Agreed Ben. It's a more genteel version of the BNP for some possessing a similar kind of naturally right wing Little Englander mentality but who find Griffin and his ilk a little brutish for polite company, they like the veneer of respectability UKIP affords for their thinly-disguised xenophobia, though even with UKIP the veneer is wafer thin. Don't believe withdrawal from Europe is anywhere near as advantantageous as UKIP would claim, or as straightforward with real downsides to it. Think the whole question more or less moot anyways, only the Tory right hankering for an England that never really existed for most of us making out it's the burning issue of our time anyways, UKIP is a useful foil for them. Would life in this country suddenly be hugely different for your average Joe if UKIP implemented their entire manifesto overnight? Would it fuck. Kick all the recent European immigrants out today and you might even find things are actually worse for it with the loss of their contribution to the net economy.
I was canvassing door to door when BNP were "doing well".
I KNOW that the UKIP agenda meets the needs of the BNP occasional voters I met and discussed political issues with at that time.
And star, please refrain from implying I have posted stuff that I haven't.
I will leave you to it.
Small minds need no encouragement.
So easy isn't it to offer
More Police
More Hospitals
More Nurses
Better school
Better teachers
Better roads
Cheaper taxes
yea...so easy when you know you will never have a chance of being elected !!!
Fact is the liberal vote used to be the mid term alternative protest vote. As they are now part of the Government, people have to look around for another. For now UKIP is that protest vote .... Fact is the liberals have shot themselves a little in the foot, as most of their supporters are more left wing that the Labour party is these days, and so by getting into bed with the Tories, they are alienated an awful lot of their own traditional support.
Come the general election UKIP will once again not have a single MP. Wasted vote, unless you simply wish to protest about them all.
Just a couple of notes for those of you who seem to think otherwise .....
The human rights laws are British law ...
And in answer to your next point .....
It really is a mistake (and in the case of UKIP a lie ) to conflate the European court and the E.U.
What I find interesting is that UKIP have not made a stance on the upcoming Scottish Independance.... (bear with me on this one!) ;)
Their number 1 policy is running out on europe, yet there are parties within the UK (SNP, Plaid Cymru) that have goals that wish to go further (yet strangely, these parties want to stay in the EU once segregation from England is achieved... figure that one out Mr Farage)
At the end of the day, they are a protest vote.... I have often stated that in a modern world economy, borders are just lines in a textbook. I have yet to find a nationalist party within the EU (or elsewhere.... look at the Texan National Front, who is looking for cessation from the USA) who does not blame connected countries for their own problems.
So Star,
UKIP may get a couple of MP's come the next general election, or one before then via a by-election, however at the end of the day it'll make little difference in them winning sufficient mandate to actually form a Government, though if it's a hung parliament again some one might consider them as a junior coalition partner, but not holding my breath.
Their current policies and traditional positioning seems to be appealling more to the right wing elements within the Tories rather than to the main-stream electorate, indeed look at their history and initial major donors.
Currently and for the foreseeable future 'power' lies with the traditional mainstream political parties, whether people like it or not. Until the 'fringe' parties can really offer a viable considered option and track record then it will probably remain that way.
So people will vote at general elections for the parties that they feel offer manifestos that more meet their wishes and aspirations than those of another party.
Something called democracy.
When a 'single issue' party succeeds in meeting their needs, e.g. SNP, then the electorate will have something that they will support - some whole heartedly others less so. At this time UKIP don't yet appear to be in this position.
Perhaps it's the current 1st past the post system used at General Elections ?
So a form of electoral reform along the line of the European elections, where Farage and colleagues have been elected so far, might be an answer - though after May's AV Referendum I doubt this will be on the political agenda for several years.
So will the present coalition get around to offering a vote on EU membership, probably not in this parliament. Do the Tories have an anti-Europe section, patently yes but with their leadership 'rolling out the red carpet'to the French after Hollande's election this summer and London being, apparently, the 6th largest French city there's a selective immigration policy in place, probably much to UKIP's chagrin.
Time to get an old fashioned soapbox and stand in the corner of your 'local' Park as well Star, so as to preach to electorate direct as well as us ?
