also very sleazy, particularly when smaller voices are described as 'loony' or 'fringe'. Libertas will campaign for more transparency about the way media outlets give access to new political voices in what is supposed to be a free, democratic process.

European Parliament - Tricks of the Law

When a Maltese journalist asked the European Parliament for access to information about MEPs’ expenses, the Parliament refused, hiding behind data protection rules. It also said there was no need to give out the information because there was a system of supervision in place and the public should trust in that.

The European Ombudsman intervened. He checked with the European Data Protection Adviser who threw out the data protection arguments and the Ombudsman said that the information about expenses should be made public for the sake of transparency. He argued that voters would not be able to exercise their democratic choice effectively if they were denied information about MEP attitudes to public funds.

The European Parliament still refused to publish the information because this was not a requirement in some member states of the EU. Since the European Parliament is subject to European law, not the lowest common denominator in the member states, the Ombudsman threw out this argument too. He also complained about the damage the European Parliament was causing to his credibility. On 14 July 2008, he made a formal finding that the European Parliament was guilty of maladministration and that the way the European Parliament interpreted the law weakened the principle of transparency. Source http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/decision/en/053643.htm#hl3

Libertas will uphold all decisions made by the Ombudsman on transparenty and campaign within the Parliament to implement his recommendations. We will campaign against obstructionism and legal trickery in order to hide the truth behind MEPs' expenses.

Police Cooperation

In their 2008 report on Europol (the European Police Office), the House of Lords found that very few UK chief constables were able to recognise Europol reports or knew what the organisation did. This is a complete failure on the part of the UK police agencies to contribute effectively to European police cooperation. Libertas will ensure that when they enter the European Parliament, regular checks will be made on the progress of police cooperation at the EU Parliament level.

Lisbon Treaty

It is obvious that we need to cooperate closely with Germany and the other Europen countries in matters of trade and economic development. But the Lisbon Treaty introuces changes to the way power is distributed between the countries of the EU. At the moment, if Germany wants to sponsor a piece of legislation in the Council of the European Union (where the Member States meet) Germany needs to find 69% of the available votes allocated to other countries. Under Lisbon, Germany only needs to get 48% of the votes of other countries to get a decision thrugh. This is probably quite fair, given Germany's size, but it should be explained to people, not done behind closed doors.

EU Carbon trading Scheme

The EU Carbon Trading Scheme is an ambitious and worthwhile experiment in trying to reduce green house gas emissions in a flexible, positive way. Unfortunately, it is often presented as a complete success when it is in fact a major long-term project in its formative stage. We need the EU to provide leadership in environmental matters, but the limited scope of the scheme and the way Member States protect their heavy industries should be explained clearly to European voters. The way that electricity companies have passed the carbon costs on to their customers also needs greater explanation. This is what we will do when elected to the European Parliament.

Poor Management in EU Agencies

The EU Agencies were made the subject of a European Court of Auditors report at the end of 2008. The report says that no EU agency complies with the financial regulations that require them to have performance indicators that prove they deliver value for money. I will demand immediate improvements in this area in return for your vote in the European elections. Source 'The European Union's agencies: getting results' http://bookshop.eu.int/eubookshop/download.action?fileName=QJAB08005ENC_002.pdf&eubphfUid=641770&catalogNbr=QJ-AB-08-005-EN-C Page 5

UK Contribution to the EU

There is a lot of confusion about the UK's net contribution to the EU. It's important to know this when discussing value for money or even when discussing whether the political parties should be telling you more about what's going on. The Treasury says it isn't much, but why don't you decide?

The net UK contribution to the EU coffers in 2009 - 2010 will be £6.064 billion and this will rise to £6.401 billion the following year. That is £100 per year for every man woman and child in the UK.

Source HM Treasury http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/european_community_finances_2008.pdf (page 24)

We will provide you with more information about how your money is spent than any other party has managed to do until now.

UKIPOCRISY

In a video sent around Europe today, Libertas exposes the hypocrisy of the UK Independence party.

www.libertas.eu/ukip

UKIP’s message of cleaning up Brussels is in direct contrast to how its members operate. Instead of fixing the problem, UKIP has become the problem. During the past European parliamentary term, a full quarter, 25%, of UKIP MEPs were either convicted of fraud, expelled for the same reason, or resigned in disgrace.

Nigel Farage can't stop the sleaze because he employs his wife, they refuse to publish even the most basic details of their expenses and UKIP has the laziest MEPs in Britain, attending just 60% of votes over the last five years.

DON'T judge UKIP on what they say but on HOW they behave. UKIP cannot change anything in Brussels - Libertas is the ONLY party that can change what is happening and stop the gravy train that is pouring out of Brussels. UKIP are NOT the answer, Libertas is.

www.libertas.eu/ukip

Kevin O’Connell

Hello, my name is Kevin O’Connell and I’m a Libertas candidate for the South East region in the European Elections on June 4th later this year.

I’m fighting in this election because I’m concerned about the state of democratic accountability in the EU. I want to strengthen the EU by making it more accountable to elected representatives who come from the real world and who can deliver more EU cooperation with less waste. I believe in the European Union, but I think it is time to clear away the clouds of mystery that surround it. In this time of global financial turmoil, EU institutions must be made to deliver real benefits, not just talk about them.

I am married with three adult children. I trained as a linguist, but over the past 30 years I have worked in different disciplines of the police at nearly every rank. I was a senior police officer in London and one of the directors of the European Police Office (Europol) for four years after that. I have always worked towards maintaining a just society for all and have always been committed to protecting individual rights, even when I held major responsibilities for national security. I know that effective cooperation through the EU can increase our national security, but this will not happen if the EU institutions allow unnecessary secrecy, laziness and cynicism to slow things down.

I am a recognized expert in international law-enforcement and have participated in many academic bodies as well as operational ones. I want to see the EU produce better solutions for sharing information about human trafficking and other forms of serious organised crime. I have joined Libertas because I think that real change will only come from better democratic accountability. The EU makes well-written plans, but as many people in the real world know, having a good plan is one thing, putting it into action is much harder. I want to make sure that things get done. I have held high positions in the policing world and I want to bring this experience to the European Parliament in 2009.

The priority of Libertas is to ensure that EVERY penny spent by Europe demonstrates value-for-money. The EU needs creativity, good business sense and the willingness to take stock and change if necessary. It doesn’t operate that way at the moment. Libertas will make the EU open and accountable like never before. We want to publicise the way decisions are made and who makes them, so that we can make Europe work for the people.

Because Europe is simply unknown to most people, I want to be part of a grassroots movement that gives Europe back to its people. That is why I ask you to vote for me and the new, pan-European party Libertas on June 4th.

Thank you,

Kevin O’Connell

Dan Hill

I believe that through its multinational platform, Libertas is uniquely positioned to bring about change resulting in long term representative government that has the confidence and respect of its electorate, protecting the wonderful diversity of cultures within the EU while building on our common interest for economic advantage.

I feel appalled by the abuse of trust emanating from Brussels that has been evidenced by the Lisbon treaty and that we must act now to bring democracy to the heart of Europe. It is clear that this project can no longer be left to the career politicians and the bureaucrats, that it needs integrity, fresh ideas and a new approach.

David Craig

I am the author of the recent book The Great European Rip-Off (Random House March 2009). This exposes how a wasteful, corrupt and undemocratic European Union is taking ever more control of its citizens' lives. My previous books include Squandered: How Gordon Brown is wasting over one trillion pounds of our money (Constable 2008) and Plundering the Public Sector (Constable 2006). In addition to writing for other publishers, I also run my own small publishing company which has published Who cares? by Amanda Steane - a book revealing the poor state of patient care in today's NHS.

Before becoming a full-time writer, I worked for twenty years as a management consultant in fifteen countries in Europe, America and Asia. I have also written two management textbooks.

I am standing as a Libertas candidate because I strongly believe the EU needs urgent and thorough reform. Before I wrote The Great European Rip-Off, I knew very little about what went on in the EU and didn't really care. However, while working in Brussels researching and writing my book I was stunned by the way the EU bureaucracy works - how much money it wastes, the greed of European politicians, the bureaucratic incompetence, the widespread and uncontrolled corruption and the total arrogant disregard for the opinions of ordinary European voters.

The bureaucrats and politicians in the Brussels bubble lead such well-paid, insulated lives that they don't listen to what the people they are supposed to represent want. We have to make them listen and the only way to do that is to encourage people to go out and vote Libertas.

Guy Lambert

My name is Guy Lambert and I'm a Libertas candidate for the constituency of South Eastern England in the European elections on June 4th later this year. I would like to tell you about myself to help you make an informed decision in the ballot box.

I have never previously been involved in Politics in any way. Over the years, I have watched with simmering resentment as successive British Governments have handed ever increasing powers to a centralised Europe, whilst denying the people any say.In me, this resentment had turned to disillusion and then total disinterest. Forcing the Irish Republic to have a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty,whilst denying the UK a first, was the "Last Straw."
I'm fighting in this election because although I believe in Europe passionately, and wish to remain within the European Union: enough is enough. It is time that the people reform and renew Europe ourselves. Simply the forth coming Election may be our last chance, to do this.
Libertas is the only party representing this view.

I am a Company Director, born and bred in Kent. My wife ( a teaching assistant ) and I have two daughters and a son, aged 19,18 and 15. For the past 20 years, I have run my own small business. I really understand the pressures the recession is putting on hard-working families all over England. I know what it means to struggle with pointless bureaucracy. To feel that you are working to pay for a political system, whose politicians should be working for you but are failing in this most simple of tasks. We must change this.

I enthusiastically coach Children's Soccer in my Spare time. In addition to business matters this has given me a keen interest in supporting youth, and community issues both for those with special needs as well as our wider community. I also Study Taekwon-Do with talentless determination.

So what are Libertas' and my priorities?
Because I believe that democracy is one of the values that unites ALL Europeans, Libertas will make the EU truly open and accountable like never before. We want to publicise the way decisions are made and who makes them, so that we can make Europe work for us.

Because the economy is in an unprecedented mess, Libertas and I will ensure that EVERY penny spent by Europe demonstrates value-for-money, in order that we can safeguard our financial future, and that of our children.

Because Europe has been run in secrecy by élites and bureaucrats that are simply unknown to most people, I want to be part of a grassroots movement that gives Europe back to its people.

If like me, you like the idea of a Democratic European Union, run solely for the benefit of it's citizens, Please vote for me and the new, pan-European party Libertas on June 7th

Thank you,

Guy Lambert

Labour MEPs should disclose ALL expenses

Under pressure from Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley, former Labour Minister Denis MacShane MP admitted on television that Labour MEPs should disclose ALL expenses claims in advance of the European election on the 4th June. Labour MEPs just weeks ago voted to keep their expenses hidden from view.

Speaking on the BBC's Daily Politics Show, Mr MacShane also said that Libertas' campaign to put Europe back in the hands of the people, 'sounds terrific'.

Chairman, Declan Ganley said, "it's easy to make promises and conjure up soundbites on television, when the Brussels reality is completely different. On 12th March, Labour MEPs voted to keep their taxpayer-funded expenses a secret."

"We will be watching the British Labour Party closely on behalf of voters over the next three weeks, to ensure that - this time at least - they stick to their word."

Peter Grace

Peter has moved around the country, first because of his commitments as an engineer on nuclear submarines and then because of his job as an IT engineer. He has lived in Hampshire and then West Sussex for over eight years. Peter has a grown family who are all trying to keep their heads above the current financial turmoil. He is currently working for a large IT company.

Over the last ten years Peter has become increasingly disillusioned and disconnected from the apparent monolithic, secretive and undemocratic bureaucracy of the European Union. He believes Libertas is the only possible solution to the European elite’s drive to feather their own nest while ignoring you and me. A single, European, political party with MEPs standing in every EU country, Libertas, to bring the EU back to us.

With over 200 national political parties squabbling over their individual agendas, trying to make their voice heard in the European Parliament it is time for one, unified, European party to step in and act as a cohesive opposition party. Currently, there is comfortable co-operation between the EPP and Socialists with no effective opposition in the European Parliament.

82% of us want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Gordon Brown and the EU bureaucrats are denying us this right. Libertas are pro Europe, but not at any price. Libertas are implacably opposed to the Lisbon Treaty and a vote for Libertas is the only chance we will have to vote “No” to the Lisbon Treaty before it is ratified by the second Irish referendum, later this year.

A national political party does not have the resources or cohesion to stop the Lisbon Treaty or bring change to Europe. We have seen what response the EU gave to the French, the Dutch and the Irish “No” votes. A national political party would join the other 200 parties in fighting to be heard. We need a party with MEPs in every EU member state, Libertas. An average of 10 MEPs in every country would give Libertas 270 seats in the European Parliament, that is nearly four times as many seats as the United Kingdom has in total. We need the European wide solution to the European bureaucracy, the European secrecy and the European status quo.

A vote for withdrawal from Europe, for independence from the EU, would be a vote threatening our jobs; everyone who makes or grows things, everyone selling things into Europe. It would threaten the livelihood of everyone transporting goods and people in and out of Europe; our lorry drivers, our airport workers and airline people, our ferry workers and dock people. A vote for independence would destroy the economy of everyone who relies on selling furniture, cars, houses, insurance, clothes, etc to our ‘front line’ people and our transport workers. The Federation of Small Business estimates we benefit by over £54 million every single day from the European market. Now is not the time to vote for high import and export tariffs. Now is the time to fix the European Union, make it relevant, transparent, value for money and democratic. Only Libertas will have the resources, the European wide strength to bring about change and fix the EU.

David Peace

Hello, my name is David Peace and I am a Libertas candidate for the South East.

I am fighting this election as I want to be part of a party in the European Parliament that is truly European and not bound by national constraints. When we now have around 80% of our legislation coming from Brussels I want to be part of a more accountable forum. In 1975 I studied European studies at the Open University and somehow the grand idea that we had then has really not materialised.

I have spent part of my career as a professional musician (mainly Jazz and Blues ) and the last twenty five years as a Board Director of a top 10 Home and Housewares company. I have experience of trading globally and have worked with clients from the Falkland Islands to Iceland.

I have particular skills with internal European markets and also Regional export markets especially America, The Middle East and South East Asia.

I am a past President of our trade association; also I am on the Board of one our most prestigious Post Graduate Universities, Cranfield which is in my constituency. I believe in nurturing new business entrepreneurs at all levels.

I am also the Managing Director of Massive House wares International a major export sales and marketing consultancy.

My wife, a committed Christian is a regional charity organiser.

So why did I get involved with Libertas and want to be part of its future?

I have worked through three recessions and these times are different, we need a strong Europe with a strong Membership in Brussels’ need a party that is European and not just national.

I want to be part of a democracy that unites Europeans across all member countries working towards European goals

I want my constituents to know David Peace and have confidence in me; ultimately I want to see legislation coming directly from the members and not the bureaucracy that surrounds them in Brussels. We need to work for an open and transparent government with clear fiscal parameters and goals.

For these reasons I hope that Libertas the new pan-European party and I can receive your vote on June 4th. Thank you

Nicholas Heather

Hello, my name is Nicholas Heather and I am standing as a Libertas candidate for the constituency of the South East of England, in the European elections on June 4th, later this year. I felt it was appropriate to tell you about myself to assist you in making an informed decision at the ballot box, for this important election.

I’m fighting for this significant election because of my concerns that there is a real danger the Lisbon Treaty will be ratified going forward. I want it dead and buried, and a revised democratic form of Europe agreed. To date, people’s views have been blatantly ignored. Any handover of power to an unelected body that is so distant, opaque, unaccountable and undemocratic is simply unacceptable. That said, I am a European and a reformed European Union could well be beneficial in the long term providing it is democratic, accountable and transparent.

I am a chartered surveyor in London. My wife is a carer and I have one son, and two step-sons. For the past 25 years, I have been a professional valuation surveyor. I am a Director currently working on commercial valuations nationwide. This was not always the case as I was made redundant during the last recession, so I therefore believe; I have an understanding of matters and knowledge which may be of concern.

Both my wife and I are Church members. I am an advocate of a children’s charity called ‘Compassion’. Again, I am a volunteer at our local hospice and a bereavement visitor. I currently serve on various committees which run a 16 acre playing field and club near where I live.

So why Libertas’ and what are my priorities?

I believe democracy is core to any governance. It is currently run by elites and bureaucrats who are faceless and have their own agenda. I want a Europe that is united with the approval of all the peoples of the various member sovereign states. A large pan – European movement, such as Libertas will hopefully gain real power for this change.

A big priority is that Libertas will make the EU truly open and accountable like never before. We will bring in openness in the way decisions are made and why and who made them, in order that Europe can work for us.

Given these unprecedented economic times, Libertas will seek to ensure that any money, however small spent by Europe represents value for money. Furthermore, it will seek to look for savings and slim it down.

Democracy, accountability and openness are why I ask you to vote for me and the new, pan European Party, Libertas on the 4th June. It represents a probable last opportunity to return power to the people.

Thank you
Nicholas Heather

Chloe Woodhead

I would like to introduce myself and tell you why I believe we should all cast our votes for Libertas in the European Elections on June 4th.

Turnout in Euro elections has plummeted over the last 30 years - from 63% in 1979 to 45% in 2004. That means 55% of us are not exercising our democratic rights. And why? – because voters in the UK do not think that their vote on Europe counts. Libertas wants to make your vote count and wants to make Europe more relevant and answerable to you – the voter.

I was born in central England but have always felt a European. My grandmother grew up in Italy and my grandfather was Irish. Britain is my homeland, but my political and cultural horizons have always been pan European. So I believe the UK needs to be a strong partner in a strong Europe but where the UK is not subordinate to an unaccountable administration and an impotent parliament. The obscure and undemocratic bureaucracy of Europe cuts voters off from any sense of influence on policy, legislation or expenditure and yet these laws and directives impact on all of our lives. We need to bring decision making back home to the people it affects while supporting a lean, answerable and efficient Europe operating in the areas where it can help us all. Supporting Libertas can help us achieve this.

While bringing up 4 children who are now all old enough to be voters, I developed an interest in education and, following many years as a school governor, I am now involved in HE through Britain’s only Independent University at Buckingham. Students from the UK, Europe and all over the world study here and they need recognized and transferrable qualifications to move in the global employment sector. Working for Libertas in Europe, I would like to support European cooperation on educational standards to help these young people to become the highly qualified workforce we need to lead us out of the current economic crisis.

Many people feel that if they support a national party – Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem - they must also vote for them in Euro elections. But these parties have sidelined discussion on Europe so your vote is wasted. Voting on June 4th is for what we want from Europe so use your vote and vote for Libertas, the pan European party where democratic reform of the European Union is the top priority. For the very first time we have the opportunity to create a Europe that directly reflects the wishes of the voters. We need a leaner and more representative Europe where the administration is accountable and transparent and where taxpayers money is used sparingly and efficiently to serve us all. This is why I am standing for Libertas.
Exercise your democratic right and I look forward to winning your vote for Libertas on June 4th.

The Great European Rip-Off

Best selling author David Craig made an impassioned plea today to voters to send an unequivocal “enough is enough” message to our politicians in Westminster and Brussels.

“You may think that most of our MPs at Westminster are crooks, but their stealing and thieving is petty cash compared to what’s happening in the European Union” claimed the author.

The vast scale of corruption and waste in Brussels is exposed in his latest book “The Great European Rip-Off”. David Craig is a candidate for Libertas in the South East region in the European elections on 4th June.

“Libertas has a mission to stop the waste, end the corruption and put democracy into the heart of Brussels. I want to do everything I can to assist that mission.”

David Craig previously caused a political storm when he released “Squandered – How Gordon Brown is wasting over one trillion pounds of our money”, exposing the shocking amounts of money wasted under New Labour.

World first: star in your own ad for Libertas

This week, Libertas is launching a revolutionary advertising campaign on the internet: in keeping with our mission to return Europe to the people, we’re asking anyone who supports our cause to make an ad for us.

Instead of one big corporate TV spot, we’re creating thousands of individual “people ads” - it’s grassroots, democratic advertising.

Here’s an example below. Please click on this link today (http://libertas.thisad.co.uk) and make your very own ad, which will then automatically run on sites like MySpace and help get the vote out.

It only takes a couple of minutes, it’s completely free, and most importantly, it lets you spread the word and convince others to vote Libertas on June 4!

Thank you,

Robin Matthews

Trust in politicians is dead. They are traitors to their country.

This has been the darkest point in the history of British politics. Trust in politicians is dead.

Politicians right across the board have been exposed with their fingers in the till, and all they can say is that it was the system at fault. It’s disgusting. We should be able to trust our politicians enough to give them a suitcase full of used notes and say ‘just take what you think is right’. We shouldn’t have to implement a system of detailed controls to check that they aren’t fiddling the system!

Politicians are the guardians of our society. If we can’t trust them not to rob from us, then we certainly can’t trust them to run the economy, to handle massive business contracts, to run the NHS, to look after our personal information and so on.

These people are traitors to their country. They have irreparably damaged the entire political system. Full disclosure is the only way that we can drag the political class out of its current depression. That’s why this week we have made a series of ground-breaking pledges about how we will behave if elected. I strongly urge all other parties to follow suit.

It’s no longer simply a case of making sure that this doesn’t happen again. Too much damage has been caused. Our party leaders need to take a strong lead on this and completely rethink the way they do politics. If Libertas can make these promises, why can’t they?

-Robin Matthews

The most undeserved political rise in history

UKIP’s sudden boost in the polls is the most undeserved political rise in the history of Britain. The expense scandal has led to a massive 12% protest swing to UKIP in the latest poll, boosting them to 19% from their previous position on 7%. I am shocked.

There is no party that could deserve public support less if people are angry over expenses. UKIP lost two of its twelve MEPs to fraud charges, both Nigel Farage and Robert Kilroy-Silk employed their wives, they refuse to publish their expenses and UKIP’s MEPs are the laziest in Brussels, voting just 60% of the time. They have done nothing to deserve public support over expenses.

UKIP were well on their way to losing most of their seats in this election, having dropped 9% in the polls from their 2004 high point of 16%. They’ve done nothing for five years, apart from waste tax payers’ money on their lavish lifestyles in Brussels.

I am livid that in the same week that Libertas has launched a series of sleaze-busting pledges designed to stamp out sleaze in Britain, UKIP is gaining by default from this current scandal having done absolutely nothing to earn it. Bitter? You bet I am.

- Robin Matthews

It’s Stamp Out Sleaze Week!

Following a weekend dominated by MPs’ expense scandals, I am proud to announce that Libertas is today leading the charge to Stamp Out Sleaze.

The party is launching five pledges this week, one each day, designed to tackle the root cause of sleaze.

Our first Stamp Out Sleaze pledge is a promise from all Libertas candidates that, if elected, they will publish their expenses in detail, including receipts and explanations of what the purchase was for. Tax payers have a right to see how their cash is being spent and whether they are getting value for money.

We want to lead by example. Politics doesn’t have to be dirty. Our politicians should be people that we can trust to look after our money both wisely and frugally. That’s why we are today promising to be completely open about how we spend tax payers’ money, and I invite all the other parties to sign up to this pledge too, and together we can rebuild trust in our politicians.

The EU is broken, but Libertas can fix it.

- Robin Matthews

The downward spiral of trust in politicians

As everyone will have seen, the news in the UK this weekend has been dominated with the expense abuse by UK MPs from all sides. While the Labour party have been claiming expenses for sink plugs and films, the Conservatives have let the taxpayer foot the bill for their dog food and light bulbs. I wonder, where is the party of integrity? where are the politicians who seek to represent their people as best they can? rather than bleed them dry and let them pick up the tab for all manner of trivialities.

It is no wonder that people distrust politicians when they are ripping off the public left right and centre.

Now, I know there are some that genuinely want to help their constituents, and who do possess the moral fibre to use their expense accounts legitimately and responsibly, but they should not be the exception, they should be the rule.

The fact is, it is a poorly organised system, which is easily abused because of its lack of transparency and openness. If there was a system of full disclosure of expenses (as advocated by Libertas), then none of this would happen.

I notice David Cameron has told MPs to "say sorry" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8043057.stm) to the public for essentially stealing their money - using it to line their pockets and subsidise their already well paid positions instead of putting it into underfunded public services.

The same thing is happening in Brussels, but people in the UK feel so disengaged with European politics that it is largely unnoticed. The Taxpayers' alliance published an eye-opening report on how easily expenses can be abused in Brussels, and how MEPs can become millionaires in one 5 year term. It's been around a while but for those that are yet to see it, it can be found here - http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/files/meppay-1.pdf

Is an apology enough? Does that absolve these rip-off merchants?

The answer is to introduce full disclosure and openness for all expenses, so that people can see exactly where their hard earned money is going in the UK and in Europe.

Libertas has always been committed to democracy accountability and transparency.

With turnout so low in the UK for the European elections it plays into the hands of the mainstream national parties, who have now been exposed as untrustworthy expense cheats, who are only apologising now they have been caught out. This has been going on for far too long, and they have known exactly what they have been doing.

To usher in a new era of openness and politicians you can trust vote for Libertas on June 4th. To keep upto date with all of the Libertas news including candidate launches across Europe sign up to the Libertas mailing list at www.libertas.eu and encourage your friends to do the same...

Deaf Ear to Democracy

In an incredible display of arrogance and disrespect for the will of the people, members of the European Parliament will have a lengthy debate tonight on the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. That’s right, the Lisbon Treaty, the same Treaty that Libertas defeated in Ireland and - according to the EU's own rules - is now dead.

Apparently, the bureaucrats in Brussels don’t care what the people think. And the truth is, they don’t need to. Because, right now there is no one to hold them to account.

That’s why the movement you are building right now is so important. It’s up to you whether or not Europe will be accountable to its people. Libertas is our last chance - our only chance - to make sure we have democracy at the heart of the European Union.

The European Elections are only 29 days away. Please email everyone in your contact book. Ask your friends. And get ONE more person to join the movement today.

http://www.libertas.eu/spread-the-word

The MEPs will debate a total of five different reports for this anti-democratic debate, including the Parliament’s new role and responsibilities in implementing the Lisbon Treaty. This discussion is a perfect example of the inherent disrespect the EU has for the democratic views of European citizens, and the lack of accountability to which we are strongly opposed.

This morning Libertas Chairman, and leader of the winning “No” campaign in the 2008 Irish referendum, Declan Ganley said, “Members of the European Parliament are completely out of touch with reality. Instead of debating real issues like how to solve the economic crisis, they are spending resources on something which does not exist because it has been rejected by the people who were allowed a vote on it.

This displays their arrogance, their disrespect for democracy and their waste of taxpayers’ money".

No wonder multiple newspapers across Europe have now confirmed that Brussels is living in fear of our movement, the Libertas movement. What those bureaucrats fear most is a movement of the people. Because they know that if millions of us act together, as Europeans, we will create a new hope for the future – a Europe where Brussels is efficient, focused on creating jobs and restoring our economy, and is overseen by the people.

Please email everyone in your contact list. Ask your friends. And get one more person to join the movement today.

http://www.libertas.eu/spread-the-word

The Libertas movement is gaining tremendous momentum across Europe. We have united the leading figures of the “No” campaigns in France, Ireland and the Netherlands (Declan Ganley, Philippe de Villiers and Eline van den Broek) who worked tirelessly to make sure that the people in their countries were given a vote.

But, now, we need YOU. Our movement is in your hands. You are it. The new hope for Europe will live or die based on what you do now.

So, if you want a strong Europe, a democratic Europe where only elected leaders make the law; if you want a referendum on any Constitution; if you want a real solution to the economic crisis; if you want to hold Brussels to account; if you want to renew the hope that we all had for Europe, then help build the first true party of Europe. A party dedicated to openness, accountability, transparency and democracy.

There are millions of others like you who want a new Europe – they are your friends, your work colleagues, your family members, your neighbours, and members of your community and now we need you to get them to join our cause.