A Note on Paul Baverstock

On Tuesday the 8th May 2001, at 2:39pm, Mr Baverstock left a message on my voicemail. He said he would "really appreciate" a sceptic classification. In support of this, he said his views on "keeping the Pound" had "always been easy to find out". He added that UKIP had just selected a candidate, and that this was "unhelpful" - appearing to imply that UKIP had been somehow influenced by Candidlist.

I spoke with him on Wednesday the 9th May, at around 11:30am. His tone was somewhat peremptory, and he seemed scandalised that I should dare ask him about his views on Europe. At first, he insisted that I should look on his web page for his opinions. When I answered that Candidlist prefers direct questioning to sifting documents that have probably been "approved" into meaningless drivel by Conservative Central Office, he became angry. I expected the conversation to end there. However, he calmed, and gave a positive answer to the Candidlist questions given below:

1) If elected or re-elected to Parliament, would you oppose our joining the Eurozone even if joining were to be recommended by the Party leadership?

2) If elected or re-elected to Parliament and required to choose between accepting the supremacy of European Union law in this country and leaving the European Union, would you vote for British withdrawal?

I repeated the question about his willingness to defy William Hague on entry to the Euro, and he emphasised that there were circumstances in which he would vote to withdraw from the European Union - though he added that he would then vote to join NAFTA.

Mr Baverstock declined to put any of this into an e-mail for publication by Candidlist, and so I am describing our conversation in full as a substitute.

I have reclassified him as a sceptic, and leave it to the Eurosceptics in Huddersfield to choose between him and the UKIP candidate.

Sean Gabb
Candidlist Director
Thursday the 10th May 2001