Members of the Isle of Wight branch of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) have expressed concern that they are being denied the opportunity to hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Earlier this year, the branch committee was dissolved and placed under regional control. Being barred from holding an AGM means the IW branch positions for chair, treasurer and secretary of the branch cannot be voted upon.
McKie: “An affront to democracy”
Isle of Wight UKIP’s prospective parliamentary candidate in the 2015 general election, Iain McKie, expressed his indignation at the “affront to democracy”.
The branch has been placed in Special Measures following what has been described by the South East Regional Organiser, Chris Adams, as a five year “constant battle”.
Mr Adams told Isle of Wight UKIP members, Mike Tarrant, Iain McKie and Dan Moss that,
“With the recent newspaper articles, and Internet fighting, involving members of the Association, I am very glad that control rests with UKIP South East, after the recent resignations, in 2016-2015.”
Nominations
Should an AGM be permitted, Iain McKie has been nominated as Treasurer for the branch, along with Mike Tarrant as Chairman and Daniel Moss as Secretary.
In the 2015 general election, Iain McKie received 14,888 votes, putting UKIP in second place to the Conservatives.
Isle of Wight councillor, Cllr Daryll Pitcher, also stood as a prospective candidate, but for Suffolk Coastal. He failed to gain enough votes to win the position.
Response from regional branch
OnTheWight has contacted Chris Adams to ask when he expects Isle of Wight members to be able to take control of the branch once again and we’ll update this article once we hear back.
Image: jonathanrolande under CC BY 2.0
