I kip for UKIP

With the one exception of voting for entry into the Common Market I have never cast a European vote. I have remained broadly pro-European. The commercial advantages made and continue to make very good sense. Much of the social legislation that derived from that also got my broad support. If we had gone into the Euro currency in 1999 I would have been in favour of that too.

Doubts started to enter my mind when Tony Blair tried to pass off the new constitution as "housekeeping". I went over the edge when the untrustworthy Gordon Brown refused to give us a referendum. At that time I would still have been a pro-European and could have bought into those arguments had they been made. In the end there was no discussion, no debate, no explanation and our MPs once again let us down.

Today we have a European election. Are there any policy issues? Don't know. None of the major parties are willing to discuss policy so I have no idea how to vote on policy issues.

I am going to vote, however, and it's going to be for UKIP. They at least have a position and I suspect that if the election was carried out in the open I would not be casting my vote in their direction. So today, for this one occasion, I am going to vote for UKIP