Nigel Farage’s number one challenger in his bid to get to Westminster has been revealed as an entrepreneur who encourages migrant workers to come to England to take low paid jobs.
Craig Mackinlay, who was an MEP candidate and former deputy leader of UKIP before defecting to the Conservatives in 2005 after he failed to get elected to the European Parliament, is the Tory candidate for South Thanet.
He and his Hungarian wife Kati set up Angolmelo.com which translates as “work in England” in 2008 and renewed the domain name again in October 2014, the Daily Mirror reports.
According to the website the company specialises in finding work in the UK for Hungarian citizens and details the money they could earn in both Sterling and their home currency.
The website features photos of smiling workers in fields picking fruit and vegetables or working in factories.
In its ‘opportunities in the UK’ section it says:
‘There are substantial opportunities across the UK to work in the agricultural & food processing sectors with substantial short-term seasonal work according to the growing season in the UK. There is some on-going agricultural work throughout the winter season; food processing & packing opportunities exist throughout the year.
For farm work, accommodation is often provided on the farm estate. Within food processing short term private accomodation (sic) is necessary.’
The surge in the numbers of migrants who have come to the UK from Eastern Europe has been one reason behind the surge in support for UKIP. In the 2014 European Elections, the party scored 52 per cent in Boston and Skegness alone, where it is estimated 10 – 15 per cent of the population are now from enlargement countries.
Mackinlay and his wife say they will match applicants with appropriate work, source accommodation and ‘do everything possible to make your work time in Britain profitable & enjoyable.’
Mr Farage simply said: “I’ll leave it up to the voters of South Thanet to decide; my job is not to slag off the opposition. They do a good enough job of that amongst themselves”.
Labour candidate Will Scobie said there was an “inconsistency” in his rival’s opinions.
“Encouraging migrants to come to the UK while calling for closed borders shows the inconsistency of a man who’s willing to stand five times for UKIP before switching to the Tories.”
Recent polling in Thanet shows the seat to be a three-way battle between Labour, UKIP and the Conservatives, with just three percentage points between them. Farage says “something special” is planned for polling day, although his supporters will be praying that it doesn’t involve a light aircraft.