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Speeches

Here you will find a random selection of my speeches.

UKIP conference speech Southport 2009

SpeechMy name is William Dartmouth and I have the honour to have been elected as a UK Independence Party MEP for the South West Counties.

With respect to Lancashire, which is where we are now, the South West is a beautiful part of the world with a significant tourist industry. It should be hugely encouraging to the South West Tourist Board that no less a person than Godfrey Bloom took a week’s holiday in Devon in August!

I should add that Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, which are not normally thought of as being in the South West, are also in the Electoral Area. This is yet another example that in the Never-Never Land of the European Union, nothing is ever quite the way you think it is.

In the European Election in the South West Counties, the UK Independence Party got just over 340,000 votes – 15,000 more than previously and coming 2nd overall. We also came first in, amongst other places, Torbay, North Devon, Torridge and the city of Plymouth. But none of the 6 people standing on the UKIP list, not Trevor Colman, not myself, not Gawain Towler, not Dr. Julia Reid, not Councillor Alan Wood, not Stephanie McWilliam – would attribute this success to anything intrinsic in ourselves. We would attribute it to 2 factors.

Firstly, Nigel Farage’s inspirational leadership – and one aspect of that in particular – his brilliant and compelling expositions of the arguments on the media. So along with every other candidate; thank you Nigel.

Secondly, I would attribute our success to something else. The UK Independence Party may or may not be a small political party, but we do have a Big Message - in fact the Biggest Message in British Politics. That Britain would be Better Off outside the European Union. Not only better off, we would be safer because by leaving the EU we would regain control of our borders.

Now let me say something about our future. For the UK Independence Party I have always thought that and have said before; our party would be the beneficiary of what may be called “the Tomato Ketchup Syndrome” – first NOTHING, then NOTHING, then the LOT – that is what will happen for the UKIP.

And when people ask me, will Britain really leave the European Union, I respond with just 3 words. YES, we WILL. And not only will we leave the EU – it is inevitable.