I’d heard of him of course, and I knew he’d beaten stiff competition to be chosen by the party as one of our top candidates for the high-profile London Assembly – to which he was subsequently elected by the narrowest of margins in May 2016. I’d also heard that he had worked hard and mastered superbly the complex Education brief for which he was appointed party spokesperson a few months later. He was able to buttress his brief by drawing upon his personal experience as a teacher and educator in the UK and abroad.
But it was his speech at the party conference in September last year that put David Kurten properly on the UKIP map for me. He received an astonishingly loud and spontaneous standing ovation for his visionary discourse on the future for our children. Warm, passionate and wide-ranging, it was one of the highlights of the conference.
Someone in the front row said immediately to anyone who would listen, “There is a future party leader” – and rushed off to have his photo taken alongside David. I found myself agreeing with his prophecy.
So when Paul Nuttall resigned in the wake of June’s general election catastrophe, I realised that we are being given one last chance for the party to rebuild itself and find a new direction following our Brexit success a year ago and the subsequent never-ending party travails.
I also realised that David Kurten is the person to lead us into this new future, so I approached him to ask if I could help on his leadership campaign team. When he offered me the role of campaign manager, I accepted with alacrity, resigned as Deputy Chair of UKIP London Region in order to avoid any conflict of interest, cleared my work diary and told my wife that I’d make up to her for any dereliction of domestic duties between now and the end of the campaign.
Why do I support David Kurten?
First, his character: The patriotic British-born son of a supportive single mother and an absent Jamaican father – a formative experience which nonetheless has made him a passionate proponent of the traditional family and a critic of fatherlessness – David has with determination overcome many obstacles in order to progress in life. Single, straight and warm but often reserved in private, he is affable, charismatic and forthright in public – a sort of Nigel-without-the-pints.
David rejects identity politics and doesn’t use his colour to advance his cause. But if elected he would become Britain’s first black party leader – which, deliciously, would confound and confuse the politically-correct liberal elite who insist that UKIP is full of racists and bigots.
Second, his political courage: David detests today’s political correctness as a new, undesirable and often state-enforced morality, and is happy to challenge it head-on.
He values our Judeo-Christian heritage and wants to see more quality church schools built. He has damned Ofsted as a swamp that needs draining. When the government watchdog censured an Orthodox Jewish primary school for not teaching its young children about gay and transgender issues, he criticised this instrument of the educational establishment as “part of the red blob which is pushing cultural Marxism”.
David reckons that no further Islamic schools should be opened if they are connected to Wahhabi, Salafi or Deobandi fundamentalist sects. Schools that teach children hostile concepts such as taqiyya (deception), aggressive jihad or that Britain is dar al-harb (territory of war) should be closed down too.
Radically, he wants to abolish the Equality and Human Rights Commission and return its responsibilities to Parliament. He reckons this unaccountable unelected quango has become a socially divisive body which unfairly privileges some ‘protected’ groups rather than fairly mandating equal treatment for all.
Third, his desire for excellence: ‘Excellence in everything’ is David’s motivation. For instance he wants excellence in the internal organisation and management of UKIP (of which more below) and has demanded excellence in education at all levels.
To achieve the latter, he has called for a complete overhaul of schooling and the implementation of a tri-partite system, with grammar schools for the academically talented, technical schools for those with practical and vocational skills, and general schools to ensure all children have the employability qualities necessary to succeed in the world of work.
Children are our future and we must provide them with top quality education in order to compete in the world post-Brexit. We also must become self-sufficient in skills so that, once we end mass immigration and regain control of our borders, we won’t still need immigrant labour from the EU and elsewhere.
Fourth, David’s defence of freedom: Freedom of speech and conscience are fundamental rights that have been eroded recently by the burgeoning concept of ‘hate speech’. People should be allowed to criticise differing beliefs – including religious beliefs such as the tenets of the Quran and Sharia law – and ideas without fear of being reported, suspended from work, dragged through the courts or receiving a criminal record.
David wants to change the definition of ‘hate speech’ so that it includes only incitement to violence.
He wants an end too to the ‘no platforming’ and provision of ‘safe spaces’ in universities and elsewhere for adults who should be more robust. Control of speech is totalitarian; freedom of speech is healthy and democratic.
Lastly, David’s thirst to rebirth UKIP: The party needs a new external role and direction. But it also needs desperately to move on from the internal organisational shambles we’ve experienced.
David is aware that one of the leader’s first key appointments is that of Chairman (or woman) of the party. Still open to suggestions, he is currently looking for someone who has proven management skills balanced with an ability to listen to, engage with and make a priority of grassroots members – who are the party’s lifeblood. He will instruct his appointee to spend the first six months out visiting the regions and branches, and to then create an efficient effective excellent organisation that is responsive to ordinary members.
David wants branches to be allowed to retain 20% of members’ annual UKIP subscription. This should help them prepare better for elections and motivate them to gain more supporters.
The NEC is constitutionally entrenched and difficult to reform. However, to get the NEC more in touch with the grassroots, David wants all Regional Chairmen to be invited to attend and participate in all NEC meetings, albeit at present without a vote.
For me, David is the man for UKIP’s leadership job. He’s the one who offers a radical and passionate vision for the party, and who has the backbone and guts to achieve it. We have one last chance to refocus the party and make it relevant again. You won’t regret joining me and voting for David Kurten.
“David rejects identity politics and doesn’t use his colour to advance his cause. But if elected he would become Britain’s first black party leader – which, deliciously, would confound and confuse the politically-correct liberal elite who insist that UKIP is full of racists and bigots.”
Speaking as someone who is not a fully paid-up member of UKIP (but has been supporting them by voting UKIP in elections since 2014), this would be a remarkable kick in the teeth for the mainstream media, as they wouldn’t know what to do with their narrative of UKIP being a racist nasty party.
If only there were some way that Anne-Marie Waters could be part of his leadership team, UKIP might start being able to gain some ground with the MSM and thus be able to get their message across to more people.
Trust me, there are a lot of non-white people out there who would love to get behind UKIP.
Of the choices on offer, my summary is (i) AMW will turn the party into Pegida mk 2, after Pegida mk 1 not being that successful, (ii) JRE’s DD is a recipe for another year of navel gazing before any policy actually emerges, (iii) PW doesn’t seem to appeal to a lot of people on a personal level for some reason, so (iv) DK doesn’t have any strong negatives, is a decent all-rounder, and someone who can bring us to a post-Brexit policy position consistent with libertarianism. He has always seemed to be very strong in defending western civilisation. I don’t believe all this ‘so-and-so is the man’ rubbish, none of the contenders and fantastic (neither do they, that is why there are so many people running), but on balance it seems to me DK is the best of the bunch. Most importantly, if the party chooses DK over AMW then it will be making a clear statement about how it wants to oppose the growth of islam, a sledgehammer wielded by Joan of Arc or a subtler approach that is harder to pigeonhole and attack.
Resources: how does David plan to get the kind of financial backing we need to survive as a party?
islam: is David prepared to call out other party leaders on their refusal to admit that, as set down in the koran, it is the religion of hate, not peace? Will he call for the abolition of sharia law in this country? Will he insist that all those who break the FGM laws should be relentlessly pursued, prosecuted and harshly punished? Ditto for breaking the laws on humane slaughter of animals, ie stun to kill, NOT stun to stun? Will he point out that at the present reproductive rates of indigenous British and muslims respectively, the former will be outnumbered by the latter at some point in this century and ask what party leaders think of that in terms of the future of democracy and whose country this will be?
Still no answer to either of my questions above.
David Kurten is too weak for what the job entails. Leave.EU might be supporting him but I doubt Nigel is.
Why do you believe he is too weak?
Come on now! If you insist on making derogatory remarks about a candidate then please back it up with your reasons. Its kind of cowardly to make that comment and run. You are already using a nom de plume, safe behind your keyboard.
I would love to know you real motivation for this.
Dear Alan,many thanks for taking the time to write this article,and declaring your support for David Kurten,whom I like immensely.Yes Alan,David’s speech at our Bournemouth Conference was wonderful,and so uplifting,I remember thinking at the time,here surely is a future leader of UKIP.I will digress for a moment,I first met David on the morning of the first day of our Conference last September,he came and sat next to,me at the back of the hall,I of course recognised him,I said good morning,and added: I believe your name is David,and I believe you might in fact be famous,I rember David laughed,and replied ,”why are you?”,I answered yes I am actually,I am a legend,but sadly at my age,now only in my own mind,David laughed,we hit it off straight away.Slowly it is becoming self evident who are now the front runners,to become our new leader.As well as David Kurten,I especially like Anne Marie Waters,and Peter Whittle,I don’t think for one moment that any of the others have a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming the new leader of UKIP,and that’ is why I am now going to ask them all to see how absurd it is in them continuing,and in reality
how untenable their position now is.As for Coburn and Collins,I find their continuing attacks on Anne Marie,both spiteful and childish and quite disgraceful and contemptible,their behaviour is really despicable,they have brought the party into disrepute.With that in mind I am now going to ask that you all stand down now,if someone as well known as Bill Etheridge,can see how little support he had,and stand down,then why can’t you.UKIP needs to address the elephant in the room-Islam,and the overpopulation of Britain.For us in UKIP,to survive we need to be more Radical,and make a start by banning bloody Halal and Sharia Law,otherwise. I will predict now,in 1 years time,UKIP,will be finished.
Having all ROs attend NEC meetings would double the room size required, with associated costs, and there is enough jaw-jaw in NEC meetings as it is! ?
On having people attend meetings, there is an unlimited capacity to watch and listen if the event is streamed live via google hangouts. Its is also possible for those watching to send text questions which are displayed on the screen. (Setup is a bit technical, but these systems are very widely used)
In addition regions could discuss with each other using the same system (there is a limit of 10 active persons in one hangout free or 25 if a fee is paid)
NEC meetings will NEVER be streamed live because of confidentiality issues, amongst other things – they can be FAR too much fun to watch at times, with the minutes in a restrained manner saying “so-and-so let his point of view against the motion be known” ?
I too am supporting David Kurten, though more through a process of elimination. He says all the right things. Great news that he’d be looking to appoint someone with management skills as Party Chairman. Not sure he’ll set the world on fire to revitalise our poll figures or has the strength of personality to take on the entrenched cabal at the heart of the party.
Good article. David Kurten will get my vote, although if he wins I hope it will prove possible to give JRE a bigger role in the party.
Maybe good for UKIP but, if elected, needs to strengthen his opposition to Islam before UKIP will get my vote again.