Live webchat with UKIP leader Nigel Farage, Thurs 24 Feb, 1-2pm

[KatieMumsnet]

Our live webchat guest this week is Nigel Farage. He is the leader of UKIP and has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1999.

Known for his straight-talking, Nigel has made the headlines with forthright speeches, once telling the EU President he had the charisma of a 'damp rag'.

He is a regular on programmes including BBC Question Time.

If you have a question you'd like to put to Nigel, please join the webchat this Thursday lunchtime, 1pm - 2pm. If you won't be around then, please post your question here.

@scaryteacher

I would like to know how it would work practically coming out of the EU. Will it attempt to fine us; hold on to us at all?

Could we just follow the lead of many other nations, including Belgium, in that most just ignore EU legislation when it comes out and carry on as they were anyway?

What are your views on the EAS? Do you think that Baroness Ashton should be kicked into touch and who should replace her?

Scaryteacher, that is a long question. Switzerland and Norway have free trade relations with EU and are doing very well. I want the same for UK. Nobody would lose anything and EU countries anyway sell more to us than we sell to them.

Nigel, why are you in an umbrella group in the European parliament with overtly racist xenophobic parties such as the Northern League, Slovak National Party etc?

@complimentary

Question.
Nigel Farage, How do you think you will be able to ensure that we get a referendum on the EU?

Your party was set up in 1992. How has it grown since that time and in what way? Considering you had a very big turnout at the last election, and polled over 900.000 votes. Would you change how you do things at present to encourage people to join the party, or vote for you?

The only way we will get a referendum is if we put the fear of god into the establishment. In 2009, UKIP came 2nd in the European elections. In 2014, we intend to win, and intend to go into 2015 (probably) general election with 650 candidates, and a strong message. That should make them listen, and get us what we deserve - which is the chance to have our say!

Can you provide evidence that most of the very numerous scientists whose work supports the anthropogenic carbon emissions argument in the climate change debate are formally affiliated with the IPCC?

@longfingernails

Hello Nigel,

You are a great advocate for Britain - keep it up!

I will continue voting Tory for the time being - the deficit is our most pressing priority - but empathise heavily with your views.

The areas where I am most disappointed with Cameron is over Europe.

My question is: do you think you have ever been successful in shifting the Overton window on Europe? As far as I can see, UKIP have no specific achievement they can point to other than good success in elections themselves - perhaps to be expected, given the farcical way the EU Parliament works - but still. The most you can hope for at the moment is to pressure other parties into hardening their views.

Do you feel Cameron's more hawkish stance towards the ECHR is partly due to UKIP's influence?

Well done again!

PS I hope you are all recovered after your plane incident!

Thank you longfingernails. Cameron is just posing now. He is truly terrified that many Conservatives will support UKIP over these issues and he wants to prevent that. It is nothing more than posturing.

I'd never heard of you before (sorry) but the pictures did make me cry. Thank god you are ok, what a terrible experience for you.

@cakeywakey

Why do we need an aircraft carrier off the shores of Libya Mr Farage? Our military are already fighting wars and supporting peacekeeping missions across the world. We do not, and cannot, be involved in every crisis point across the world surely?

This is a question of priorities. Rescuing your own people from dangerous situations across the world is exactly what the Foreign Office backed up by the military is supposed to do.

I do agree with you, though, that we've got ourselves involved in far too many wars over the last few years.

Has anyone ever compared you to Alan B'stard?

Just wondered

In which actual, tangible ways would you say the UK has suffered as a result of being a member of the EU?

Why do you think that your European election results were not translated into parliamentary seats?

Can I repost this again, to bust this myth once and for all.

Just to make sure NigelFarage doesn't get away with it: the 75% figure is just gibberish, taken out of context (no "survey" involved). More facts in the link but a more honest figure would be between 10% and 20%.

NIGEL, over here, dear...
fullfact.org/factchecks?466

WIll you now accept your figure is incorrect and desist from repeating it in future?

Sorry, should have read: Why do you think that your European election results were not translated into parliamentary seats at the general election?

So what you are saying is that the parliament vote is worthless and that prisoners can claim compensation when their victims are still suffering. And all this is because of the Maastrict treaty- we have signed our rights away and there is nothing we can do !

Can we have a list of those numerous people in the scientific community who dispute AGW?

@DillyDaydreaming

Donknow if you saw my question further down igel but it's with regard to the immigration freeze and the need to fill low paid often unrewarding jobs in the UKsuch as care home workers. How would you deal with the inevitable shortage of staff an immigration freeze might eventually cvause? Am thinking nobody will come just for temporary wrk to do these jobs - it's not like seasonal work and many unemployed would choose not to do the work in care homes.

Subject is close to my heart as my grandmother is cared for in a nursing home by people of many nationalities - and cared for very ell I might add. Many of these people might want to remain in the UK and have taken work here in the hope of being able to do so -just cannot see them coming in for temporary work.

If we need people to work in the NHS, or care homes, and they need to come from abroad then of course, we'll operate a proper work permit system.
But, there are many British people who would take those jobs if they weren't so heavily taxed on relatively low incomes. This is why we support no tax on the minimum wage, and an end to an open door immigration policy, to Eastern Europe in particular.

Even the government admits that over half our laws are made in the EU, so your figure of 10-20% is baloney.

"last month the British Chambers of Commerce produced a report ... ?Worlds Apart: The British and EU Regulatory Systems? ... Their conclusion?"

"In terms of the number of regulations, the EU this year accounted for only 20%. The reduction from the previous EU level of about 30% is the primary reason for the overall decline in 2007/8."

Seriously, this is "five minutes with google" stuff. David Cameron's "almost half" quote (which I guess you're misrepresenting here) applied only to certain business legislation laws.

Why does everyone hold up Switzerland as a model to be followed and admired?

I live in Switzerland and it is bloody expensive.

Would UK citizens be happy to pay £20 for 4 chicken breasts and £1 for a litre of milk, like I do here?

I also pay tax on any imported goods from EU.

Sorry, source for my last quote:
liberalconspiracy.org/2009/06/03/what-percentage-of-our-laws-actually-come-from-the-eu/

Surely it would be a waste of military resources to go into Libya though when civilian solutions are available and being used. Also, in the case of many British people in Libya, shouldn't their employer also bear responsibility for getting them home?

Can we have a list specifying the funding sources of the climate-sceptics' research too? Given that the IPCC is some kind of conspiracy and all.

Is the UKIP authority on climate change still Graham Booth, who according to your own supporters got the post on the strength of 'an "O" level in astronomy'?

@glasnost

Nigel, why are you in an umbrella group in the European parliament with overtly racist xenophobic parties such as the Northern League, Slovak National Party etc?

Italian politics, and British politics are incredibly different. Just think, Ms Mussolini, Il Duce's granddaughter, still sits in the Italian parliament. Italian politics is also louder, more colourful, more confrontational, and possibly even sexier! (Which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it.)

In the European Parliament, all groups are strange, different cultural coalitions.

You described the EU as a ?serial date rapist?: no matter how many times you say no, it only ever hears yes.

Do you enjoy making jokes out of rape and perpetuating rape myths?

@LadyBlaBlah

You described the EU as a ?serial date rapist?: no matter how many times you say no, it only ever hears yes.

Do you enjoy making jokes out of rape and perpetuating rape myths?

I was referring to the rape of Europa - sometimes I know that using classical mythology can cause problems, and I certainly wasn't making a joke out of rape.

Can you please answer cakeywakey's 'one culture for all' question?

Exactly how are you going to define this singular British culture? Will it be allowed to change over time? And how are you going to enforce it?