Greg Lance - Watkins (Greg_L-W)
As some of you may know, I have announced that I will not be seeking re-election as chair of the West of Scotland branch at our AGM on March 10. I won’t resign and leave the post vacant but, after that meeting, my connection with the party will be over.
After many years of effort, working hard behind the scenes and carrying the flag as a candidate in one no-hope election after another, I am utterly disillusioned.
So many people have worked so hard for the party but I have grown increasingly dIsappointed over the past 6 months.
I’ve met some great people. I’ve met some truly awful people. I’ve seen committed people who have worked in the party for years, facing up to ridicule and antagonism for what they believe, badly let down by our leaders. We are standing on the brink of bankruptcy because of the libellous comments of an MEP who should have known better and because of the misguided decision of the leadership to fund her court case.
We have become a national laughing stock because of the ridiculous antics of our leader Henry Bolton who went on TV with his mistress to humiliate himself again only this morning.
In Scotland the party leader we struggled so hard to get elected has vanished from the scene. He’s gone AWOL for a year, choosing to make speeches to strange groups of far-right Frenchmen in French rather than speak English to Ukippers in Troon.
The top team who won that election victory has shattered. There’s just one man left standing and the others have all gone. Some were sacked, some just left, others defected to the Tories and one just avoided jail.
The office in Edinburgh has shut down. We have no visible presence and we are missing the bus as we fail to draw the thousands of Scots who voted for Brexit to our cause.
The Tories are well ahead, taking over from Labour as the voice of Opposition to the SNP.
Whilst we are fighting amongst ourselves they are organising, selecting candidates and preparing for government. If you are like me, you must know of many friends and colleagues who have gone over to the Conservatives. The Tories are enjoying a boom as we bleed to death.
Only a few weeks ago, Arron Banks read the last rites over UKIP, warning that the party has done its duty and served its purpose. He says now is the time for thousands of UKIP members to infiltrate the Conservatives en masse and seize control of the party to secure the Brexit we voted for, he’s almost right. Working alongside those eurosceptic Tories that want to see what we the British people voted for delivered on Brexit will be my focus for the foreseeable future.
Go Well
The Final Curtain
Ukip-vs-EUkip 
I’m sorry to hear that Caroline and I fully understand the sentiment. UKIP has done its members and candidates no favours in Wales either, the final insult for many being the appointment of the ludicrous spectre of Neil Hamilton as Wales leader.
The top down control of the party has led to a situation where it is almost completely divorced from its members. The actions of the party and some of those in it has caused many a disturbing time for this household, but then we’re very close to two Assembly members who have been atrociously mistreated by the party and some of those in it.
For all that though, I and some in my branches (we’re maintaining the only regional branch in the entirety of the UK partly because it works for us and partly as an act of defiance against the top down hierarchy) have re-rallied and have convened a grassroots conference in Newport. One reason for that is that we won’t be bullied into submission. We fight on, hopefully not just amongst ourselves.
All best wishes to you.