Today, an amendment in the House of Lords calling for the UK to continue in a customs union with the EU passed by a majority of 123 votes. The vote, tabled by crossbencher Lord Kerr was backed by several senior Tories, as well as Labour and the Lib Dems.

UKIP Leader Gerard Batten is outraged by the result of the vote, describing it as a betrayal of the people.

Mr Batten said:

“The vote by the House of Lords to remain in the Customs Union is a clear betrayal of the 17.4 million people who voted Leave. Those people did not vote to be half in, half out of the EU.

“The Commons must reject the Kerr Amendment or put itself in opposition to the people.

“Lord Kerr was the man who drafted Article 50 in such a way that EU exit can be delayed, impeded and overturned. Acting true to form he is now trying to carry it through to its purpose.

“UKIP will continue to fight for a complete and clean exit from the EU.”

UKIP Deputy Leader Mike Hookem also commented on the result, saying:

“Today’s vote in the Lords is little more than Labour and the Liberal Democrats ramming policy through the Lords they have no majority to implement in the House of Commons.”

“Therefore, I will continue UKIP’s long-standing campaign for a total reform of the House of Lords, to deliver the real democracy the British people crave.”

A poll conducted in March revealed that only 32% of Welsh people support the proposed expansion of the National Assembly for Wales.

In light of these findings, UKIP Wales Leader Neil Hamilton has called for a referendum, while Gareth Bennett AM characterised the ongoing Assembly-backed public consultation on expansion as, “a political scam to hoodwink the Welsh public into accepting more AMs by stealth”.

UKIP Leader Gerard Batten is in Rochdale today to support the Parents Against Grooming group in their march through the town.

UKIP is fielding three candidates in Rochdale and they will be highlighting the Labour-controlled council’s failure to deal with systematic child abuse in areas under their authority.

Gerard Batten opposes British military action in Syria. The UKIP Leader warned that intervention would lead to a proxy war with Russia which would be, “not only dangerous to Britain, but the entire world.”

Today, Prime Minister Theresa May called for a special Cabinet meeting to approve UK military action in Syria, in the wake of an alleged chemical attack by the Assad regime.

UKIP transport spokesman Jill Seymour has accused the Government of ‘selling out’ British companies after inviting more overseas firms to bid for the running of UK rail franchises.

The Government has granted bidding rights to a trio of continental train companies from countries where foreign operators are frozen out.

The latest to be invited to stake a claim for UK business include Italy’s Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, Spain’s state-owned Renfe and France’s Transdev.