A UKIP Press Release has been received, which UKIP Daily are publishing verbatim:
This evening in the European Parliament, Jonathan Arnott, UKIP MEP for the North East and EU budget spokesman, led a protest against the suppression of debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Arnott proposed a procedural motion to suspend the sitting “to allow Parliament the opportunity to reflect on the undemocratic actions by President Martin Schulz and other officials to suppress the vote and debate on this issue which is of concern to millions of people across the EU.”
Arnott said: “I proposed suspending Parliamentary debate for the day to highlight this point. The officials on the podium responded with what looked like panic, ringing the division bell and breaking their own rules. The rules demand an immediate vote, but they delayed for over forty minutes to allow their supporters to flood the chamber.”
Roger Helmer, UKIP MEP for East Midlands and energy spokesman, was in the chamber to support the protest. When it became clear the vice-president (Ildikó Gall-Pelcz) was acting in breach of the rules, Helmer broke procedure and went onto the podium to ask her if she realised she was in breach of the rules. “She replied yes. I then asked her if she was happy she was breaking the rules, and she said she was not. And yet she broke the rules anyway.”
Notes:
1. Article 191 of the Rules of Procedure states: The sitting may be suspended or closed during a debate or vote if Parliament so decides on a proposal from the President or at the request of a political group or at least 40 Members. Such proposal or request shall be put to the vote immediately.
2. The Rules were broken by:
- The vice-President (Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ) challenged the number of members present, even though it was requested on behalf of a political group
- The vice-President stalled proceedings by claiming incorrectly that “a sitting may not be suspended twice in one day”
- The vice-President permitted the issue to be debated at length, despite the rules requiring it to be “put to the vote immediately”
- The division bell was rung continuously to call MEPs to the chamber apparently to frustrate this protest
The EU does and says what what it likes. Questions as to democracy as far as the EU is concerned is only something mentioned by others but does not apply to the EU at all. Bit like the BBC really.
Once again democracy at its best. (sarc)
Jonathan Arnott is our North East Region MEP and I am proud to read of his attempts to bring some democracy to the so-call EU ‘Parliament’.
The behaviour of this woman says everything about the manipulative, underhand, undemocratic and dictatorial nature of the EUrocrats, none of whom I would trust to run the parish council of a village, population 50, never mind decide the fate of 500m people. We must fight these people as hard as Churchill urged us to fight 70 years ago. National survival is at stake.
Good on yer Pamela
In the van again
and I`m right behind you
Well said Pamela. You have many friends.
Did the BBC report this on the television? If they did I expect they would add some twist to it, after all they receive millions from the EU. I see the Telegraph is trying to spin again, saying that UKIP is trying to hide who donates from abroad (implying we are funded by the Kremlin!) whilst we were actually voting against it saying this is a decision that should have been made by Britain and Britain alone.