UKIP leader Nigel Farage this week launched an outrageous attack on the integrity of new EU High Commissioner Baroness Ashton, implying links with Communists.
Nigel Farage, in his last week as UKIP leader, has launched a highly personal attack on the newly-appointed EU High Commissioner Cathy Ashton – accusing her of being in the pay of “enemies of the West”.
His behaviour, criticised by the President of the European Parliament as being “absolutely improper to the whole situation”, has unsurprisingly been lauded by Euro-sceptics – on the UKIP website and by the high-priest of Europhobia, Tory MEP Daniel Hannan in his blog.
Farage’s tactics – calling Baroness Ashton and Herman van Rompuy “political pygmies” and describing her appointment as “an embarrassment for Britain” – are just the latest in a series of personal attacks by increasingly desperate Right-wingers against prominent Labour figures, including members of the Cabinet.
Among those who challenged Farage in Brussels were Irish MEP Seán Kelly, who said:
“I think some of the comments made today unfortunately by Mr Farage were over the top, but at this stage I am becoming aware of the fact that Mr Farage is like a long-playing record. He keeps repeating the same political agenda, harking back to the days of Rule, Britannia! and nation fighting nation. Those days are over.
“The European Union is the greatest peace process ever known. It shall continue to do so and we parliamentarians must work hard to ensure that that is the way it is going to be from now on.”
And Hungarian MEP Edit Herczog told him:
“I would like to quote a Hungarian saying to you. It is good that you are here because, if the monkey goes up the tree, it is easier to see its backside!”
The new leader of UKIP will be announced later today.
Hat tip: Rupert Read
UPDATE 4:00
Lord Pearson is the new leader of UKIP, no doubt to Mr Farage’s relief; earlier this month he had described Pearson as the only “credible candidate” for leader, saying he was “head and shoulders above all the other candidates”.
15 Responses to “Farage smears Ashton as being in the pocket of “enemies of the West””
Anon E Mouse
If that last post seemed personally aimed to you Will as in a private post rather than public here just pull it dude and this one.
Liz McShane
Anon – i am not new labour’ biggest fan – i marched against the iraq war etc and feel uncomfortable about Britain’s presence in Afghanistan etc however i do think like it or not we needed tony blair et al to get into government and i am the first to acknowledge that new labour came in with such high expectations and hope but yet failed to act on all this maybe out of timidity than anything else.
However it is important to remember that they did some good things eg minimum wage – remember the hostility to that from tories et al? Social chapter, progressive maternity and paternity rights etc . Friends who work in the voluntary sector and are not new labour cheerleaders are glad of the money and energy put into frontline services over the last ten years etc and are already seeing the effects of loss of labour control in their local councils to the drying up of funding etc.
It’s not a perfect world and opposition is not an option if we want to effect positive and progressive change.
Anon E Mouse
Liz – Thanks for the response – I’d actually done my usual essay like reply, the internet at home was down and I just lost everything and even though I refreshed the page it’s gone.
I’ll post tomorrow when I get a chance – you raise some points I agree with and I’d like to expand on them later.
Have a good weekend. (Don’t take me too seriously Liz, I don’t)
Liz McShane
Anon – I am glad that we agree on some things…
Maybe at some point in the near future you might even reveal your real name!!……?
Anon E Mouse
Liz – James