Muammar Al Khadafi

South West members and supporters will be aware that this region fielded a record number of candidates in last year’s general election and local authority elections. They will also be aware that our campaign cost a lot of money – which was raised almost exclusively from YOU and many other ordinary people like you in the region.

What you may not be aware of is that we, like other regions, were required by head office to transfer our general election fund money to them around three weeks prior to polling day.

According to head office the money was needed in advance to facilitate the central issuance of bankers’ drafts to cover candidate’s deposits and to pay for candidates general election leaflets “up-front”.

The region duly complied and the best part of twenty thousand pounds was transferred from our regional account to the nominated head office one.

The election came and went and, as far as regional officials were concerned, all the legal paperwork was “done and dusted” and bills paid.

Imagine our shock and disbelief when it was revealed that at least one print company in the region had not been paid for the work they did on our behalf.

The case in point involves a small Wiltshire company, whose owner had been directly approached to do the work by local branch officials. The proprietor of this establishment brought to the attention of the branch the embarrassing fact that he was still awaiting payment for his services!

A branch official immediately contacted head office in the belief that there had been an administrative “cock-up” and to arrange for a cheque to be speedily despatched to the company concerned, together with an apology for late payment.

Time passed, more complaints were received from the proprietor, resulting in local branch officials making further representations to head office.

It soon became clear that despite having received payment in full from the region for the work, that head office either could not, or would not, pay the outstanding bill.

The non resolution of this problem has now led to the party being “blackballed” by businesses in and around the small Wiltshire town concerned and to the resignation of the branch official who placed the order with that company – a chap who himself runs a small business and knows what late/non payment can do to a small firm.

The situation currently is that the printer is still awaiting payment and branch officials are compromised in as far as securing further services for the party in the town.

However the question that still remains unanswered is what did head office do with the money (OUR MONEY) transferred to them specifically to pay for our printing just weeks prior to the general election?

Over the last six years the South West region has been generous in its financial support of head office, perhaps to the tune of several hundred thousand pounds in member’s donations and subscriptions.

Yet even now head office has the BRASS NECK CHEEK to continue to bombard our members and supporters with appeals for funds.

Yet when we, on behalf of the membership, ask head office to explain why this printer and others have not been paid, or (more to the point) WHERE HAS OUR MONEY GONE, we are ignored, labelled as “troublemakers” or simply fobbed off.

Consequently, until such times as confidence is restored in the financial and general management of this party, and the allegations within the third party booklet received at the weekend are properly refuted point by point, then our advice to members and supporters is:

IGNORE ALL HEAD OFFICE’S APPEALS FOR MONEY – THEY IGNORE US – NOW IT’S TIME FOR US TO IGNORE THEM!

Put another way – it’s CASH for ANSWERS.