New blow for Tories as another bigwig joins UKIP

The defector: Better hope you're right, Richard, otherwise you're facing a rather jarring lifestyle change!

The defector: Better hope you’re right, Richard, otherwise you’re facing a rather jarring lifestyle change!

The former Conservative Deputy Mayor of London – a chap called Richard Barnes – has defected to UKIP, according to the Evening Standard.

Barnes, who was London’s Deputy Mayor from 2008-12, follows MPs Mark Reckless and Douglas Carswell into the Purple Wilderness, in a move that seems timed to further disrupt the Conservative Party Conference.

Like the others, Barnes seems a perfect fit for UKIP as he says he agrees with its policies on the EU, immigration and the expansion of Heathrow Airport. In other words he wants to keep Johnny Foreigner out. Oh, and he doesn’t like HS2 either.

Speaking as a gay man, Mr Barnes tried to dismiss claims that UKIP is homophobic. In a weak defence of the party, one of whose members tried to blame the severe flooding and storms at the start of this year on the legalisation of gay marriage, he said: “I don’t think they become homophobic the moment they join UKIP.”

He also told the Standard that the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems did not “speak the language of normal people”.

After four year’s as Number Two to Boris Johnson, how would he know?

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6 Comments

  1. Nick September 30, 2014 at 11:16 am - Reply

    good he knows it makes sense

    • Mike Sivier September 30, 2014 at 12:52 pm - Reply

      How can joining UKIP make any sense at all – especially if you’re gay?

      • Barry Davies October 6, 2014 at 10:34 pm - Reply

        Because it isn’t about your sexuality it is about the politics that matter to the vast majarotity not that UKIP is in any way shape or form any more homophobic than the average ukip hater.

  2. jess September 30, 2014 at 12:07 pm - Reply

    I tend to agree with your earlier comments on Mark Feckless

    “but he still looks like a rat leaving the sinking Tory ship.”

    And suggest it applies to this one, too

    Mr Toad must have known this was in the pipeline

    And will have orchestrated the timing of these defections

    Cameron, as the party conference speeches demonstrated continues his march to the right.

    Johnson, however, has invited Toad to rejoin the party

    One suspects it is merely part of the realignment of ‘the right’ in preparation for what they hope to be a brief period in opposition after the next election.

    An alternative explanation could be that these chancers expected the Yes campaign to have won in Scotland, whereby Cameron would have been finished as ‘leader’ and they could have had an influential voice in choosing his successor.

    Now, forsaking that opportunity, they now reason that they will become bigger fish in the smaller pond of sewage that is Toad’s preferred environment, for the moment

  3. Steve Williams October 6, 2014 at 9:47 pm - Reply

    Oh well at least the Tory vote will be split in 2015! Maybe this will finally persuade them to support PR *ducks to avoid flying pig*

    • Barry Davies October 6, 2014 at 10:37 pm - Reply

      Well if someone becomes so disillusioned with the way in which your party is heading, a very common occurrence with the conlablibdum party members, then you have to leave because you would not be true to what you yourself believe. Only people more interested in their own needs than those of others would stay in a party they no longer believe in.

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