New CRB checks "draconian and dangerous" say UKIP

News that parents who regularly drive children for sports or social clubs will have to be vetted or face fines of up to £5,000 were desribed as "draconian and dangerous" by UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom.

Mr Bloom spoke out against the proposals saying it was "unacceptable that the state can and want to control people to this extent."

"What this legislation is essentially doing is allowing the state to decide who is and who isn't a paedophile." he said.

"For years I've been involved with cricket and sports teams in Yorkshire and around the country without the people involved feeling the need for the police to check me out.

'If this government really do wish to 'safeguard children' they'd be better off looking up the word 'liberty' in the dictionary.

Godfrey takes tilt at windmills

Wind turbines blighting our landscapes were slammed by UKIP Euro MP Godfrey Bloom at the party's national conference.

He told the delegates at the Southport Conference Centre at the weekend that it was "nonsense" to blame a rise in Co2 for global warming.

Mr Bloom, MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, told the packed audience that wind turbines "as big as Big Ben" were causing distress to people all over the country.

"I find that very difficult to cope with because we know they don't work. I think it would be marvelous if we could harness the wind - but we can't.

"Germany has 19,000 wind turbines but not one conventional power station has consequently been de-commissioned," he said.

Mr Bloom challenged claims that the science on the issue has been settled and said that 800 international scientists and their institutions do not agree it is settled. He also pointed out that Inter-governmental Climate Change Panel is a political organisation and not an independent scientific body.

Instead of global warming in fact the world's temperatures are falling while Co2 keeps rising, he added.

Mr Bloom told the enthusiastic audience that he is currently working on the subject with fellow UKIP MEP Derek Clark, a former science teacher.

Far from the issue being settled "the debate is only just beginning," he said.

Lightbulb ban threat to health

The EU ban on traditional lightbulbs will put people's health at risk, warns UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom.

The ban on traditional light bulbs begins on September 1 with 100-watt bulbs being removed from shelves and the rest will be phased out by 2012.

Mr Bloom said: "They have had no regard for people's right to choose and absolutely no concern for the terrible impact this will have on those with light-sensitive health conditions.

"Time and time again we watch with despair as the EU churns out legislation with unintended consequences - and here we go again.

"We are being bullied into this in the name of climate change but what about the mercury contained in the new energy saving bulbs. I have no doubt that the issue of their disposal has not been given proper consideration."

People who are light sensitive suffer because of the emission of ultraviolet and the blue part of the visible spectrum. Tests by the Health Protection Agency has shown that the new compact fluoresent bulbs (CFLs) emit both.

"These types of bulbs should carry a health warning similar to cigarettes," said Mr Bloom, MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

"A whole range of illnesses are involved including lupus, psoriasis, eczema, porphyria, migraines, ME, epilepsy and autism.

"I have been told that adverse effects include nausea, burning sensations, rashes, lethargy, swollen joints, anxiety and genetic damage.

"Nearly all public buildings, including hospitals, and the majority of workplaces are lit with these types of lights which means that sufferers are unable to live a normal life.

"And if a proposal to change street lighting from amber sodium to white fluorescent tubes goes ahead it will mean sufferers will be unable to go out in the evening. This will make them prisoners in their own home.

"There maybe only a small percentage of the population affected but they have the same rights as anybody else under the Disability Discrimination Act and are entitled to access to any public building."

Time for smokers' action, says Bloom

EU plans launched today intending to ban all smoking in public places, including beer gardens, parks, festivals and the like were greeted by disbelief and a call to action from Godfrey Bloom MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

“Enough is enough,” said Mr Bloom. “Today six pubs will close in the UK. Part of our culture is under threat and now is the time to say enough is enough. These jumped up puritanical dictators must be told where to get off.

"Nobody pretends that smoking is a good thing, but it is legal. So why don't they come clean and announce an outright ban? Because they daren't. Making 12 million Britons criminals overnight might be gong a little too far even for them. But making them second class citizens, well it seems that is no problem.

"These bullies seem to have no truck with freedom, liberty or tolerance. Well, in that case we shall have to take it back. And if that means a certain level of civil disobedience, well, so be it.”

The EU has call definition of a public place is 'all places accessible to the general public or places for collective use, regardless of ownership or right to access. It is further recommended that “indoor” (or “enclosed”) areas be defined to include any space covered by a roof or enclosed by one or more walls or sides, regardless of the type of material used for the roof, wall or sides, and regardless of whether the structure is permanent or
temporary'

The Commission's proposals can be found here.

Cameron on financial regulation, quotes from UKIP

"I don't know how the Tories have got the nerve to pontificate on financial regulation when it's perfectly obvious fromn their performance over the last few years that they have no idea what they are talking about." said Godfrey Bloom MEP, UKIP Economics spokesman.

"There's no such thing as 'light regulation' in financial services: the FSA write their own rules, collect and keep any fines and are above the law. It's a system a banana republic would be proud of.

"And currently, the FSA is being run by friends of Gordon Brown, not even clever friends. This is an industry which used to make up 10% of GDP and it should be in the hands of people who know what they are actually talking about.

"Would you let your family members go for heart surgery performed by a taxi driver? Then why should the heart of our economy be managed by people who don't have a clue?"