LETTER: Ill-defined policies from UKIP

policy in the interview with Mr Glennon, UKIP’s leader on WSCC (WSCT 6/6/2013); published on the 69the Anniversary of D Day when many died bringing freedom from Nazi tyranny and racism to Europe.

It is a pity that Mr Glennon did not seem to appreciate the apparent arrogance, irony and hypocrisy of his and his party’s position, coming from a group who represent some eight per cent of those entitled to vote in West Sussex and whose avowed intention is for the UK to leave Europe, an issue that has little relevance to the effective management of WSCC!

How fortunate for Mr Glennon that he could retire early from teaching to “pursue a life in politics”, no doubt enjoying a state sponsored index linked pension courtesy of the rest of society, unlike those of us who work in the private sector whose pension provision is down to our savings, the performance of the market and annuity rates and for whom retirement before 60 remains an impossible dream.

Does he not see the irony and hypocrisy of his revelation about his Malaysian wife and Spanish sister in law and Mr Farage’s German wife? Immigration is fine for them, but not for future groups once UKIP has closed the door! Do as I say not as I do.

The whole interview was characterised by inconsistency and woolly tautology, as your interviewer seems to have recognised. Like his leader Mr Farage, who when faced with detailed questions on policy from BBC Radio Scotland ended the interview by slamming the phone down,

Mr Glennon had no concrete answers on detailed policy or how UKIP would pay for them!

His assertions about the adverse consequences of “unlimited immigration” do not stand scrutiny, despite the moral obligation that we may have to many from commonwealth countries as the former colonial power; there are immigration controls in place.

The UK’s housing issue has its root cause in a failure of successive Tory and Labour Governments to build adequate housing to meet the needs of the indigenous population and to replace social housing sold off at a discount by the Conservatives. An issue compounded by people living longer, marrying later, and having a higher divorce rate, all meaning that we now need more houses for any given level of population than previously.

As one who is a regular user of our local hospital facilities, I am only too aware of the significant

positive contribution that migrants make to the care and service of the NHS. Without them I fear the service would deteriorate and probably be inoperable; a situation ignored by Mr Glennon.

As for Mr Glennon’s arrogant assertions that “the Conservative Party will implode and

disintegrate” and “the Liberal Democrats are going to disappear off the face of politics for ever”, he is obviously not a very good student of history. Time will tell, but based on his interview, I doubt if many would wish to entrust their long term future to the ill defined policies and stewardship of UKIP and the likes of Mr Glennon, Mr Arthur and their hotchpotch crew of Little Englander isolationists.

L. N. PRICE

Smithbarn, Horsham