Parliamentary Candidate 2015 & 2017
Islington South & Finsbury 
Standing for a brighter future - for what's right, fair and decent !
Born in Finsbury, I have lived and worked in Islington all my life, but after more than thirty years of voting Liberal, I can no longer stand by and watch our political ruling class negotiate away our hard won rights and freedoms; rights that our parents and grandparents fought and died in two world wars to protect, rights for which women have chained themselves to railings and Emily Davison threw herself under a king's horse to secure.
To me, the Conservative party had always seemed to be "for big business". They seemed only to pursue policies that put the wishes of the wealthy before the wants and needs of the ordinary worker. And when compared to the Labour party, it is barely possible to tell the two parties apart. Locally here in Islington, and also nationally, Labour just want a nanny state that micro-manages every aspect of our daily lives - and as a libertarian, I most certainly do NOT !
Referring to the EU, Nick Clegg proudly proclaimed during his debate with Nigel Farage that the LibDems are the "Party of in" and, although it is a bit unfair as they didn't have much choice, they are now paying the price for failing to keep their promise over tuition fees and are looking increasingly like the party of out (out of favour) and they will lose very badly in this election.
And the cloud cuckoo-land ideas of the Greens would bring this country to it’s knees in no time; 
just look what these extreme left wing Marxist idiots have done in Brighton with higher fuel bills, massive council tax increases, oh, and they want to disband the Army too, so as an ex Para in the Royal Corp of Signals, I’m NOT happy!
Also, as a keen amateur bee-keeper and wildlife lover, I can assure you that the Greens certainly do not have a monopoly on caring for our environment, but EU green taxes are crippling British homes and factories, so we must act - now!
To me, integrity means always doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking; but there seems to be a distinct lack of it in the world of politics these days, just look at Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw recently. Telegraph "sting" two MP's
But with all it's flaws, democracy is still the best possible way to change things, and this is why I am recruiting fifty "ordinary" but passionate local people to stand as UKIP councillors in the next local elections so that we can take back control of our council and start fixing our broken borough and this broken Britain. If you are interested and think you have the passion to represent your local community then I want to hear from you - REGARDLESS of your age, race, colour, religion, gender or sexuality.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing"
Edmund Burke Irish orator, philosopher, & politician (1729 - 1797)
I'd like to think I am one of life's "good men", and I certainly have the passion; so in 2010 I finally stood as a in the local council elections, as a LibDem, to help tackle some local issues that I really cared about. Things like combating persistent anti-social behaviour and street crime around Old Street (where I live), things like
I wanted to make sure that our children are given the best possible chance in life through a decent education, which is why I have been a school Governor off and on for over thirty years. I wanted to ensure that our children and grandchildren had a realistic chance of getting housed and finding proper jobs with decent pay, but above all, I wanted to make sure that everything our politicians did was fair and decent and put local people first, not their political agendas.
It is for these reasons that I have been involved in so much community work over the years. It is why I still Chair the management committees of my local tenants group and the Vibast Community Centre in Old St
(Left: Helping out with the the FInsbury & CLerkenwell Volunteers serving xmas lunch to 80 elderly local residents).
The centre is also used by the local Muslim community each Friday for their prayers, as well as by other Christian and community groups; other activities include drama, martial arts, yoga and music; and all these groups cooperate and get on extremely well together and are represented on our management committee.
However, it is outrageous that our Tory/LibDem government and Islington's Labour Council are starving organisations like the Finsbury & Clerkenwell Volunteers of cash, whilst ALL the parties, apart from UKIP, fully support giving away £12Bn a year in Foreign Aid, and most of them want to increased it!
Much of this money has been wasted on idiotic projects or used to prop up corrupt regimes. Worse still, they not only want to increase the amount we give, they want it enshrined into law so that successive governments have to do it too. The irony is, that WE have to BORROW this money in the first place, in order to give it away. What the hell are they thinking about! We have paid for sewers in Hungary, and Chinese jet fighters for the Argentine Airforce. Click Link:- British send too much Aid to Argentina
If UK companies did that, they'd go bust within a week! 
People need to understand that this country's credit card has been max'd out, it is virtually "trading whilst knowingly insolvent", and the interest payments alone are crippling so what we would we actually do if interest rates actually went up again? It's is anybody's guess. For goodness sake, if I ran my little two man business that way I would get locked up for fraud.
David Cameron has said that Foreign Aid is one of the things he has done in government of which he is most proud. Bloody idiot millionaire giving away other people's money! - Let him give away some of his own money if he feels that strongly!
Like most families, mine has been through good times as well as bad, but we have always tried to make charitable donations when we could afford it, and have supported charities both at home and abroad; but with four kids, I have never really felt able to set aside a regular fixed monthly amount - so I'm sorry, I don't see why the government should force us to do just that.
UKIP believe in the old adage "give a man a fish, and you can feed him for a day; teach him to fish, and you can feed him for a lifetime"; I fully support this principle and would always back initiatives that help people to secure better lives for themselves and ideally, improve their lives in their own countries. In my experience, most people give what they can to charity when they can; and give a little more when they are feeling flush; but it's neither fair nor sensible for any government to force us as a nation to do any differently, and it's time to call FOUL ! Frankly, I am all for helping others, always have been, always will be, but not to the detriment of those nearest and dearest to me, like my own friends, family and loved ones.
Why UKIP?
Having voted Liberal for more than 30 years, I slowly started to realise that I just could not continue 
to support the UK's membership of the Europe Union. I began to feel like a square peg in a round hole with the LibDems and all the UK's other political parties made it quite clear they want us to remain in Europe in one form or another too.
I am now absolutely certain that these "elite few" are simply not listening to the genuine fears and concerns of the majority of ordinary working people and small businesses. My big fear is that, as a nation, we are collectively sleepwalking into European oblivion. If we stay in the EU, we will eventually no longer be able to determine our own destiny and ALL our laws will ultimately be made in Brussels and we will simply become a subordinate region in the United States of Europe.
I am a telecoms tech guru, and I deal with Call centres all around the country. Most of them are setup in deprived areas where labour is cheapest; places like Wales, Scotland, Belfast, Newcastle. The EU want to introduce some "directives" which, because we are members of the EU, our government would have to enact as laws on our statute books. But these measures would KILL our UK call centre industry hurting the most vulnerable people in some of the most deprived areas of our country. EU imposed fishing quotas and farming policy (common fisheries and common agricultural policies) have decimated our coastal fishing villages and made it impossible for our farmers to complete.
So, contrary to scaremongering by all the other parties, if we did leave the EU, I do not believe for one moment that Britain would become isolated and, following months of serious research, I am confident Nigel Farage and UKIP are right about Europe, and have been right all along. Britain would not only survive an exit from this political union, we would positively thrive.
So, contrary to scaremongering by all the other parties, if we did leave the EU, I do not believe for one moment that Britain would become isolated and, following months of serious research, I am confident Nigel Farage and UKIP are right about Europe, and have been right all along. Britain would not only survive an exit from this political union, we would positively thrive.
WE MUST LEAVE this political union as soon as possible or our grandchildren will grow up paying off debts that WE have incurred, in a country that few of us would recognise.
Bad Apples.
Yes, I accept that UKIP has attracted a handful of crackpots, idiots, and yes, a tiny handful of people with racist views who have been drawn towards our open and honest discussion about uncontrolled mass migration. But as a proudly and openly declared non-racist party with many members of diverse ethnicity, we utterly refuse to accept membership applications from anyone who has previously been a member of any extreme right wing party and they are ejected from the party the moment they are discovered - unlike Labour who still have ex-BNP members serving as councillors.
All the other parties now readily admit that excessive uncontrolled immigration has caused problems for our country and accept that they can no longer continue to ignore the honest concerns of millions of ordinary British working folk - as they have over recent decades. The establishment has been too afraid of our honest conversation, so the only way they can attack this swell of heartfelt support is to attack UKIP as being racist.
WHAT UTTER NONSENSE.! Frankly I have only ever seen that kind aggressive bigoted of behaviour from Labour supporters, HNH, TUSC and SWP.
Nobody within UKIP blames migrants for seeking better lives for themselves and their families here, many of our own forebears did just that, certainly my great grandparents did. No, it is quite clear that the blame lies with Labour and Tory politicians who since 1975 have positively encouraged massive numbers of foreign workers to settle in the UK which, with too many competing for the same jobs, has depressed wages and as a result of the speed of this influx, has altered the face of our communities.
Wasn't it Diane Abbott (MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington) who sent that other shameful Labour tweet saying "white people like to play divide and rule"? BBC News - Diane Abbott - another Labour Tweet of Shame
People like her have often accused UKIP of racism but they devalue the true meaning of that word which is the thing I find truly reprehensible and offensive.
I have three wonderful grandsons who happen to be mixed race - and I want them to grow up in a decent, tolerant open society that completely rejects racism and indeed discrimination of ANY kind.
(Left: my two older grandsons at the Trooping the colour parade June 2014)
(Left: my two older grandsons at the Trooping the colour parade June 2014)
I completely reject racism in all its forms - I will not stand for it, and as long as I am a member of UKIP, neither will my party - AND THAT'S A PROMISE!
But even if you accept my word that the UK Independence Party is not full of racist bigots, we have been regularly accused of it both openly, and by subtle innuendo, covertly and insidiously, often by
In the USA this has become a well-established tactic for discrediting somebody with an opposing view. We must try not let that happen here too.
UKIP simply want to stand up for ordinary British people and British values. We want to address their genuine, heart-felt concerns over the rapid and excessive, uncontrolled levels of immigration that have put such enormous pressure on our schools, jobs, housing, welfare systems, and NHS, concerns which, it is plain for all to see, the Lib/Lab/Cons have, until very recently, totally ignored.
Europe
Please understand that after almost 35 years of voting Liberal it was a massive wrench for me to change my political allegiance to UKIP and, I can assure you, it was not something I did lightly; but a great deal of quite 
extensive research convinced me that, contrary to the scaremongers' claims, UKIP will promote and maintain full trading relationships and cooperation with our European neighbours. Not only on things like extradition and the investigation of trans-national crimes (my area of expertise), but also by forging new trading links with the rest of the world, something we currently cannot do as members of the European Union.
Under EU rules, we are simply not allowed to make our own trade agreements so, whilst we continue to remain members of this oppressive political union called the European Union, nothing is going to change and Cameron CANNOT renegotiate.
Lucky we stayed out of the Euro! Don't take my word for it - please, get Googling for yourself! And please ignore all this talk of renegotiating; Cameron has tried it already, several times, and been told in no uncertain terms by Merkel that the concept of Free Movement of People within the EU was non-negotiable! Cameron lost the last EU vote on the subject 26 to 2, and the only reason Hungary supported us was that they we're paying for their new sewer system in Budapest!
So even though their economies are shrinking, European companies (like Audi, Citroen and Mercedes) sell much more to us than we sell to them and it is therefore obvious that they will never allow their governments to refuse to trade with us, even if they are "miffed" because we have finally seen the light and withdrawn from political and economic union, that is to say, completely withdraw from the EU and refuse participate in the Euro debacle. In fact, here is a direct quote from an article in the Express Newspaper on this very subject on Thursday Nov 7th 2013 ...
"Digby Jones, a former trade minister under Gordon Brown, and now Lord Jones of Birmingham, said the UK was being dictated to by an “unelected ruling elite” who were “destroying” British jobs.
The former director general of the CBI urged David Cameron to bring forward his proposed referendum on EU membership from 2017. He said the Prime Minister’s pledge to renegotiate the treaty with Brussels was unlikely to achieve more than "minor adjustments" to its system of regulations and subsidies"
(Express Newspaper Article - Lord Digby Jones)
The former director general of the CBI urged David Cameron to bring forward his proposed referendum on EU membership from 2017. He said the Prime Minister’s pledge to renegotiate the treaty with Brussels was unlikely to achieve more than "minor adjustments" to its system of regulations and subsidies"
(Express Newspaper Article - Lord Digby Jones)
The Three Million Jobs Fallacy
All we have ever heard from the LibLabCon is that 3m jobs depend on our membership of Europe - a fantasy that has been completely refuted by the man who did the original study and wrote the report from which this "fact" was taken out of context - and has again been debunked this week (March 2015) http://www.betteroffout.net/the-case/10-eu-myths-about-withdrawl/
Why did I get into Politics ?
I have been extremely lucky in my work life, in that, I have always had plenty of free time for community work and as Chair of Redbrick TMO I made my initial decision to get into politics with the Lib Dems because I had always voted for them since they were the party I despised the least.
(Below: Campaigning with residents of sheltered housing scheme to block LBI proposals
I had hoped that as
a councillor I would be better able to fight council proposals to build more flats on the already crowded council estate where I live in Old Street.
(Below: Campaigning with residents of sheltered housing scheme to block LBI proposals
I had hoped that as
That battle is still going on and is hotting up even more now as the council are refusing to back down over plans to build a new block smack dab in front of a sheltered accommodation block which houses over fifty elderly or vulnerable residents whose living rooms and bedrooms both face out directly onto the proposed new block. This would mean these poor residents would have to suffer at least two years of building work, noise, dust and disruption right outside their windows, with little or no prospect of respite for the many housebound residents.
Housing
Now I fully accept that we don't have enough housing to go around in Islington, not just because the LibLabCons have encouraged a massive influx of migrant workers, but because successive governments have completely failed to build social housing and look after ordinary working families. Nobody blames migrants for coming here to seek better lives just as my great grandparents did, and who can blame them for that.
However, we have become severely overcrowded in the south of the borough and it is unfair that Islington Council are trying to squeeze new dwellings into every little nook and cranny, often riding roughshod over the wishes of local residents. If one part of their proposed development goes ahead on my estate, the elderly and vulnerable residents in a Sheltered Housing scheme there will get no rest for at least two years with major building works right outside their bedroom and living room windows and that's just plain wrong. We have even provided highly sensible alternative proposals, but our pleas fall on deaf ears.
However, we have become severely overcrowded in the south of the borough and it is unfair that Islington Council are trying to squeeze new dwellings into every little nook and cranny, often riding roughshod over the wishes of local residents. If one part of their proposed development goes ahead on my estate, the elderly and vulnerable residents in a Sheltered Housing scheme there will get no rest for at least two years with major building works right outside their bedroom and living room windows and that's just plain wrong. We have even provided highly sensible alternative proposals, but our pleas fall on deaf ears.
UKIP would ensure that local people's views are properly taken into consideration via an actual vote in the form of referenda, preventing local councils from bulldozing their agenda over the wishes of local people, by using the favourite old trick of running poorly attended public meetings so that they can "tick the box" and say "we were consulted".
(Above: Me meeting Nigel at the UKIP Spring conference in Margate March 2015)
I also want to tackle crime and the increasing Anti-Social behaviour in my area too and the massive increase in eastern European rough sleepers on my estate over the last three or four years just has only served to prove to me that UKIP have been right about Europe all along.
I had never given UKIP any serious consideration before, but I have done so now, and I am asking you to do the same, because in the words of my old Maths master "There is nothing so powerful as an open mind."
(Above: Me meeting Nigel at the UKIP Spring conference in Margate March 2015)
I also want to tackle crime and the increasing Anti-Social behaviour in my area too and the massive increase in eastern European rough sleepers on my estate over the last three or four years just has only served to prove to me that UKIP have been right about Europe all along.
I had never given UKIP any serious consideration before, but I have done so now, and I am asking you to do the same, because in the words of my old Maths master "There is nothing so powerful as an open mind."
Why UKIP ?
I am standing for UKIP because I want our national government (and local councils) to make decisions and enacts laws that are in the best interests of the people of Britain. I DO NOT want a Government that will simply act as a puppet whose strings are being pulled by an undemocratic European parliament run by a bunch of career politicians who, for the most part, have never had a proper job or run any sort of business in their lives, and whose commissioners (the guys with the real power) are appointed - not elected - in back-room deals by shadowy big business and big money figures. (please do some research yourself - it will be a real eye opener)
I sincerely believe that ever since Europe started to pass laws that forced us to admit ANYONE from
the EU member states and give them EQUAL ACCESS to benefits, healthcare, education, housing and jobs, without EVER having contributed, that this country has been saddled with an unbearable burden on its services and infrastructure.
This is why we struggle to find places in schools for our children and grandchildren, why our health services are stretched to the limit, why the councils are forcing through new housing development schemes in already over-developed and over-populated areas, and why our own grown-up children struggle to qualify for social housing allocations against the rising numbers of immigrants flocking to take advantage of the UK's generosity.
This is why we struggle to find places in schools for our children and grandchildren, why our health services are stretched to the limit, why the councils are forcing through new housing development schemes in already over-developed and over-populated areas, and why our own grown-up children struggle to qualify for social housing allocations against the rising numbers of immigrants flocking to take advantage of the UK's generosity.
The existing political classes will (and always have) thrown mud at UKIP and, having a multi-ethnic family myself, I had in the past been seriously worried about UKIP's true aims; but after conducting my own extensive research, and maintaining an open mind, I am now 100% certain UKIP are the only party who are truly acting in the best interests of ALL British people.
Let me make it perfectly clear;
UKIP IS NOT ABOUT RACE, CLASS OR COLOUR - UKIP IS ABOUT SIMPLE COMMON SENSE !
My own family's heritage is truly multi-cultural (Russian, Polish, Italian, Irish, Anglo-Indian and Jamaican) and I do not blame the many migrants who are attracted to come to the UK seeking better lives for themselves and their families just like my family did; ours is a wonderfully fair, open and tolerant society, of course people want to come here. But I also believe that the right to come and settle here is a privilege that should be earned and conferred by us, and is not a right to be given by the EU parliament. This little island of ours is only so big and it is madness plain and simple to keep letting people come and settle here without limit. Ultimately the entire system will 
collapse under the burden, just look at the NHS now to see we are almost at that point.
Enough is enough.
Is it fair, for example, that our own commonwealth citizens, who mostly speak English, share a common set of values and heritage, share the Queen as Head of State and largely have existing ties to the UK, should have to go through long and complex immigration procedures, whilst eastern Europeans (many of whom do not speak English and do not share our cultural values) can literally just walk right in through the front door!
Of course it is right and proper for us to help those in distress where we possibly can, but this should be moderated so as not to cause undue suffering and disharmony amongst the existing population; but the effects of very rapid, unregulated and uncontrolled EU "open door" immigration have been 
slowly crippling this county and eroding its national infrastructure. Doubtless immigrants represent an essential and invaluable part of our workforce, some of them bringing badly needed skills, experience and expertise, but many do not. There have now been far too many unskilled workers allowed in to the country which has kept unskilled worker wages much lower than they should be causing untold suffering to ordinary working families.
We MUST ACT NOW unless we wish to see our country's infrastructure and services grind to a halt under the weight of unplanned and, frankly excessive, immigration. Healthcare tourism is costing us dearly - it is called the NATIONAL health service, not the INTERNATIONAL health service and our NHS and the wonderful front line staff who deliver those front line services are stretched to their absolute limits and it's just not fair - the NHS is sick and we need to treat it ! You just cannot run a horse flat out at the gallop all day, everyday, but that is exactly what we are asking our NHS staff to do.
I believe that the MAJORITY of new migrants coming to the UK are not here to rip us off and live on the
dole, but under EU rules, we cannot deny entry to those who are, and cannot get rid of those who do. The question is, do we just keep our fingers crossed and hope that things will "even out over
time", or do we act sensibly and introduce some effective controls to help us manage this problem. Decent people from all around the world want to migrate to the UK because it is a proudly tolerant and democratic nation of freedom lovers.
dole, but under EU rules, we cannot deny entry to those who are, and cannot get rid of those who do. The question is, do we just keep our fingers crossed and hope that things will "even out over
We have a long established history of welcoming people of all backgrounds here to enjoin with us in this spirit of freedom and openness that has become a beacon of hope for fledgling democracies around the globe. For the most part, the people who come here are escaping poverty or oppression and seek nothing more than a better life for themselves and their families - just as my great grandparents did. Russian Jews on one side of my family, Italian Iranians on the other, with an Anglo-Indian wife and a Jamaican son-in-law, I am just an ordinary Londoner.
It is clear from the clamour of complaints about lack of housing, hospital beds and school places, access to jobs and welfare that we have allowed too many to come here too quickly, placing a 
massive burden on our services and infrastructure in too short a period of time. Not only that, but those who have come have not had sufficient time to assimilate and adopt our British core values, thereby changing the face of many of our communities. Some even wish to change our cultural values, QUITE SIGNIFICANTLY, and, to most ordinary Brits, this is simply unacceptable.
Now I am not saying that UKIP are perfect or have all the answers, but I have spent the last two years listening carefully to Nigel Farage and his team of MEPs on the Internet /YouTube, going to public meetings etc, and, on balance, I honestly and sincerely now believe that UKIP are the only party with the will and the ability to save this country from itself, whilst protecting and promoting Britain's interests throughout the globe, not just Europe.
I would like to make it very clear that these pages are designed to tell you about me and my personal philosophies and values and MAY not necessarily reflect or agree with all official UKIP policies - but that's the great thing about UKIP - we do not "whip" our candidates and I am allowed to have my own opinions; and, as long as I fairly and honestly represent the views of the people I am elected to represent, (if I am fortunate enough to get elected) I will be able to champion those issues and ensure they get a fair hearing.
So the choice is simple - if you want to be governed by Europe, have our laws and international trading agreements made there, immigration controls (or lack of them) set there, then you should continue to vote as you have for years, like I did, for any one of the LibLabCon parties, as there is actually little or no difference between them. They all want us to stay in the Europe Union and have committed to allowing this undemocratic dinosaur to take over the running of OUR country. However, if you believe, as I do, that Britain should retain it's national Sovereignty as an independent nation state, but still continue to be good neighbours and to trade freely with Europe as well as the rest of the world, then now is your chance to take a stand too.
On May 7th, you will get a chance to make a real difference. We are at a fork in the road. One way takes us towards madness and European oblivion. The other, is the path to common sense and a righteous future where all-comers to this great country of ours have an equal chance in their quest for British citizenship and all the privileges that come with it.
Come and join the people's army and let's put the "Great" back into Great Britain.
Come and join the people's army and let's put the "Great" back into Great Britain.
UKIP - true democracy, for the people of Britain.
Thanks for visiting,
Best wishes
Pete Muswell
Pete Muswell UK Independence Party 163 Old Street London, EC1V 9NH | eMail: pete.muswell@ukip-islington.org.uk Twitter: @UkipPete and @PeteMuswell www.facebook.com/pete.muswell.ukip www.facebook.com/ukip.hi (Islington & Hackney UKIP Branch meetings and events) |
