Merry Christmas & Happy New Year To all of our members,

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Year

To all of our members, supporters, voters and their families

Looking forward to even greater success in

2010

TV Leaders Debates

UKIP Leader Lord Pearson has called on all the major TV broadcasters to make way for the Party in their planned national debates in the lead-up to the General Election.

With Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg all slated to appear in the televised 90-minute pre-election debates, Lord Pearson has insisted UKIP be included as well.

After writing to the heads of the BBC, ITV and Sky, Lord Pearson said: "It would be wrong for UKIP, which came second in the last test of national political opinion, to be excluded from these debates.

"I accept that UKIP may not win the General Election, but nor will the Liberal Democrats.

"We suggest that an acceptable alternative would be for UKIP to appear in a part of each debate linked to four vital policy areas: membership of the EU, direct democracy, immigration and the economy.

"Our position on the first two of these areas will be diametrically opposed to the policies of the three main parties, and our position on the other two will be sufficiently different to deserve inclusion in the televised events. Surely the British people should be allowed to see us tested on these great issues in open debate?

"Our presence would provide the voice of real opposition, which will not be heard if we are not there. And, I would suggest, it would also make the debates rather more entertaining."

Kent Unemployment November 2009

Good news for Ashford with 51 more people finding work than last month. This means that the Unemployment rate in Ashford is now 2.9%

KCC Area Summary
• The KCC unemployment rate remains at 3.3%, this is below the national rate of 4.1%.
• Six KCC districts saw an overall drop in unemployment since last month. The biggest reduction in claimants was in Dartford district which saw 91 fewer claimants than in October (a reduction of 4.3%). Dover saw the biggest increase in claimants with an additional 125 claimants, an increase of 5.6%.
• Thanet district continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the KCC area at 5.8% (4,196 claimants). Tunbridge Wells district has the lowest rate at 2.0% (1,263 claimants).