Paul Sabanskis MEP Candidate for Wales 2009

Today I met.... Martin Bell

2009-05-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

I was at the Jury Team HQ today to get a better idea of how to campaign and meet people from other regions.

There is a lot of activity going on there and its very much appreciated. I'm confident that the team, lead by Sir Paul Judge, are really putting in a lot of effort to try to raise awareness of the Jury Team and demonstrating that we are a credible alternative to the main parties.

One of the highlights of the day was meeting Martin Bell - the guy who stood as an anti-sleaze campaigner against the Neil Hamilton and spectacularly won! He expressed his support for the ideals of the Jury Team - giving more independently minded people a chance to get elected and therefore improve the political system.

I'll add a photo that was taken of me with him when I get it!

It was interesting to note in a web chat that Sir Paul took part in today that 45% of people who were polled (see the graph at 12:51 in the chat log) would be more likely to vote for an anti-sleaze party due to the expenses scandal!

Members of the Jury Team, who all signed up to good governance, transparency and honesty, would more than serve that role!

Preparing for a TV Interview....

2009-05-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

Have a TV Interview with BBC Wales set up for tomorrow.

Its a bit scary, but I'm sure it will be OK!

People are Really Hurting... More Job Losses

2009-05-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Whilst all the arguments rage about MP's expenses, lets not forget that people are hurting badly in our country today.

244,000 people lost their jobs in January to March of this year. Meaning that there are now over 2.22 Million people out of work.

Having been through the threat of redundancy myself, I know just how people are feeling - they are scared, downbeat and just want some certainty.

What is really sad is that rather than spending energy trying to find ways of helping people through this tough time, MP's are spending their time discussing the legitimacy of paying for swimming pools, toilet seats and chandeliers!

At a time like this, we need MP's who can spend their time fighting problems, not sleaze!

If I am elected, that is exactly what I will be doing!

Norman Tebbit urges people to "Teach the main Parties a Lesson"!

2009-05-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

True-blue Tory Lord Norman Tebbit has suggested that voters should give the main political parties a bloodied nose by boycotting them at the forthcoming European Elections.

I have always liked Norman Tebbit, as he has never been too afraid to speak his mind something very rare for a politician these days, who seem more concerned with their career advancement than dealing with the issues that matter to the voters.

What a shame then that David Cameron has warned him for speaking out.

He was obviously very worried that, if voters acted on Lord Tebbit's requests for the public to "teach the big parties a lesson" and "show them who is master", his own chosen men would fall and his party (and therefore power) in Europe would suffer.

Teaching the big parties a lesson is what we in the Jury Team call a good idea! It's political parties that cause many of the problems in politics these days, by controlling their MP's like mindless drones and forcing them to vote a specific way, even if that is not what the public want them to do!

In fact, getting rid of party whips and having truly independent representatives is at the heart of the Jury Team and something I fully support.

By voting for independent representatives, the public can have a real chance to give the parties a bloody nose and get representatives who work "for the people", because they are "of the people".

If you want a reason to vote for the Jury Team, then using us as a protest vote is perfectly legitimate and, as we are a new movement based on decency and honesty, a much more powerful protest than UKIP or the BNP. It will send the fat cats in the main parties a really powerful message - "We demand honest MP's and an end to sleaze!".

What about "showing them who is the master"? Well the Jury Team has an answer to that as well. Since we are all independently minded candidates, we have no boss other than the most important one. The voter!!!! One of the Jury Team, Wales' pledges is that we are independent and will not be bound by any party whip, we will respect the views of our constituents and vote according to their wishes.

If you ask us questions, we will answer them in as straightforward a manner as possible, rather than evade the question or come back with meaningless mumbo-jumbo!

If you want MP's who will truly work for you, then please consider voting for The Jury Team on June 4th.

Expenses payback...a question of Judgement!

2009-05-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

David Cameron is ordering some of his MP's to pay back bits of their dodgy claims, including Gardening Bills, under floor pipes for a Tennis Court (obviously not quite as necessary for the job of MP as first thought), swimming pools and £7000 on Furniture.

This is clearly welcome but does not address a fundamental issue. That of the judgment of MP's.

If we cannot trust MP's to make a good judgment call on something as simple as whether something is a legitimate expense, how on Earth can we trust their judgment on taxation, the health service or whether we go to war or not!

It really is time for a change!

The Expenses scandal - Time to tell MPs we have had enough!

2009-05-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

Its sad that MPs (including our Prime Minister) are now falling over themselves to apologise for their years of excessive expense claims.

Sad because they are only apologising because they have been found out and we now know just what these people have been doing for years.

Sad because they have been saying for weeks "I've not broken any rules" or "I've done nothing wrong". When clearly they have!

Sad because they claim that its the system at fault and not them!

Most of all its sad because it shows just how out of touch with reality and common sense MPs have become.

The net effect of their raid on the UK Taxpayer will be yet more years of mistrust in politicians. Fewer people will bother to vote because they will think that "all politicians are crooks" so why bother.

If people really want to get rid of greedy and corrupt politicians, not voting is the worst thing they can do. At an election, typically only 40% or less of the electorate will turn out. Just imagine if that 60% - the silent majority - who did not vote turned out and said, with one voice, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

If that 60% of the electorate cast their voices, and their votes, to independant candidates, then the professional politicians and the parties they support would be cast to the wind and people would at last get representation that worked for them.

It is ironic that, if the Jury Team proposals on pay and expenses had been adopted, the excesses that we are all so angry about would not have occurred, since all expenses would have to be published and would be subject to scrutiny by an independant body!

If I am elected as a Member of the European Parliament, I will keep my personal expenses to a reasonable minimum and provide receipts for all expenses claimed. My expenses will be annually audited by an independent accountant and published for all to see.

Personally I cannot see how, when we ordinary people have to meticulously provide records to the Inland Revenue for fear of being investigated or worse, MPs think that its fine to simply buy whatever they want and claim it back from the good old British Tax Payer.

I do believe that MPs should have reasonable expenses reimbursed! After all, if we were working away from home at the behest of a company, we would expect our reasonable expenses to be reimbursed.

But I would not consider a new kitchen or repairs on your own property a reasonable expense. I would not consider general food a reasonable expense (are they saying they wouldn't need to eat normally if they weren't MPs?). In fact seeing some MPs claim for things like a 5p Ikea Carrier bag just takes the biscuit.

Its time we looked at an alternative to the usual suspects.

I believe the Jury Team can provide that alternative - normal, honest people who can bring back a sense of honour to British Politics!

The story so far..

2009-05-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have been lucky enough to be selected as the first candidate for The Jury Team, in the Wales region, for the forthcoming European Elections on June the 4th 2009.

The Jury Team is a new concept in British Politics. Its goal is very simple. To give ordinary people the chance to stand for election based on a platform of honesty and decency and putting the voters first.

All candidates who stand for election through the Jury Team are, first and foremost, independent 'ordinary' people who will have no political master to force them to vote in a specific way.

All candidates who stand have agreed a number of common sense proposals designed to clean up British Politics and reclaim it for the silent majority. These proposals include;

Transparent Pay for MPs and MEPs (Including of course expenses!)
Term limits for MPs and MEPs (To ensure MPs remain relevant)
Referendums as requested by 5% of the electorate (To safeguard our democratic rights)

For the European Elections, because it is based on proportional representation, all candidates in a region work together for the greater good with seats allocated based on the percentage of votes for each party. I am extremely lucky that my fellow candidates, James Eustace, Neil Morgan and Steven Partridge are all pulling behind me and by working together we hope to give the people of Wales a real alternative to the usual suspects.

You can find out more about my basic beliefs, as well as all the candidates for the Jury Team in Wales.

This blog will, I hope, give you both a greater insight into where I stand on the important issues and persuade you to vote for the Jury Team in the forthcoming elections.

I welcome your feedback, comments and questions

Paul