Nigel Farage's Diary

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Flying the UKIP flag in Buckingham

Monday, 28th September 2009

So here we are in Buckingham! A huge number of people have gathered here from all over the country for the first day in the constituency unhindered by the lack of a train station.

We had a good start in the town shopping area, chatting with locals about EU issues as well as local concerns such as the possible closure of the local hospital and the proposed incinerator. The latter of course is a direct result of the EU's landfill directive where some clever johnny with a pencil and paper thought it would be much better to burn rubbish and pump the surrounding areas full of fumes than bury the stuff underground. I can't see the sense of it, which is perhaps why I never wanted to be a civil servant.
 
Unusually for a politician, some might say, I am also sticking to my pledge of visiting every licensed premises in the constituency. Unfortunately our first stop to the Kings Head was delayed as it seems that the landlord had something of a heavy night and is opening late. Never mind! The White Hart it is!
 
Chatting with the locals in here shows a lot of positive support including people who supported us in the European Elections and now are taking that one step further for the General Election. The barman is very friendly and tells me that the smoking ban, high duty and cheap supermarket prices have had a negative effect on their business. Luckily for them they can do food and have an outisde area but it's madness to me that something as important as the local pub should be put under threat.
 
The Three Cups, my next visit, can't diversify in that way. They're a drinking pub through and through and really feeling the hit from the smoking ban where their regulars don't particularly like standing outside for a smoke. The landlord is supportive of my standing against John Bercow as he points out that he wants to have a choice in who to vote for. "It's supporsed to be a democracy, not a dictatorship!" he says. He told me he feels that the ban is like MPs want to kill the pub industry. They don't serve food so why can't people smoke?
 
On the way to the next pub someone stops me to say I have his support. "If I'm still around!" he chuckles. "I'm not feeling that well at the moment!".
 
And so onto the Whale. A quick glance at the TV to see that Britain is still leading the way in Formula 1 and it's back to chatting to the staff and locals. This pub have clearly spent quite a bit of money building a smoking shelter so their regulars don't get blown to Milton Keynes if they want a quick puff in the winter. Unfortunately one glance at it tells me that it's going to be banned under the new rules which stipulate along the lines of 'one wall only.' So that's 'outside a building' then. Super.
 
Good news! George at the Kings Head is awake. A supporter stops me on the way and says "I hope you knock him off his perch!" I presume he's talking about Bercow. There seems to be a feeling here that MPs are all just part of the establishment, which of course they are. That's why I'm standing - so the voters in Buckingham actually have a choice about who they vote for. Why should they not be able to vote for someone other than the speaker; they have the right to have a constituency MP and someone to represent the views they believe in.
 
George at the Kings Head is also a fan of motorbikes which is of course another area that the EU are trying to legislate into oblivion. When it comes to his pub he's managing to keep his head above water but only by sacking his staff and running it just with family members. A winning formula there from the government, then: so much for growth and jobs!
 
We leave Buckingham and go to Winslow; a lovely little pub called The Swan which is again another drinking and smoking pub where the regulars are getting fed up of standing outside. The landlord owned another pub when the smoking ban was going through parliament  and the plan was that pubs which served food would be covered by the law. So he stopped serving food and then overnight Patsy Hewitt threw their toys out of the pram and decided to ban it everywhere. Nanny knows best!
 
Princes Risborough, it has been decided, is now going to be part of the constituency of Buckingham. I don't know why and neither do the locals who were quite surprised to find that their well liked MP David Lidington is not going to be representing them. We went to The Bell which is run by 24-year-old Richard. Most of the pub were outside enjoying the sunshine and they have a lovely garden which lessens the impact of the smoking ban. Of course it doesn't have an effect on the minimum prices pubs have which supermarkets don't. When it comes to a blustery October evening these things make a huge difference in whether someone stays at home with some cheaply bought beer or goes outside to pay pub prices and not be able to smoke indoors.
 
Richard's also a member of the 'pub is the hub' group. They have people from 18 to 80 drinking there on a Friday and that's one of the features of the Great British Pub - it's for everyone.
 
He makes the point that when it comes to anti-social behaviour the trouble is more likely to start with people guzzling cheap booze at home and then stumbling to the pub for the last few orders.
 
I went for a walk around the shops in Princes Risborough talking to the staff and owners. One lady had found herself on the wrong end of the EU's Age Discrimination legislation because her insurance company wouldn't insure her drivers over a certain age. Of course there's nothing Westminster can do about these laws as they're made in the EU by unelected Commissioners and MEPs, the majority of whom aren't British. If only they'd been debated in the House of Commons instead of in a sub committee then people would know more about them and the cost to their businesses. It's examples like this which make me more determined to stand and fight this constituency.
 
The local hardware shop said they'd had complaints about the latest barmy initiative banning certain lightbulbs. It's a sad state of affairs that even how we light our sitting rooms is controlled by 26 other countries.
 
A trip to the pub on the high street found more support - where people are sick of the cost of the EU but also the avalance of crazy legislation that we can't change. People want to be able to run their own country and wonder why our politicians don't. Even the thought of it is perceived as a mad cap idea.
 
One local guy must have been on a trip to Brussels or Strasbourg: "That EU Parliament, " he said, "It's a f**king farce!" Well, quite.
 
The George and Dragon in Quainton was having a beer festival and it was a scene of English loveliness. Tables were full of people drinking and chatting in the autumn sunshine, animals lay snoozing and a steam fair chugged up the road to the top of the green. I must get one of those large engines in UKIP colours - they make you proud to be British but you wouldn't want one to run over your toe.
 
The pub went non-smoking before the ban and that demonstrates quite how unnecessary the law is. It's all down to freedom of choice. Of course the landlord has other problems with the high taxes and competition from superkarkets - EU law stops them from having minimum prices set!
 
The village also has a windmill which I staggered up - trying to hide the fact that I'm really not a fan of heights.
 
The final stop of the day is to The Lion in Waddesdon. The locals were invited along to meet their candidate and it was great to talk to people about their real concerns. Skilled people who have lost jobs, local business people and those who think that in a few years time this state pension they've been contributing to won't exist for them. All in all, a great start to my campaign here in Buckingham.
 
I've met some people who are 'true blue'. some who are so disillusioned with politics they've given up and plenty of young people eager to debate with me.
 
The young and the old are keen to get involved, it's the ones in the middle who are more complacent.
 
I'm looking forward to the next few months and meeting as many people as possible. And I hope I see Bercow along the way and at some point he takes up the challenge of a debate.

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