Candidates & Parties

Gerard Batten was born in Harold Hill, Essex, on the 27th March 1954. Prior to being elected to the European Parliament, he had worked for BT as a salesman for 28 years.

In Europe

He was a founder member of the UK Independence Party in September 1993 and was the first Party Secretary from 1994 to 1997. He has also been a member of the party's National Executive Committee.

He is a member of the European Parliament's Security and Defence Committee, and is UKIP's spokesman on Security and Defence Issues.

As an MEP, Mr Batten is best known for the publication of an annual study called 'How Much Does the European Parliament Cost Britain?' The conclusions claim that membership of the EU cost Britain £50 billion net every year. His figures are widely reported in the national media every year.

Russian spy-death

The MEP also made an appearance in the headlines during the scandal in the wake of Alexander Litvinenko's death, the former Russian spy who was poisoned in London. Mr Batten met the Russian several times and said that Mr Litvinenko had been warned that his life was in danger shortly before he fell ill.

Mr Batten told BBC News at the time: "I'm shocked. I'm very saddened at Alexander's death. He was a very likeable man. I got on very well with him on the occasions I met him and spoke to him on the telephone."

Mayoral Priorities

Mt Batten says, "My priorities as Mayor will be to combat crime, which is now out of control in London; to keep Council Tax and Business Rates to a minimum; to help businesses large and small make London more prosperous by removing unnecessary burdens; and to get London traffic moving again by abandoning Ken Livingstone's policies based on hatred of the car. My policy is to abolish the congestion charge and I reject the idea of emission charges."

"I oppose unlimited, uncontrolled and indiscriminate immigration. At the current rate of immigration indigenous Londoners will soon be a minority in their own city. I am not opposed to some controlled immigration but uncontrolled mass-immigration has to stop and we have to decide who we want to let into our country and on what basis.

"My watchwords will be 'Justice and Common Sense', qualities sadly lacking in politics today."