#208* - Christopher BOOKER & Bill JAMIESON'S LETTER of 2000

#208* - Christopher BOOKER & Bill JAMIESON'S LETTER of 2000

Clean EUkip up NOW & make UKIP electable!

Christopher BOOKER & Bill JAMIESON'S LETTER MAILED BY ME TO EVERY UKIP MEMBER DURING THE 2000 LEADERSHIP CONTEST!

VERBATIM COPY of SIGNED LETTER:

To: All Members of the UKIP National Executive

From: Bill Jamieson and Christopher Booker

9 March 2000

UKIP Leadership Election

As two Sunday Telegraph columnists who have been among UKIP's most active allies in the media, and who have to a certain extent staked our journalistic credibility on our support for the Party, may we express our particularly deeply felt concerns over the present leadership elections?

It is clearly vital, from everyone's point of view, that UKIP should choose a leader who can command the widest possible support both inside and outside the Party; and in this context it is our strongly held view that this must mean choosing a NEW leader. The past year has seen far too many embarrassments and missed opportunities for there to be anything other than a complete break with the past.

But, in terms of our public support for UKIP, we regret it is equally vital that the Party should choose someone whose analysis of the nature and failings of the European Union is based on a serious, up-to-date understanding of how and why the EU is developing in the way it is; and not some wider conspiracy theory which, however compelling to a minority of members, cannot be shared by the vast majority.

We believe at least one of the candidates for the leadership falls into this latter category, Mr. Rodney Atkinson. It is our personal concern that any leader holding such views might take the Party in directions where it would be impossible for us to follow, as we would sadly have to make clear.

We very much hope the members of UKIP will choose a leader who can take the Party forward on the broadest possible front, and in a way to which we can both continue to give our enthusiastic support.

with our good wishes

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE
Bill Jamieson Christopher Booker