Philip Hollobone meets the Kettering branch of Ukip

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Philip Hollobone, the Conservative MP for Kettering, has met the local Ukip branch, reports the Northamptonshire Telegraph:

The local UKIP branch and long-standing Brexiteer Philip Hollobone agreed a memorandum of understanding in April whereby UKIP didn’t put up a candidate against Mr Hollobone because of their shared views on certain issues. 

Senior UKIP member locally Jonathan Bullock said: "Philip Hollobone kept his promise from the General Election and met with senior members of UKIP’s Kettering branch recently to discuss the progress of Brexit and his support for outlawing face coverings in public, reducing overseas aid and opposition to HS2 ...

"Philip gave a detailed briefing as to how he saw the Brexit negotiations progressing and also confirmed his support on various other issues upon which UKIP has campaigned. We saw eye to eye."

Hollobone is in the habit of wearing a Union Jack jacket. He must think it makes him look patriotic. In truth it makes him look an idiot.

Which may not be entirely misleading.

Let me take you back to November 2008 and a House Points column I wrote for Liberal Democrat News:

The death of Baby P ...was raised again when Ed Balls answered questions on Monday. He tried to slip a statement through. Mr Speaker cut him sort short and said he would have to come back another day and do it properly. The atmosphere was tense. 

At which point the Tory Philip Hollobone took it into his head to stand up and ask Balls this question: 

On another subject, the ocarina is an easy-to-play, easy-to-learn, easy-to-teach circular flute, and the centre of the UK’s ocarina industry is in Kettering. My constituents, David and Christa Liggins, actively promote the use of this low-cost musical instrument in schools across the country. Would the Secretary of State agree to meet my constituents and me to discuss how this low-cost instrument might help the Government to teach more school pupils how to play musical instruments?

You can see why he got on so well with Ukip.