Amjad Bashir: Why I left Ukip – for the Tories

I campaign for a referendum on Europe. I want us to get rid of the bureaucracy from Brussels that strangles small and medium sized businesses across our region. I believe our country should have a controlled immigration system. The people of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire want and deserve an “in/out” referendum on our membership of the EU. However, the unfortunate truth for Ukip is that they will not be in a position to deliver one, whereas a David Cameron-led Conservative government can and will hold a referendum in 2017.

Until that happens, I want to ensure that our national interests are represented as best as possible – you are the people who pay our wages and it is therefore only natural that we should be doing our utmost to fight in your corner.

I feel that I can limit potentially damaging legislation most effectively by working alongside Conservative colleagues in the European Parliament.

While many Ukip MEPs are more than happy to denounce the shenanigans that go on at the EU, their attendance record and level of engagement are poor overall. Some consistently grandstand in a desperate attempt to grab the next headline, some think it’s acceptable to holler across the parliamentary chamber, some just spend time fooling around.

Taxpayers are having to stump up £80,000 a year on their salaries, yet Ukip seems more concerned about furthering its political interests as a party as opposed to delivering on the pledges it has made to the British public for years. It is wilfully betraying the voters who put their trust in it last May.

How can it seriously claim to stand up for the people of this country when many rarely bother doing a full week’s work there? Here in the UK, things weren’t much better. When I was Communities spokesman for Ukip, I asked the man responsible for developing the party’s manifesto what policies he had drawn up on the topic. Despite working on policy for a year and a half, he produced a sheet of A4 paper with a few bullet points on it. As an individual who has run successful businesses, I found this astonishing.

I have also been taken aback at the accusations that have been levelled at me since I joined the Conservatives. I moved political parties to ensure that the work that I am doing would represent my Yorkshire constituents better.

The way in which some at Ukip have behaved over the last few weeks only served to further confirm that my decision was the right one. I can accept criticism and understand that there are those who are disappointed by my choice.

However, I would have expected some to react with more integrity. If those who attacked me spent as much time working for their constituents as they did slinging mud in my direction, they would possibly achieve results in Europe instead of blundering along aimlessly in Brussels.

As opposed to the thorough approach and fresh ideas I found with the Conservatives, the fact of the matter is that Ukip is still quite amateurish. Its claim, for instance, that it would publish its manifesto at its spring conference last month only to fail to do so, just underlines that. A vote for Ukip is also a vote for an Ed Miliband government. And it is important to remember that Ed Miliband’s Labour party does not want to hear what the people have to say on the European issue. As a matter of fact, it has ruled out offering the people an “in/out” referendum altogether.

There’s a clear choice at this general election, it’s the Conservatives versus Labour – competence versus chaos.

Looking back at the mess the country was left in by the last Labour government, I shudder at the thought of what that could happen. David Cameron has guided the economy to relative safety through a global crisis and the Conservative-led coalition’s record speaks for itself: 1.85 million more people in work since 2010, inflation down to a record low, pay up 2.1 per cent in the year and wages rising faster than prices.

I came to the UK when I was a young boy. This country is in my blood – it welcomed my family with open arms, gave me the opportunity to get an education, get into business and has now given me the privilege to represent you.

My party has changed, but my determination to serve the people of Yorkshire and do what is best for its people is greater than it ever was.

• Amjad Bashir is a Conservative MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber after defecting from Ukip.