A report from the European Parliament by Nigel Farage.

The first week of the EU Parliament saw UKIP strengthening their representation to become the biggest party the UK has delivered to the EU
There were certainly whispers in the corridors of power about our People’s Army marching on Strasbourg
Yet far from being the middle class, elderly, male, obsessive and boring brigade of amateur enthusiasts the British media would like to portray, here was a team of true revolution. The voice of discontented Britain was in the zeal of the 24 new UKIP MEPs taken unadulterated into the beating heart of the EU.
One is an Earl, half- brother of Lady Diana, long divorced from Tory blue tribalism of his peers.
Two are salt-of-the earth Scousers, accents and grit not reduced by political polishing machines.
One, an industrious Muslim business man, whose broad Bradford accent and Paksitani colloquialisms reveal as much about British heritage as the next person.
One, a larger than life openly gay Scot, the first MEP to proudly walk into chamber in kilt and sporen.
There is a tough talking, no-nonsense ex – commando with a passion for patriotism and the lessons of the front line tattooed on his heart.
The steelworker’s daughter side by side with the miner’s daughter.
The umbrella maker of Gypsy extraction joins forces with the gentle Welsh Mormon. A group of people, in all their colour and variety, united by a single cause, as only Britain can do.
But the people’s army has not been carefully engineered by an imaginative press office. What is the biggest rainbow alliance that has ever entered a Parliament as part of a UK political party is exactly how we describe it: A passionate, conjoined family from all walks of life, bound by the quest to restore democracy, and truly represent the people of Britain.
Day one saw the grand opening of Parliament with orchestra positioned in the bowels of the chamber to momentously perform Ode To Joy, the adopted EU anthem.
Misty eyed federalists stood to attention, affirmed by their ever powerful political project.
But the 24 UKIP MEPs rose and turned, backs against the flag, the anthem and the entire aspiration of the creation of a United States of Europe.
No gesture could represent Britain more. No hollow words spoken in strategic oration by a Prime Minister desperate to garner votes. Our actions were symbolic, and 100 % sincere.
The real fun however began on day two.
The first debate saw the avian featured Van Rompuy and the bulldoggish Barroso preside over the new class as austere Headmaster and Deputy at school assembly.
But with 24 Union Jacks on a spread of desks in one corner of the chamber, it was clear who would be the disruptive characters among the amassed.
As the morning went on, the usually hyper-controlled and fastidiously regulated dreary procedures of the European Parliament became subject to combative interjections and lively debate, raining down constant interjections, questions and points of order that the otherwise bleakly beige and militaristic exercise of the European Parliament is rarely subjected to.
The spirit of the Mother of Parliaments, the House of Commons, started shaking that first plenary session in Strasbourg to the core. Never before have they seen such assertiveness and challenge in numbers.
UKIP has not gone to Brussels and Strasbourg to be placid and inert. We made a promise to you to fight for what you believe in.
And that is what we are going to do.
Over the coming weeks I will be announcing a front bench of spokesmen from our People’s Army and unveiling policies, from health to defence, to show you what we are really about.
Despite a very busy week of European politicking, addressing the Parliament as one of the seven European group leaders, and underscoring my intention to lead the revolt, I made sure as well that I spoke to the UKIP MEPs about their real life experiences.
We want a team who believe in what they say. Who have lived the arguments they are going to sell. Who bring real experience as part of their depth and breadth of backgrounds into UK politics.
I am confident that in the run up to the General Elections, UKIP will no longer be seen as a single issue party, nor a one man band.
Forget how the media wish to paint us.
Instead, look at the People’s Army you have voted in as number one in the European elections.
A third of our team is of working women, without any form of all-female shortlists, and with the greatest number of working class representatives any political party has witnessed since the formation of Labour, and an array of campaigners from all creeds and backgrounds.
We are the real voice of Britain. What we represent is a movement in politics that is not only long overdue, but is truly exciting.
Nigel Farage