The second party to be interviewed by this blog is the Freedom Democrats a brand new party formed this year by Gary Marshall,Mick Simpkins,John Savage and Sue Bowen.They are a moderate nationalist party with some good sound basic common sense policies.I hope they grow and I think with a good deal of publicity and determination this party could surprise us all.
The interview is with Vice Chairman Mick Simpkins a Taxi business proprietor based in Corsham.Mick has been involved in nationalist politics for over 5 years and is still a local councillor for Corsham town council.
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Mick Simpkins Vice Chairman of the Freedom Democrats
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Flag of Freedom: How long have you been involved in nationalist politics and what other parties have you been involved with prior to joining the Freedom Democrats?
Mick: I joined the BNP in about 2005 and completed 6 years. I had a brief spell with The British Freedom Party before becoming a founder member of The Freedom Democrats.
Flag of Freedom: What led to your decision to resign from the BNP?
Mick: It was mainly the fact that the BNP was just bobbing along from one crisis to another. I knew I had until March 2011 to renew to keep my continuous membership. In the end it was a business decision. I am a businessman and I rely on my debtors paying me in full on time to sustain my business. When they fail I suffer. The BNP took the decision not to pay its debtors in full and these were British businesses that they claimed to support. When my Regional Organiser came back from an Advisory Council dead chuffed and said “It’s OK we are only going to pay the ones that support us and tell the rest to sod off”. That did it for me and I was off. How can I urge people to pay me on time when the party I represent doesn’t?
Flag of Freedom: Do you think the BNP could ever be turned round into a more moderate forward thinking party or has it got so much baggage that it is doomed to failure?
Mick: No. There were and still are a lot of good people in the BNP many have tried to get their moderate views across but deep inside the BNP is an extreme element that will never go away. I have seen it at close hand, tried to change it but failed. You only have to read comments from BNP members on some internet forums to see the real BNP and how they think.
Flag of Freedom: What progress has been made by the Freedom Democrats since it's formation and what political activities has it got lined up for the future?
Mick: We have formulated key policies and produced a web site and leaflets. We are already attracting moderate members away from the BNP and BFP but more importantly we are attracting new members who have never belonged to a political party before. Members have already been out doing town centre leafleting. Our priority now is to recruit members so we can have candidates in next Mays elections.
Flag of Freedom: Will Freedom Democrats be standing any candidates in next years council elections and the 2014 Euro Elections?
Mick: Yes it is what we exist for, to contest elections.
Flag of Freedom:
How would you describe the Freedom Democrats ideology?
Mick: Modern British Nationalism is defined as the political and ideological structure to ensure the continued existence of our British way of life, the preservation of our culture and heritage and freedom from multi-culturism and political oppressiveness for ourselves and our descendants. It does not discriminate on the grounds of race or ethnicity of any one group of people living in Britain as a British citizen but believes in the integration of all into the British culture and way of life. Modern Nationalism is one country, one culture. It objects to all forms of political extremism.
Flag of Freedom:
As the electoral system seems to be rigged in favour of the establishment parties LIB/LAB & CON is it not almost an impossible task to try and take on these huge parties that are backed by big business and media barons?How would the Freedom Democrats be able to challenge the establishment effectively without the backing of wealthy donors and the tabloid press?
Mick:Any party that want to make itself big needs the backing of the media and to get that you have to make yourself newsworthy. Only then can we hope to get enough finance coming in to launch creditable election campaigns. But we join this race at the bottom and have to work our way up. That means contesting elections at local level and getting involved in local campaigns. It is not going to be easy but just because something is difficult it is not an excuse for not doing it, it is a reason for trying harder. I use that philosophy in all things I do in life.
Flag of Freedom:
With the UK's population estimated to be over 70 million by 2020,how would the Freedom Democrats tackle overpopulation?
Mick: We cannot control our population while we remain members of the European Union so we have to leave first. While other parties concentrate on reducing net migration into low figures we are committed to achieving negative net migration using figures of only foreign born. Therefore proper records must be kept of who is leaving as well as who is coming in. Any immigration will be on a strictly “needs” and short term basis to fill skills shortages and these must be matched by UK born apprenticeships so when the work permit comes to an end, a British worker has been trained for the job.
Flag of Freedom:
What is the Freedom Democrats stance on faith schools?Would it not be better to keep religion out of schooling and leave it to the confines of the home?By allowing faith schools arn't we breeding generations of children that don't come into contact with people from different backgrounds and therefore creating sectarianism like we've seen in Northern Ireland?
Mick: Not all faith schools are bad. It is a matter of parental choice. There are many good C of E and RC schools that follow the national curriculum and also take in pupils not in their religion. The faith element only comes into assembly worship. The pupils within these schools are still within their own culture and I’m sure they have friends outside of school who do not share the same religion.. There is an issue with Islamic madrasas as they keep muslim children away from western culture not allowing them to integrate.
Flag of Freedom:
What's is the party's stance on the islamization of England? If the Freedom Democrats came to power what range of policies do you have to tackle the threat from militant islam?
Mick: We don’t see all muslims as bad. There are many nice muslims out there but you wouldn’t know they are a muslim because they show no outward signs of being so. They have integrated into British culture. We will not accept practices that are alien to our British values. These would include the production of ritually slaughtered meat and the covering of the face in public places. We would discourage the practice of having large families by reducing on a sliding scale all child related benefits and the maximum size house provided by local authorities would be 4 bedroom. There would be no million pound Chelsea mansions for large muslim families at tax payers’ expense! Only British citizens will be granted a permanent right of residence. To be a British citizen one must have fully integrated into British culture.
Flag of Freedom:
Would the Freedom Democrats allow the continual building of huge mosques in our cities and towns?
Mick: There would be no need for huge mosques as I believe the muslim population would be decreasing not increasing with the other measures we will put in place. All building comes under local authority planning regulations and to enforce those we need Freedom Democrats or other nationalists on those councils. Planning laws stipulate that new buildings should not be out of keeping in appearance with its surroundings, in which case I am surprised so many mosques have been built in British towns. It just shows how we are bowing down and appeasing the Islamic community to the detriment of our own way of life. All Christian churches should be listed buildings and although applications can be made for a change of use, it must keep the appearance of a Christian church with due respect paid to the graves of our ancestors.
Flag of Freedom:
If the Freedom Democrats where elected into power would you consider repatriating immigrants that have committed crimes,are known trouble makers or people that have made no effort to integrate,learn to speak english or support themselves financially?
Mick: A permanent right of residence will only be granted to people who have successfully applied for British citizenship. Any successful applicant would have shown that they and their family have accepted and fully integrated into British Society and culture. Rights to welfare payments and non emergency NHS treatment are only an entitlement of British citizens. Offenders found to be illegal immigrants or bogus asylum seekers will be immediately deported back to their place of origin. All means necessary will be employed to establish the person’s country of birth in order to return them after any criminal conviction.
Flag of Freedom:
Would the Freedom Democrats take the UK out of the E.U?
Mick: Yes. We love Europe but hate the European Union. We are happy to trade with our neighbours but not be ruled by them. We are committed to holding a referendum on withdrawing from the European Union and The European Convention on Human Rights.
Flag of Freedom:
What is the party's stance on foreign aid?Would you put a stop to it once and for all?
Mick: Whilst we are sympathetic to the plight of distant lands, this country is no longer a rich country. Any wealth we have is borrowed and we should not be borrowing money to pay to charity. Individual citizens can freely give as much as they wish. That is not to say we could not find money for natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis but regular no questions asked payment of £13 billion has got to stop. The government plays it down as a miniscule amount of GDP but the £66 million paid to Zimbabwe would have employed an extra 2500 nurses. The £68 million paid to Uganda would have employed an extra 2200 police officers and the £63 million paid to Somalia would have employed an extra 2000 teachers.
Flag of Freedom:
Which voting system does the Freedom Democrats back? AV,PR or First Past the Post?
Mick: We don’t have a party policy simply because we have to contest elections in whatever system is given to us. Personally I favour AV because it ensures that whoever we elect is done so by a clear majority. I know people say it does not favour small parties but I don’t want to the Freedom Democrats to remain a small party for ever. Surely if you want to represent the country you have to have the widespread support of the country. PR may be fairer in relation to votes cast but it allows small parties with minimum support to gain places in authority. Nick Griffin got elected on 8% and Andrew Brons on less than that. 8% is not a good result. There should be a base 10% before MP’s are elected.
Flag of Freedom:
What action needs to be taken to turn around the fortunes of the High Street?Does the Freedom Party have any policies to help small businesses and encorouge entrepreneurship?
Mick: The way we shop is changing. It’s online or all under one roof. We can’t change that as it’s what the public wants. Market forces etc. What is causing town centre shopping to decrease is the increase of car park charges as a way of raising revenue. We would like to see at least a one hour free parking established in all small towns to give the retailers a helping hand in getting shoppers into town. Shops that sell British made produce will benefit from Freedom Democrat economic policies. You have to understand that there is not much money around as people are suffering financially. We will get British people into work again, boosting our economy giving them money to spend.
Flag of Freedom:
Would the Freedom Democrats ever seek to re nationalise the railways?
Mick: No. History shows that one single nationalised company, such as British Rail, is always prone to industrial action. We do insist that all our public utilities are British owned including the rail companies. The rail network however should be government owned and under government control. We would like to see a more unified fare structure where on the day tickets are more affordable.
Flag of Freedom:
Why in your opinion have nationalist parties in this country never been capable of achieving a breakthrough and getting MP's elected to Westminster?
Mick: Simply because they don’t have sufficient policies that appeal to the majority of the British electorate. Where they do have good policies, such as immigration, these are spoilt by other extreme policies like “bring back the birch” It is also very hard to break into the FTTP system which is always geared to help the big 3. I suppose the Greens had the right idea in 2010, sacrifice all other constituencies and throw everything into one. It was a gamble that paid off for them.
Flag of Freedom:
Would the Freedom Democrats pull our troops out of Afghanistan and stop getting us involved in illegal foreign conflicts?
Mick: Yes. We would only use our troops to defend British interests. Afghanistan and Libya have no British interest. Remember the reason for going into Afghanistan was to find Bin Laden and break up terrorist training camps. Well Bin Laden is dead and all the training camps are in Pakistan. We were not sent to install democracy on a people against their will nor keep in power a puppet president.
Flag of Freedom:
How do see the future for this country in 30-50 years time,do you think it stands a chance of being saved or is Britain heading for bankruptcy and civil unrest?
Mick: Another term of a Labour government after this coalition will spell the death knell of our country as we know it. They will continue with their programme of mass immigration from the third world. A Conservative government will slow the problem down but it will take a nationalist government or at least strong nationalist representation in parliament to take the decisive measures needed to safeguard our children’s future. How much can the British people take? My worst fear is a clash of civilisations in about 20 years from now. 20 years is when these muslim babies will be adults in sufficient numbers to make a difference. I don’t think the country will be bankrupt. There is plenty of money out there but 80% of this country’s wealth is with 20% of the population.
Flag of Freedom:
Would the Freedom Democrats reform the banking system?
Mick: Yes we would separate the investment banks from the high street domestic banks to avoid a repeat of the last disaster where the bankers take on huge risk with our money. There would be no bailing out of investment banks. They would sink or swim on their own success or failure. We would also look into the feasibility of a state bank. It would be the only bank where deposits are underwritten by the government offering low interest rates of savings and loans but strictly geared towards the ability to repay. Repayments would be by a deduction from earnings as a fixed percentage so as a person earns more the loan is paid off faster. When they hit hard times the repayments reduce. Therefore it could only be given to those in employment.
Flag of Freedom:
Would the Freedom Democrats scrap the TV licence?
Mick: No but it could be reduced and we would transform the BBC into what it should be – A public service broadcast channel. The TV licence would fund news and current affairs radio and one or two BBC TV channels. Everything else will have to compete in the commercial world. It would not pay million pound salaries to over rated celebrity presenters.
Flag of Freedom:
Have the Freedom Democrats any plans to meet up with other European nationalist parties such as the Dutch PVV ?
Mick: Our chairman is already in contact with other European parties. Confidentiality precludes me from saying anything further.
Flag of Freedom:
How much does it cost to join Freedom Democrats?
Mick: £30 a year. (£20 for senior citizens, students and unemployed).
Flag of Freedom:
Will you be publishing a newspaper or magazine?
Mick: All our members receive through the post our 26 page magazine “The Freedom Flyer” each month.
Flag of Freedom:
Thank you for this informative interview and all the very best of luck for the future!
Mick: It’s been a pleasure! People can find out more at www.freedom-democrats.org
