Despite Sir James Goldsmith being a supporter of the EU, he made a considerable impact with his Referendum Party. That referendum, you may re-call, was to say NO to the Maastricht Treaty.

Declan Ganley, an Irishman born in England, a multi-millionaire businessman and a supporter of the EU, but like Goldsmith, he opposes a treaty, although on this occasion it is the Lisbon Treaty. Ganley intends to field 400 candidates in the 2009 Euro-elections, both in the UK and also throughout the rest of the EU.

Ganley, aged 39, made his fortune in the telecoms industry, and is presently starting to raise £75 millionj from on-line donations. If the quality of UKIP is to be tested, this could be the moment.

We must ask some very stark questions about our leadership and the NEC.
Is the necessary talent needed within our ranks? Could we stand scrutiny
by the press? We cannot any longer ignore Mr Ganley. For many this will be the hour of decision.

(SEETHE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH TO-DAY PAGE 31)
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Oh dear it seems like Geoffrey has finally lost what little sanity he had left. Why would any UKIP member wish to join a party that would not support EU withdrawal?
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Originally Posted by Geoffrey Collier:
Despite Sir James Goldsmith being a supporter of the EU, he made a considerable impact with his Referendum Party. That referendum, you may re-call, was to say NO to the Maastricht Treaty.

Declan Ganley, an Irishman born in England, a multi-millionaire businessman and a supporter of the EU, but like Goldsmith, he opposes a treaty, although on this occasion it is the Lisbon Treaty. Ganley intends to field 400 candidates in the 2009 Euro-elections, both in the UK and also throughout the rest of the EU.

Ganley, aged 39, made his fortune in the telecoms industry, and is presently starting to raise £75 millionj from on-line donations. If the quality of UKIP is to be tested, this could be the moment.

We must ask some very stark questions about our leadership and the NEC.
Is the necessary talent needed within our ranks? Could we stand scrutiny
by the press? We cannot any longer ignore Mr Ganley. For many this will be the hour of decision.

(SEETHE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH TO-DAY PAGE 31)

I wonder whether he will field his own slate of candidates in the UK or whether he will support the Tories who are ostensibly opposed to the Lisbon treaty. 400 candidates would represent a little more than half the seats in the European Parliament (total at this time is 758). Of course he only needs to stand as many candidates as he can comfortably expect to win.
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Originally Posted by Richard Allen:
Oh dear it seems like Geoffrey has finally lost what little sanity he had left. Why would any UKIP member wish to join a party that would not support EU withdrawal?

It's not the members we need worry about right now, its the voters!!!
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As ever we must beware the Tories.Cameron on Marr this am made anti Lisbon noises (but remaining pro EU ) just as Declan.The Economist,Marr,Today and others have been puffing up Cameron as being a EUrosceptic.I fear a further Tory deceit of the UK.
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Richard Allen: This is not a test of my sanity, but merely recognising that we have a new competitor in the field. People who voted for Goldsmith to obtain a Maastricht Referendum, did not necessarily support Goldsmith's concern that Maastricht could undermine the Treaty of Rome. I fear that it is your reasoning which is deficient on this occasion Richard,
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Ganley is a clever mover and I think that his party will do very well .He is a superb campaigner with a brilliant first notch on his belt re the Irish No vote ,he will not frighten the horses with a withdrawist message and he is entering the fray on a pan- european basis ,so he can stay the course when the rules are changed to include only pan EU parties .

Whilst his message may be too little for us it seems like a winner .Of course if the Treaty falls anyway because the Irish will not revote or vote no again he will left high and dry if he doesn`t diversify his message somewhat .No doubt he has a plan B worked out .
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Irish 'No' vote architect plans Europe-wide 'referendum' on Lisbon Treaty - Telegraph

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Ganley disclosed that he was starting to raise £75 million from online donations to run candidates in all 12 of Britain's European Parliament constituencies, and in seats throughout the EU.

He will turn his pressure group, Libertas, into a party with just one policy: to fight the Lisbon Treaty, which many see as the rejected European Constitution by the back door.

What will UKIP do? They will obviously have to fight this Libertas group, which will have to be registered as a party in all 26 states. However, if he achieves £75 million, as well as being a well-known figure and commanding a mass European party, Ganley will become one of Europe's most influential politicians.
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Originally Posted by Geoffrey Collier:
Richard Allen: This is not a test of my sanity, but merely recognising that we have a new competitor in the field. People who voted for Goldsmith to obtain a Maastricht Referendum, did not necessarily support Goldsmith's concern that Maastricht could undermine the Treaty of Rome. I fear that it is your reasoning which is deficient on this occasion Richard,

1. People who are simply anti Lisbon have the Tories to vote for.
2. By the next elections Lisbon will be in force or it will be dead. It will not be a major issue.
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This looks the best bet for the anti-EU vote in the Britain at the moment. It's far from perfect, but Ganley's party is likely to be professionally run, will deliver, (As it has done in Ireland) and will have a better calibre of MEP than UKIP, the BNP or the Tories.
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