The Curious Case Of #Ukip's Rosie Ward

As with many of UKIP’s ‘bright young things’, Rosaline ‘Rosie’ Ward’s rise up the UKIP ranks is a tale of back stabbings and cover-ups. It's the way, in Ukip.

First picked up at a UKIP ‘luncheon’ by outed anti-Semite Stuart Guppy, she was quickly passed around to UKIP Councillor Harry Blakeley, who in turn groomed her for a meteoric climb up UKIP’s greasy pole - which concluded in a rather cushy job in the European Parliament, from all reports doing very little.

Cornwall Councillor Harry Blakeley
promotes Rosie Ward’s rise.
[Click for email detail].ption

“Blakeley was 69 at the time and a married County Councillor,” explains a former branch officer who has since quit the party.

“He was often seen driving around with her and soon engineered her appointment as Branch Chairman. He also touted her to Nigel personally and attempted to have her employed as YI (UKIP’s youth movement) Press Manager."

“The fact she was [at 16] younger than his grandchildren didn’t seem to bother him; but a lot of us felt quite uneasy about their relationship. Our parliamentary candidate once commented that he thought Blakeley was 'infatuated' with her.”

Indeed, whenever his young protégé was criticised, Blakeley would attack with ferocity, ‘denouncing’ members and the public alike. For the aging Cornwall Councillor, Ward could do no wrong.

So when local patrons found evidence of BNP affiliated articles, authored under her name on Nick Griffin ally, Jack Buckby’s Culturalist website, Blakeley lied to members to get her off the hook.

Steve Crowther, UKIP National Chairman, also weighed in by officially telling concerned staff that he had “concluded that for a 16-year-old it was a mistake which should be acknowledged but should not terminate her political involvement.”

Clearly many in UKIP were prepared to look the other way and continue to promote the young woman in the public eye.

Cornwall Councillor Harry Blakeley
attacks members and officials for
raising concerns about Ward’s BNP links
[Click for email details]

Ward’s 'management' of the Camborne & Redruth branch was reportedly “ineffectual”, and she soon became embroiled in a public scandal after her infamous ‘drugs party’ was reported by the national press.

As always Councillor Blakeley was there to save the day and her mandate was reaffirmed.

UKIP soon entered the planning stage for the 2015 general election, and with Camborne & Redruth listed as their third highest target seat UKIP Chairman Steve Crowther was confident that an 18-year-old with no experience was fit to lead the campaign.

Rosie Ward wrote for BNP insider
Jack Buckby here with Nick Griffin

"Ward should have never been given that level of responsibility at her age,” comments a former UKIP colleague.

“Putting someone so young into a public position under scrutiny like that, especially when it is UKIP is very irresponsible; but Blakeley refused to entertain any suggestions otherwise. He had his own agenda to keep promoting her and that is exactly what he did.”

“Pointing out that she was making repeated gaffes and ruining her own reputation was seen by Blakeley as ‘unfair criticism’. He even started ghost writing offensive internal letters and asking her to send them out under her name. He should be ashamed of himself.”

Issues came to a head when Camborne & Redruth’s candidate was arrested and charged for animal cruelty. Ward took the wise decision to use this incident to resign from her role. The new candidate, Bob Smith, banned the young ‘kipper’ from any activity in the campaign due to her BNP affiliations; including a keynote speech she was due to give at the YI Conference; much to the chagrin of her replacement ... the ever present Councillor Blakeley.

According to comments from a former Camborne and Redruth branch Chairman posted on an internet blog, Ward was told to leak information about the election campaign; including sensitive information about party leader Nigel Farage. This, once again at the behest of Harry Blakeley.

Ward listed as Intern at EFDD

After several months’ inactivity Rosie Ward was interviewed for a position in UKIP’s Brussels office. We are told that the interviewing official was in possession of a ‘large dossier’, which included information about her links to the BNP and articles written for Culturalist, plus negative social media posts criticising her constituency candidate and other party colleagues.

(Ward has since worked hard to remove all references to her BNP work, but caches and links remain active)

“UKIP member and right wing individual”
Ward joins a BNP affiliated site

However, for reasons unknown, UKIP’s European level staff, including MEPs, decided to ignore the evidence - and BNP affiliation - and offer the YI member a three month paid intern contract.

What Ward’s duties amounted to at the European Parliament have never been specified, but we’re told that she was “taken under the wing” of senior UKIP advisor, Anthony Brown; who immediately began posting her articles on his personal website.

“Nobody really knew why she was there or what she was doing,” remarks a former colleague. “Apart from taking several coffee breaks a day there didn’t seem to be much output. The main thing I recall was her posting nonsense on social media, and that her housing situation was compromised for much of her stay and she did the rounds asking colleagues for a thousand Euros to pay her deposit.”

Rosie Ward, now 19, has since quit social media and we are told no longer has involvement with the party - although she has been heavily featured in posts by the Leave.EU Campaign.

Ward featured in a
'Students For Britain'
'Brexit' post.

While her age is a factor, remember UKIP Councillors and even their National Chairman were happy to put this young woman in a high profile public role and use her for their own ends.

Perhaps her involvement with the BNP can be seen as naivete, but it proves once again that UKIP are happy to overlook such affiliations - so long as it helps their cause.

This post is less about Rosie Ward and more about how Ukip, a party dominated by middle-aged males, jumped at the chance of a photogenic token female future candidate, regardless of skills or knowledge. So much so that her BNP history was casually, effortlessly air-brushed away as a minor inconvenience.

We understand that although Ward has been 'off radar a bit' recently, this is more due to her studies than any other factor.

We expect her to resurface at some time, branded, polished and with a whitewashed history.

Stay tuned.

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