Over the last couple of months, a concerted effort has been made by the political establishment and media, to frame UKIP in a way that they just don't do with other parties.
Whilst I suspect some people will say it is because "just more" happens at UKIP. I really do wonder whether people are aware of some of the serious issues/cases which have been under-played in the national media, with regards to other political parties members, candidates, councillors and representatives.
Well here is my effort to try and re-address some balance to the debate.
It is up to you to draw what conclusions you wish. But the facts I present before you are real...
It is worth noting everyone listed below have left their respective positions over 16 months. Not 2 years as listed in the Independent. So arguably the numbers would be vastly higher had I looked at a further 8 months worth of departures...
Conservatives:
Name/Age: Alan Mellins (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Suggesting 'Travellers' should be executed.
Date of suspension: 23 October 2014
Resolved?
Resigned as Councillor on 24 October 2014.
Name/Age: Andrew Sherris (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Failing to pay Council Tax on Second Home.
Date of suspension: 02 March 2015
Resolved?
Currently being investigated by Conservative Party group.
Name/Age: Asif Ayub (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Assaulting his partner.
Date of suspension: 10 July 2014
Resolved?
Convicted on five counts of assaulting his former girlfriend 04 July 2014.
Name/Age: Chris Joannides (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Anti-Islamic comments.
Date of suspension: 21 January 2014
Resolved?
Conservative Party membership suspended for 12 months as punishment.
Name/Age: Justin Hinchcliffe (Unknown)
Position: Chairman
Alleged offence: Advising that Conservative supporters vote Lib Dem to keep Labour out.
Date of suspension: 18 March 2015
Resolved?
Under investigation.
Name/Age: Jefferson Michael Fadaka (Unknown)
Position: Conservative Party Candidate
Alleged offence: Hiding a conviction for benefit fraud to get Conservative party backing.
Date of suspension: 04 February 2015
Resolved?
Removed from party. Pending Court case.
Name/Age: Mudasir Dean (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Failure to pay council tax.
Date of suspension: 15 August 2014
Resolved?
Charges never brought against.
Since selected as the Conservative PPC for Bolton South East
Name/Age: Peter Batty (Unknown)
Position: Councillor / Leader of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council Tory group
Alleged offence: Sending racist, sexist and pornographic e-mails.
Date of suspension: 04 February 2015
Resolved?
Removed from party. Pending Court case.
Name/Age: Patrick Rock (Unknown)
Position: Deputy director of policy for David Cameron, Prime Minister
Alleged offence: Arrested on the charges of child abuse image claims.
Date of suspension: 27 June 2014
Resolved?
Charged in June 2014, with three counts of making an indecent photographs of a child in August 2013. Also charged with possession of 59 indecent images of children. December 2014 pleaded not guilty to six charges of making indecent photographs of children aged between 10 and 13 and one charge of possessing 56 indecent images of children aged between 10 and 14.
Case ongoing.
Name/Age: David Bishop (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Anti-Islamic and Homophobic tweets.
Date of suspension: May 2014
Resolved?
Resigned 04 May 2014.
Name/Age: Philip Judd (60)
Position: Councillor & Former Mayor
Alleged offence: Downloading more than 350 indecent pictures and videos of children.
Date of suspension: September 2014
Resolved?
Resigned 04 May 2014.
Name/Age: Nick Buckmaster (51)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Threatening a neighbour with a fire-arm.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Found guilty of offences, but given suspended sentence.
His council position was allowed to lapse. Conservatives put up a different candidate for his position.
Name/Age: Barbara Driver (77)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Commented; "There is a saying and I am going to say it: When rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.".
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Council position allowed to lapse. Conservatives put up a different candidate for her position. No action taken.
Name/Age: Nick Morris (Unknown)
Position: Council Candidate
Alleged offence: Homophobic comments made on a social networking website.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned from Party on 19 February 2015.
Name/Age: Peter Lawless (62)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Benefits Fraud.
Date of suspension: 08 August 2014
Resolved?
Pleased guilty to three charges of failing to notify a change in circumstances.
Received two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay the council £400 in costs, and £15 victim surcharge.
Name/Age: Douglas Ross (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: "Canvassing against the administration"
Date of suspension: 07 November 2014
Resolved?
Conservative Party group have declined to reverse the decision.
Name/Age: Bob Deed (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Voting against housing, school and employment land expansion in Tiverton.
Date of suspension: 20 May 2014
Resolved?
Conservative Party group confirmed Councillor "was asked to leave the cabinet" and anything more was part of a "private conversation".
Widely considered to be an unfair removal.
Name/Age: Judy Butt (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Opposing controversial proposals to site a temporary traveller transit site in her ward.
Date of suspension: 13 February 2014
Resolved?
Conservative Party group swiftly replaced her.
Decision widely condemned.
Name/Age: Malcolm Rifkind (68)
Position: MP
Alleged offence: Cash For Access.
Date of suspension: 23 February 2015
Resolved?
Currently under review by the Parliamentary Standards Watchdog.
Name/Age: Afzal Amin (Unknown)
Position: PPC
Alleged offence: Collaborating with the Far-Right group 'English Defence League' in an attempt to win votes & inciting racial hatred
Date of suspension: 22 March 2015
Resolved?
Investigation ongoing.
Has resigned as PPC for Dudley North.
Labour Party:
Name/Age: Zaffar Van Kalwala (34)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Driving a motor vehicle dangerously, failing to stop at the scene of an accident & actual bodily harm (ABH)
Date of suspension: 27 August 2014
Resolved?
Found guilty of driving a motor vehicle dangerously and actual bodily harm (ABH) following an incident in Wembley.
Name/Age: Gurpal Virdi (55)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Accused of indecently assaulting a young boy and of assaulting a male prisoner.
Date of suspension: 28 April 2014
Resolved?
Court case still proceeding. Councillor has not resigned and is still representing Hounslow as an Independent Councillor.
Name/Age: Deborah Gihawi (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Posting anti-Semitic comments on her Facebook page.
Date of suspension: 26 January 2015
Resolved?
Suspended by the Labour Party and now standing as an Independent Councillor.
Name/Age: Vicki Kirby (34)
Position: PPC
Alleged offence: Posting ant-Israel messages on social networking sites.
Date of suspension: 21 Suspended 2014
Resolved?
Suspended by the Labour Party and resigned as PPC.
Name/Age: Kathy Wiles (Unknown)
Position: PPC
Alleged offence: Posting a picture of Nazi origin.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned as PPC for the Labour Party 30 June 2014.
Name/Age: Rosemary Healy (Unknown)
Position: Councillor / PPC
Alleged offence: Posting a tweet making light of a Nazi Concentration camp. Also later revealed to have posted picture labelling the Royal Family a "Nazi Family".
Date of suspension: 06 January 2015
Resolved?
Removed as PPC. However reinstated as Councillor.
Name/Age: David Christison (44)
Position: PPC / Party Secretary
Alleged offence: Accused of videoing men urinating in public restrooms.
Date of suspension: 04 March 2014
Resolved?
Removed as PPC. Suspended by party.
Name's/Age's: Gwendoline Russell (Unknown), Shaukat Ali (Unknown), Roger Stone (Unknown) and Jahangir Akhtar (53)
Position: Councillors / Former Deputy of Labour Rotherham
Alleged offence: Investigated under suspicion of covering up child abuse in the City of Rotherham.
Date of suspension: 02 September 2014
Resolved?
Removed as Councillors pending full investigation into events at the Council over a 14 year period.
Name's/Age's: Keith Edwards (Unknown), Ross Thomas (Unknown), Gareth Wyn Davies (Unknown), Edith Hughes (Unknown), Gareth Phillips (Unknown) and Martyn Jones (Unknown).
Position: Councillors
Alleged offence: All six Councillors randomly suspended by Party after failing to vote in favour of a Council merger.
Date of suspension: 15 February 2015
Resolved?
Later reinstated without apology from the Labour Party.
Name/Age: Gary Bush (Unknown), Ross Thomas (Unknown), Gareth Wyn Davies (Unknown), Edith Hughes (Unknown), Gareth Phillips (Unknown) and Martyn Jones (Unknown).
Position: Councillor / Leader of Melton Council
Alleged offence: Alleged Benefits Fraud.
Date of suspension: 05 March 2015
Resolved?
Subject of internal investigation.
Name's/Age's: Mohammad Ayub (Unknown) and Naseem Ayub (Unknown)
Position's: Councillor
Alleged offence: Accused of offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (unauthorised access) and/or Malicious Communications Act 1988 (send offensive communication/incite racial hatred).
Date of suspension: 03 January 2014
Resolved?
Reported to be being investigated by the police. However both still active Labour Party Councillors in Luton so must have been reinstated.
Name/Age: Peter Barnett (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Accused of "Islamophobia".
Date of suspension: 04 February 2014
Resolved?
Reinstated, regardless of evidence showing the offence.
Name/Age: Nesimi Erbil (Unknown)
Position's: Councillor
Alleged offence: Accused of "Islamophobia".
Date of suspension: 04 February 2014
Resolved?
Reinstated, regardless of evidence showing the offence.
Name/Age: Farooq Ahmed (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Accused of Homophobic abuse of another Councillor.
Date of suspension: 05 February 2014
Resolved?
Resigned from Rochdale Labour Party 16 June 2014, along with Labour Councillors (wife) Shefali Ahmed and Shefali Ahmed over a "lack of support" during his police investigation. All three have gone on to serve as Independent Councillors on Rochdale Council. Farooq was later convicted of a public order offence that saw him yell ‘queer’ at a fellow Councillor.
Name/Age: Peter McLaughlin (61)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Admitted assaulting a young boy.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned as Labour Party member on the day of his arrest.
Awaiting sentencing.
Name/Age: Andrew Palmer (52)
Position: Member, activist and campaigner
Alleged offence: Twice breaching a sexual offences prevention order and a community order. Note: Had twice spent time behind bars for possessing indecent images of children, however was allowed to region Labour Party and assist candidates in their election campaigns.
Date of suspension: Unknown
Resolved?
Sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Name/Age: Dan Young (24)
Position: Aide to Jon Cruddas MP, Chairman of London Young Labour & Councillor
Alleged offence: Domestic Assault of his girlfriend.
Date of suspension: Some time between 03 December - 15 December 2014
Resolved?
Membership suspended by Labour Party. Unknown whether will be reinstated.
Name/Age: Jack Straw (68)
Position: MP
Alleged offence: Cash For Access.
Date of suspension: 23 February 2015
Resolved?
Currently under review by the Parliamentary Standards Watchdog.
Name/Age: Haydar Ulus (35)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Date of suspension: 17 September 2014
Resolved?
Currently acting as an independent Councillor and pending Court case.
Name/Age: Mark Cherry (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Posted a Tweet which compared Conservative Party policy to the Holocaust.
Date of suspension: 22 May 2014
Resolved?
Claimed that his Twitter account had been "hacked" and reinstated.
Liberal Democrats:
Name/Age: David Potter (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Non-attendance of Council meetings for six months.
Date of suspension: 20 June 2014
Resolved?
Disqualified as a member of Worthing Borough Council and resigned Liberal Democrat membership.
Name/Age: Ajit Atwal (43)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Posing for a picture holding a AK47 assault rifle.
Date of suspension: 15 April 2014
Resolved?
Investigated by the Police and his local Liberal Democrats branch.
No further action taken by Police or Lib Dems.
Name/Age: Subhan Shafiq (Unknown)
Position: Mayor
Alleged offence: Personally vouching for a taxi driver who had convictions for rape and sexual assault.
Date of suspension: 17 November 2014
Resolved?
Resigned 17 November 2014.
Name/Age: Paul Prescod (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: 'Breaches of discipline'
Date of suspension: 10 October 2014
Resolved?
Suspended for three months.
Name/Age: Mike Hancock (68)
Position: MP / Councillor
Alleged offence: Making improper sexual advances.
Date of suspension: 19 September 2014
Resolved?
Resigned as Councillor and MP.
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Accused of hitting a 7 year old child.
Date of suspension: 28 April 2014
Resolved?
Barred from representing the Liberal Democrats.
Admitted assaulting 7-year-
Name/Age: Bob Thompson (60)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Caught stroking a 13-year-old girl’s feet while she was asleep and also made sexual remarks to the teenager and her young boyfriend.
Date of suspension: 19 March 2014
Resolved?
Suspended membership.
Name/Age: Peter Brock (57)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Stealing more than £1,000 from The Royal British Legion.
Date of suspension: 24 April 2014
Resolved?
Resigned as Councillor.
12-month community order to do 150 hours' unpaid work for three counts of theft, ordered to repay £1,231 he had stolen and pay £85 in costs.
Name/Age: Drew Millar (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: "Sharing extremist material".
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned 25 October 2014.
Name/Age: Drew Millar (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: "Sharing extremist material".
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned 25 October 2014.
Name/Age: Paul Strasburger, Baron Strasburger (67)
Position: Peer
Alleged offence: Accepted a potentially illegal donation.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned from Lib Dems on the party on 20 March 2015 after he was told Channel 4’s Dispatches would report “a £10,000 donation was paid by the stepfather of an undercover businessman which would be against the rules on donations”.
Name/Age: Chris Rennard, Baron Rennard (54)
Position: Peer
Alleged offence: Accepted a potentially illegal donation.
Date of suspension: 20 January 2014
Resolved?
Suspended pending a disciplinary investigation over bringing the party into disrepute by failing to apologise over sexual harassment allegations.
Name's/Age's: Barry Bingham (Unknown), Maureen Davenport (Unknown), Bob Gibson (Unknown), Ray Russell (Unknown), Peter Barr (Unknown), Mark Higgingbottom (Unknown), Chris Collard (Unknown), Alexis Diouf (Unknown), Keith Morgan (Unknown), Howard Borrell (Unknown), Denise Hawksworth (Unknown) & Shirley Niblock (Unknown).
Position: Councillor's
Alleged offence: "Bullying".
Date of suspension: 22 March 2015
Resolved?
Investigation ongoing.
Name/Age: Lesley Hayward (63)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Benefits fraud.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned from Liberal Democrats upon discovering charges being brought against her.
Found guilty of falsely claiming more than £44,000 in state payouts.
4 month suspended sentence for 12 months.
Resigned as Councillor.
Name/Age: Kevin Wilson (55)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Fraud.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned from Lib Dems on 24 January 2014 having admitted to defrauding his own council.
Name/Age: Stephen Fenwick (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Racially aggravated assault.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned from Lib Dems on 11 March 2014 pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault.
Given year-long conditional discharge and a fine.
Name/Age: Philip Drury (Unknown)
Position: Councillor
Alleged offence: Suggesting a victim of rape wasn't attractive enough to be targeted.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned from Lib Dems on 05 January 2015 after being widely denounced in his area for his comments.
Name/Age: Ibrahim Taguri (Unknown)
Position: PPC / Racial equality spokesperson
Alleged offence: Accepting potentially illegal financial donations.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned as PPC 12 March 2015.
Name/Age: Tim Dennen (57)
Position: Councillor / Council candidate
Alleged offence: Charged with £3,600 worth of benefit fraud. Also accused of failing to tell the benefits department was receiving the £7,528.95 a year expenses for being a councillor since his 2010 election.
Date of suspension: N/A
Resolved?
Resigned as Lib Dem 15 May 2014.
Name/Age: Jason Zadrozny (34)
Position: Councillor / PPC
Alleged offence: Child sex abuse allegations.
Date of suspension: 26 March 2015
Resolved?
Resigned as Lib Dem PPC. Remains as Councillor.
