Toby on Tuesday

'With Liberty And Justice For All'

Today Americans go to the polls in their Presidential election. There are in fact four candidates who have ballot access in all, or almost all, states - Hillary Clinton (Democrat), Gary Johnson (Libertarian), Jill Stein (Green) and Donald Trump (Republican). And just as we in Britain rightly objected when President Barack H. Obama came here in April during our Referendum campaign to intimidate us with his bullying "going to be at the back of the queue" threat, so our American cousins would object if we were to pass judgement on any of the candidates in their election. However, we can comment on that rich harvest of leaked emails from Hillary Clinton's private server hdr22@clintonemail.com when they relate to our own country.   And there are some priceless gems among them which spell out how the world really works.   For example, six weeks after her appointment as Secretary of State in 2009, her aide Sidney Blumenthal wrote to her, "On economic policy, the UK is no partner and no bridge to Europe," while our very own  Cherie Blair, clearly freelancing at the time, tried to get Hillary Clinton to meet members of the Qatari royal family and wrote, "As you know I have good links to the Qataris."   So welcome to the new world order of the past generation, where those who have run the global power nexus plainly see their electorates as mere fodder, to be thrown a few treats every four or five years but otherwise simply as tools in their relentless greed for money and power.

But they have been found out and our Brexit vote was the catalyst.   Whatever the result of today's poll, the truth is that the world of the Blairs and the Clintons, the Camerons and the Obamas is drawing to a close.   The combination of venality and poor judgement has been their downfall.   It now seems extraordinary that it was only seven months ago that the preening figures of Cameron and Obama conspired to deny Britain our democracy.   One has gone, while the other has just a few weeks left.   And as for the Blairs and the Clintons, no swollen bank balance can compensate for the sheer collapse of their reputations.  Now closer to home we in UKIP have an election of our own, just as important to us as the US poll.   Like the American electorate we have four candidates too, Suzanne Evans, Paul Nuttall MEP, John Rees-Evans and Peter Whittle AM.  But all four are completely united as UKIP rebuilds for the next stage of our journey, seeking to replace Labour in the Midlands, the North of England and Wales.   And our election is taking place against the background of a thriving post-Referendum economy.   The false threats behind Project Fear have been exposed and a great national recovery has begun.   And I was struck by a letter in last week's Daily Telegraph from an Italian businessman from Siena, Tuscany called Viscardo Paganelli, in which he wrote:

"As an Italian businessman, I am seriously considering moving my business to the UK after Brexit.   The EU has proved to be a disaster for Italy, with youth unemployment at 45 per cent., a stifling taxation system, plummeting property values, and (according to official statistics) national unemployment at more than 12 per cent.   Many in Italy look to Brexit with the hope that it will be the beginning of a new era, in which democracy wins out over bureaucracy and arrogance."   Well, all I can say to that is "Welcome Viscardo - benvenuto to Britain.   You and your business are more than welcome here.   You might even want to join UKIP and help rebuild our country as a truly global, outward-looking nation well away from the failing EU project!" And whoever our friends in America choose as their next President, we in UKIP will carry on working for a safe-haven Britain, a friend to all but with secure borders in a deeply troubled world!

Until next Tuesday!
Toby