A few days ago UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, got involved in the Andrew Turner expenses debate. Mr Farage said Andrew Turner needed to come clean over the expenses scandal and practice what he preached when he voted in favour of Zac Goldsmith’s Recall Bill.
A video interview with Mr Farage was released today on YouTube by Europe & You – A Website for news and interviews from your Members of the European Parliament.
“Large personal financial advantage”
The interview begins with the MEP for the South East being asked whether Andrew Turner still has questions to answer over his expenses.
Mr Farage replied,
“Oh he certainly does, it would appear he has designated his primary residence to be in London and not the Isle of Wight although by all accounts he spends far more time on the Island than in London.
“Clearly there a large personal financial advantage to doing that.”
Petition for By-election?
Mr Farage refers back to Andrew Turner’s voting record on the Recall Bill – a vehicle for constituents to force a By-election if they believe the MP has behaved incorrectly.
He said,
“I would not be surprised if there wasn’t a petition started pretty quickly saying, ‘Come on Mr Turner you supported Recall, put this to the test’.”
When asked what the chances were of a petition calling for a By-election to be created, Mr Farage replied,
“If enough people on the Island aren’t interested then a petition like this won’t get sufficient signatures, but if it did catch fire and a lot of people signed it, I feel that Andrew Turner would be honour bound to resign and have a By-election.”
Farage: “Not going anywhere near it”
When asked if he was going to be putting forward the petition, Mr Farage said neither he nor the UKIP candidate on the Island, Iain McKie, would be going anywhere near it. He added,
“However, ordinary voters who aren’t members of any political party were to get together and do this, then I think it might work.
“If Recall just becomes a game of party politics, it won’t work. This is about citizens feeling let down and wanting an opportunity to express that point of view.”
Watch the entire interview below
