Now that it’s been announced at the Conference, I can tell you all the good news – Peter Roberts, the man responsible for the biggest petition against any British government, is standing for UKIP in the next election in … the Telford constituency! Peter’s petition against the road pricing tax has made him something of a local celebrity and hopefully Telford residents will take the opportunity to vote for the first decent candidate we’ve had for many years.
Peter is a hard working, down-to-earth local man who found himself thrust into the limelight for standing up for what he believed in and hopefully standing up for what he believes in will see him elected as UKIP’s first MP in the next General Election.
The press release from UKIP is as follows:
One of the foremost internet campaigners of recent times has been selected to stand as a parliamentary candidate for the UK Independence Party. Peter Roberts, who secured 1.8 million signatures for his petition against road pricing, has been selected to contest the Labour-held seat of Telford.
Speaking at the party conference in London, Mr Roberts said he had thrown his hat into the ring because he realised that the politics he believed in were shared by the libertarian party.
“I noticed that large numbers of people who signed my petition against road pricing were members of the UK Independence Party,” he said. “Having gone to a UKIP meeting to speak about my opposition to this stealth tax known as road pricing, I have decided to fight the constituency of Telford so I can take the concerns of the people to Westminster to try to stop this sinister development.
“Already I have helped the campaign in the West Midlands against local and regional road pricing schemes which are being used by the government as a springboard to a national scheme.
“It’s nothing more than an additional tax which is being levied on people who aren’t driving for fun, but driving to get to work. They are doing so because they have to and the way I see it is that they are being penalised for being taxpayers.
“Thankfully, there is one party in this country that doesn’t want sky high taxes and doesn’t want the state to monitor where people are driving to and how fast, which is why I am delighted to be standing for the UK Independence Party.”
West Midlands MEP Mike Nattrass said he was “thrilled” that Mr Roberts was standing for the party:
“He will be a wonderful contribution to our team as we gear up for a general election fight. We want to ensure that people in the West Midlands have a genuine opposition party to vote for, rather than a carbon copy of this hopeless government.”
Technorati Tags: Peter Roberts, UKIP, Telford
That’s probably the least surprising news I’ve heard for a month, and confirms much of what many people think about UKIP.
Considering it wasn’t announced until the Conference and until then only a few of us knew, how can it be unsurprising? And what does it confirm about what people think about UKIP?
Hmm, let’s see: a single-issue enthusiast with little grasp of the bigger picture, and who launched a disproportionate, self-centred and blinkered response to something that wasn\’t really much of a threat in the first place – which party is going to be the natural home of someone like that?
Allie, that doesn’t even deserve a response. You don’t know Peter and you don’t know the circumstances around the petition.
Yes I do know the circumstances, because Mr Roberts was all over every media outlet for weeks, unless the circumstances are different from those which he told us, in which case I think we ought to be enlightened further.
Doesn’t deserve a response? Or haven’t you got one?
Allie,
Do you live local to Telford as I would love to meet with you and discuss your concerns?
The Road Pricing petition was single issue, but it also gained a lot of support from those who recognise the issues with civil liberties and personal freedoms which would be under attack from a pay as you drive tax.
It is also true that UKIP are seen to be a single issue party by the media. But, I would not align myself with UKIP if I was not convinced they had a real range of policies on taxation, transport, immigration, education, health and all the other issues people are concerned about.
Allie, you say you know the circumstances from the media coverage. You should know the media only report on the issue they are interested in at the time. It would be a little strange if you were being interviewed about a Road Pricing petition and started talking about issues totally removed from the subject at hand.
Regards
Peter Roberts
Allie,
Do you live local to Telford as I would love to meet with you and discuss your concerns?
The Road Pricing petition was single issue, but it also gained a lot of support from those who recognise the issues with civil liberties and personal freedoms which would be under attack from a pay as you drive tax.
It is also true that UKIP are seen to be a single issue party by the media. But, I would not align myself with UKIP if I was not convinced they had a real range of policies on taxation, transport, immigration, education, health and all the other issues people are concerned about.
Allie, you say you know the circumstances from the media coverage. You should know the media only report on the issue they are interested in at the time. It would be a little strange if you were being interviewed about a Road Pricing petition and started talking about issues totally removed from the subject at hand.
Peter Roberts