UKIP's attendance record in the European Parliament is worse than that of their counterparts from the three major parties.
UKIP’s attendance record in the European Parliament is worse than that of their counterparts from the three major parties, according to data compiled by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
Happy to sign-in and collect their allowances, UKIP’s nine MEPs have missed around a third of the votes in the European Parliament between 2009 and October 2013. They have also missed almost all of the ‘reports amended’ sessions in which MEPs lay down amendments to legislation.
This was once again demonstrated on Wednesday, when Europe voted on whether its Parliament should continue meeting in both Brussels and Strasbourg, after a long campaign highlighting the fact that it costs European taxpayers €180m to meet in two locations rather than one.
Despite UKIP claiming to be standing up for Britain against European bureaucracy, however, only four UKIP MEPs out of nine bothered to turn up to vote on the measure at all. And those that did turn up abstained – on a measure that would have trimmed spending and cut waste!
And yet despite only four UKIP MEPs turning up to vote on the ‘second seat’ rule on Wednesday, six UKIP MEPs signed in to claim their daily spending allowance.
In other words, some UKIP MEPs signed in and couldn’t even be bothered to abstain!
66 Responses to “UKIP MEPs laziest in Europe”
Cole
Aren’t there other Kipper MEPs? Surely they can’t all have been suspended for being weird or extreme.
Blazeaway
Pathetic article. Deliberatly misunderstands the role of UKIP.
The EU is an illegitimate ruler of UK citizens.
Blazeaway
I was a Labour Party member for nearly 30 years, election organiser, subs collector, leafleter, canvasser, number taker, branch sec etc.
Trade union member etc.
I realise now how much power we citizens have given away to the EU. A betrayal of our power as citizens in a democracy.
I have joined UKIP.
I still have two standing orders to my CLP. They will be transferred to my branch of UKIP.
The left is truly braindead if it thinks that attendance in an illegitimate parliament is the issue upon which we should decide how to vote.
Rallan
What’s the point of playing so dumb? Are you fricking 5 years old, or what? You know well what UKIP stands for and what UKIP MEPs are about. Unless you’ve been living in a box for the last 2 years.
Fair enough that you don’t like or agree with UKIP but pretending you don’t understand is just stupid. It’s even been explained several times in these comments.
Rallan
“it’s entirely inappropriate for politicians to spend money claimed through expenses on promoting their party”
Really, is it? Why? Who says so?