Cllr. David Potts joins UKIP
Party gains first councillor in South Tyneside
Cllr. David Potts, the former Conservative then independent representative for Cleadon Village and East Boldon ward in South Tyneside has officially joined the UK Independence Party, there now appears to be little chance at all of him resigning his seat in the near future. He becomes the first UKIP councillor in the borough, albeit he has never been elected under their umbrella flag.
29 year old Councillor Potts works as a currency trader and is a director (or Vice President) of Craigmile and Potts LLC, a company based in Iowa, USA. He lives with his girlfriend Laura and splits his time between his homes in Hertfordshire and Tyneside, where he mainly operates. On his company website he is described as a head currency trader and VP who is incredibly successful in the money markets. As of September when he was publicly welcomed to the company, the CEO had never met him, but David was described as a “hard right, pure capitalist” believing that the market is always correct and governments should never interfere in capitalism other than to provide a “basic” regulatory structure.
His autobiographical book on the culture of alcoholism in politics and finance, “Bitter… Who me?”, is due to be published early next year.
Only last month David Potts warned:
I do not believe a word that comes out of a politician, bureaucrat or rating agency’s mouth, AND NOR SHOULD YOU.
We shall take heed of the “pin-striped pioneer“.
David Potts was pictured yesterday outside of South Shields Town Hall with UKIP’s North East regional organiser Gordon Parkin, (it was alleged in the past that party officials had been funded by the EU in a Sunday Times investigation)
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Curly's Corner Shop, the blog! 
As usual, Curly, you fail to check your facts. Gordon Parkin does not and has not ever received a penny from the EU either in salary or expenses. Please withdraw that comment.
David Potts
November 11, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Withdrawn and amended, it was a poorly worded sentence.
curly
November 11, 2011 at 6:03 pm
Can you guarantee that Mr. Potts, do you know all of the facts?
This from the link provided –
UKIP has been paying its regional organisers by designating them advisers and assistants to its MEPs, allowing them to draw salaries of up to £40,000 a year, it said.
The paper said former official Denis Brookes, who is making a claim for unfair dismissal, stated he was being paid to do one job while employed doing another.
Current allegations follow reports earlier this month that more than £1m given to UKIP was not recorded in the Electoral Commission’s register.
The party filed its most recent accounts more than six months late.
The Sunday Times quotes an email sent last April by Andrew Smith, the party’s then treasurer, to senior members.
He wrote: “We need to give the Electoral Commission every reason to believe we are serious about compliance, in order to provide the next party treasurer with a good story to tell when we next fail to meet the statutory requirements.”
Paul Taylor
November 11, 2011 at 7:49 pm
It’s enough to make a cat laugh. Where will he go next…answer anywhere but Cleadon & East Boldon. You know that ward he is supposed to represent. The pound sign on the UKIP banner is very appropriate representing the allowances he claims as a Councillor whilst living several hundred miles away.
Make the most of it lad for you will soon be returning to obscurity…no photo calls, no publicity,no allowances,no votes.
Ispy
November 11, 2011 at 3:10 pm
From zzzzz to UKIP, a natural progression one would have thought.
PRESS WATCH
November 11, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Perhaps he will KIP at a few more council meetings, CAFs and PACTs….
LL.B
November 13, 2011 at 11:45 am
“Withdrawn and amended” a very good description of the virtual councillor Curly.
Sandra D
November 11, 2011 at 7:29 pm
If I were a gambler like him thats his job. i reckon that hes just lost another seat to labour.
geoff
November 11, 2011 at 7:34 pm
I appreciate your link to our website, FaholoFX.com. While your statement that David and I, at the time of that particular writing, had not met face to face is correct, it does not reflect the extensive correspondence and collaboration that we had prior to his joining FaholoFX. In fact, David and I have a history together in the trading business as well as numerous mutual acquaintances. Thanks for your concern.
Doug Craigmile
November 11, 2011 at 7:51 pm
So David more party’s than Christine Keller Potts why do you consume alcoholic beveriges that are of an non British nature?
British Lager
November 11, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Is it not a bit of an own goal by UKIP that they have in the background a statue of a monarch who’s first language was German?
What is also interesting is that if the proposed recent changes in the rules of succession had happened after Victoria’s death her oldest child, also called Victoria, would have then succeeded her. The younger Victoria also died but a few months later in the same year as her mother (1901) which would have meant that her first born Wilhelm (Kaiser Wilhelm II) would have been our king.
So, would we have then had a Great War?
British Lager
November 13, 2011 at 1:39 am
@British Lager – Why would that be an own-goal? UKIP is not anti-Europe, just anti-EU. Nigel Farage is married to a German…
David Gale (@DavidGaleUK)
November 14, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Suggest that you focus on the new recruit’s track record and read the generally responsible and objective comments and opinions posted on this blog site, particularly during the past 12 months.Does UKIP have a code of conduct for its members and elected political representatives if it does, we would be interested in reading it; please provide a link if you can.
LL.B
November 14, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Paul Nuttall, UKIP’s Deputy Leader is a supporter of public libraries, recently he has written a letter in support of maintaining public library services in Cumbria; wonder if that issue was raised in Newcastle yesterday?
Twit ter Watch
December 5, 2011 at 9:13 am
Booted out of the conservatives,the banner under which he was elected, this lad isa bit of a Walter Mitty. Substitute gambler for currency trader and look at his attendance record for STMBC. I was going to vote UKIP next time but not with candiadtes of this stature.
treetop
November 11, 2012 at 1:57 pm