Is it time that we took a closer look at UKIP?

First topic message reminder :

The UKIP vote in Eastleigh rose from 3.6% in 2010 to 27.8% in the by-election on Thursday. It may have been because the party is mopping up the mid-term protest votes which traditionally went to the Liberal Democrats before they climbed into bed with the devil in May 2010. It may be because many people – wrongly - feel that the three main parties in Westminster are “all the same”, a feeling which the Tories have helped to create by transferring so much real power from democratic accountability to unelected and unaccountable corporations as they privatise everything on which they can lay their grubby hands. What I don’t believe is that this bubble of support for UKIP is because of the party’s reactionary, right-wing policies, which aim to take us back to the 1950s.

The one policy which everyone associates with UKIP is withdrawal from the EU. UKIP has claimed that by leaving the EU, the UK would save over £45 million a day plus £60 billion a year, conveniently ignoring any EU rebates and regional grants. I’m not sure where it gets those figures from, since the Treasury says that the UK paid £8.9 billion into EU budget in 2010/11 (out of £706 billion of public spending). The European Commission puts the UK's net contribution at £5.85 billion.

The EU is the UK's main trading partner, accounting for 52% of our total trade in goods and services; if Britain went for a clean break from the EU, its exports would be subject to EU export tariffs. Millions of jobs could be lost as global manufacturers move to low-cost countries within the EU, and Britain's foreign-owned car industry might well shift into the EU. However, withdrawal from the EU was the issue which UKIP exploited and which put it on the political map. With his half-baked promise of a referendum at some point in the future, the idiotic Cameron has increased UKIP’s credibility by showing that he’s afraid of it.

Cameron also said that UKIP is “full of fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists", and perhaps on that last point he could now be right. The Eastleigh by-election showed that UKIP is appealing to racists, causing one person on Twitter to refer to it as “the BNP for the Notting Hill set”. UKIP may be more subtle than the BNP, but it wants to freeze immigration, pandering to the Alf Garnetts who see all foreigners as problems, and has even thrown in the contentious claim that “multiculturalism has split our society”.

In December 2011, the UK had 88,179 people in prison, more per head of the population than any other country in Europe, yet UKIP wants to double the number of prison places. UKIP says that the £2 billion cost of building new prisons is negligible compared to the cost of crime, but it hasn’t factored in the cost of keeping prisoners in jail, which amounts to at least £40,000 a year for each of them. Yet UKIP would refuse to accept European Arrest Warrants, which could well mean delays for the UK in extraditing suspects from other European countries.

The NHS would be no safer with UKIP than it’s been with the Tories, since the party believes that “other models are worth considering to see whether lessons can be learned from abroad”. On education, UKIP wants to bring back grammar schools, so that we can once again tell about 80% of eleven-year-olds that they’re failures, while at the same time giving parents education vouchers, which would be a way of subsidising private school fees.

The cornerstone of UKIP’s tax policies is to roll the employee national insurance and basic rate income tax into a flat rate of income tax of 31%. There would be no higher rate tax, since UKIP perpetuates the Tory lie that the 50% income tax rate cost the economy money; it hasn’t, it has brought in £2.7 billion a year. UKIP’s policy would be a massive tax cut for the rich, far bigger than the one that’s being introduced by the Tories in April. Even greater inequality would be created by abolishing national insurance for employers.

UKIP policies, like so many Tory ones, amount to an attack on our rights. UKIP would put an end to most legislation regarding matters such as weekly working hours, holidays, overtime, redundancy and sick pay, while leaving it up to each employer to decide whether to offer parental leave. It says it would also scrap most ‘equality and discrimination’ legislation.

If you need any more reasons not to vote for UKIP, it denies climate change and would make increased defence spending “a clear priority, even in these difficult times”. It opposes equal marriage, would hold a referendum in each county on ending the hunting ban and would allow smoking in allocated rooms in public houses, clubs and hotels. It’s no wonder that UKIP has been likened to “the political wing of a Home Counties golf club”.

You may not like the EU, and you may think that after 38 years it’s time to hold another referendum on our membership. However, before you vote for a party that makes that its flagship policy, look a little more closely at what else you would be voting for at the same time.

Sources used:-

http://www.ukip.org/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20448450

Ivan wrote:Sources used:-

http://www.ukip.org/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20448450

 
Ivan I am glad you have put that link up so that those people that are tempted to vote Ukip can see exactly what an who they would be voting for, to be honest you can not get a ciggy paper between the Ukip and Tory policies so I hope people take their time to check out the Ukip Manifesto they are in for a shock.

Today We received our lovely election leaflet from Ukip on opening it we found the BNP leaflet........

Now I don't know if it was someone at the mail sorting office having a joke but then again it does seem very apt, Ukip acting as cover for the BNP.......

You may have a good point there astradt1 or could it be that Farage is trying to combine Ukip with BNP, so that the voting  numbers would be up enough so that he could get MPs into the HOC ??

I have had no UKIP leaflet to date. When I do, it will meet the same fate as the Tory one which arrived yesterday.

Can I claim a place in the Guinness Book of Records for a leaflet being torn in half before it actually hit the doormat?        

I await the LibDem offering which will meet a similar fate , and that of Labour which , appropriately, will probably be last, too late, and falling short of persuasive qualities...     

I have only had leaflets from the SNP, so I await with baited breath for Tory Fib-Dem & Ukip leaflets to see if I can beat PHs record of tearing them up before they fall and hit my Hall carpet.

If you haven’t yet reached saturation point with articles about UKIP, you might enjoy this one:-
 
12 things that would happen if Nigel Farage and UKIP actually won
 
by Fleet Street Fox
 
Until 2010, the party that got all our "sod you all, you bastards" vote was the Liberal Democrats, and they've been so illiberal since, mired in sex scandals and broken promises, that they're not a party of protest any more. The BNP used to attract the swivel-eyed loons, and then the EDL, and each has imploded amid, funnily enough, lots of fighting.

With every ballot the eyes move down to the next party on the list, the first one that doesn't seem to be like the others. Welcome to the perfect storm for UKIP………
 
The article is here:-
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/12-things-would-happen-ukip-3487075#.U2TB59VDdhq

I succumbed and took a look inside the Ukip leaflet (My Bad). It was to note that all the five candidates, for the party that wants to be viewed as the party of the ordinary working man, are or were Business Men or Women, not one ordinary working person.........

Yes, indeed - voting for UKIP is the sort of thing that a chap might do in a fit of pique when drunk, after a row with the wife and having accidentally hit his thumb with a hammer...

UKIP is Tory Light.

oftenwrong wrote:UKIP is Tory Light.

Sorry OW you are way off on this one Ukip is an EXTREME far right party that is why it appeals to the far right voters in the Tory party .

At last, the definitive article:-
 
100 reasons not to vote for UKIP
 
http://maxjfreeman.com/2014/05/03/100-reasons-not-to-vote-ukip/

Very good indeed - seems to cover it ---

There are 73 seats to be contested in the MEP election, spread over twelve geographical districts of the UK. Until they arrive at the Polling station, many electors will have no idea of who they are able to select.

I think there's a Labour candidate in my part of East Anglia - if not it'll be a Green vote - or spoil the ballot paper

boatlady. We vote for a party rather than an individual in these elections, and the ballot paper shows the names of the candidates for each party and the order in which they will be elected. The East of England has 7 MEPs, and they are allocated to parties in proportion to the number of votes they receive.
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27125241

 

Meet Roger Helmer, UKIP’s candidate for the Newark by-election on 5 June. He was elected as a Tory MEP in 2009, but he defected to UKIP in March 2012.
 
In his own words:-
 
“Some people find homosexuality distasteful if not viscerally repugnant. Different people may have different tastes. You may tell me that you don’t like Earl Grey tea. That may be a minority view but you are entitled not to like it if you don’t like it.”
 
"If two men can be married, why not three men? Or two men and a woman? Why not a commune? If two men have a right to marry, how can we deny the same right to two siblings? Are we to authorise incest?"
 
“Why is it OK for a surgeon to perform a sex change operation, but not OK for a psychiatrist to try to ‘turn’ a consenting homosexual?”
 
"Green climate change policies: probably unnecessary, certainly ineffectual, ruinously expensive."
 
“One good reason for a badger cull - it would bring down the exorbitant price of shaving brushes.”
 
Helmer also believes that rioters should be shot on sight, some rape victims “should share the blame”, beating "dumb" seal cubs on the head is a "humane" way of killing them, and that seals are "guilty" of eating too much fish.   
 
http://www.newstatesman.com/staggers/2014/05/meet-ukips-seal-hating-gay-baiting-victim-blaming-newark-candidate-roger-helmer

And yet, they will vote for him in their hordes.
Speaking to voters last night, the theme arising time and again was dissatisfaction with the behaviour of MP's - as UKIP have no MP's they are of course immune from this criticism

My UKIP leaflet arrived today.

By happy coincidence it is also the day for the bins and re-cycling items to be put out in these parts...   

Phil Hornby wrote:I have had no UKIP leaflet to date. When I do, it will meet the same fate as the Tory one which arrived yesterday.

Can I claim a place in the Guinness Book of Records for a leaflet being torn in half before it actually hit the doormat?        

I await the LibDem offering which will meet a similar fate , and that of Labour which , appropriately, will probably be last, too late, and falling short of persuasive qualities...     

I have not beat you yet PH, but the Scottish Tories tried to pull a fast one by using the "Better Together" slogan in an effort to get people to vote Tory in the election for MEPs in the EU.

Once upon a time the Labour Party looked like 'our' party, but some of its policies (like leaving the EU for UKIP) seemed a bit removed from what was possible. We threw that away to get Murdoch's support, and now they pick up the anti-strutter vote. When I think back to all those who fought for the Class I feel rather sad, fair play.

Hmm… isn’t it revealing that a party which claims to lead a ‘People’s Army’ needs to resort to employing foreign workers to distribute its grotty leaflets?   
 
UKIP Pays Eastern Europeans To Distribute Leaflets, Despite Warning They Take British Jobs
 
From an article by Asa Bennett
 
"UKIP has been accused of hypocrisy and double standards for paying Eastern Europeans to distribute their election leaflets, despite those leaflets warning that immigrants from the EU pose a threat to British jobs.
 

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1780944/thumbs/n-FARAGE-POSTER-large570.jpg
 
Andrew Spalis, partner at the door-to-door distribution firm ‘Fast Leaflet’, said that his firm has been carrying out work for UKIP and that many of its employees are from Latvia, as well as other parts of Eastern Europe.

The revelation is politically embarrassing for the party, as it has repeatedly warned against the risks of immigrants taking Britons' jobs."
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/05/07/ukip-eastern-european-leaflet-distribution-_n_5279567.html

UKIP likes to pretend that it's a 'libertarian' party, though it doesn't even believe in allowing people to live wherever they like. However, it seems that if you dare to criticise the party, one of its members could report you to the police and you'll get a visit from the local constabulary, which is what happened to Michael Abberton in Cambridgeshire last Saturday:-
 
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/05/criticise-ukip-twitter-you-could-get-visit-polic
 
Let me just go and see who's knocking on my front door.....

I've always found it easier to support a Group advocating positive change. Rather than one which is simply agin things.

Nailing the two biggest UKIP lies
 
1. “Our membership of the EU costs us £55 million a day”
 
In 2013, UK government gross contributions were £14 billion. After rebates and other receipts, our net contribution was £8.6 billion, or about £24 million a day.
 
Much more detail here:-
https://fullfact.org/economy/cost_eu_membership_gross_net_contribution-30887
 
2. “75% of all our laws are made in Brussels” 
 
In October 2010 the House of Commons Library published a comprehensive study of the percentage of UK laws that originate from the EU, concluding that the true figure is around 15%. That’s supported by a German study, published in June 2012, which suggests that 15.5% of UK laws are made by the EU.
 
This link will take you to a comprehensive analysis of the claims and counter claims made about this subject:-
http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/2009/06/what-percentage-of-laws-come-from-the-eu/

UKIP faces scandal over ‘cash for Euro seats’
 
UKIP faces a “cash-for-Euro-seats” scandal after forcing MEPs to donate large sums and threatening to bar those who refused from standing again, according to a former deputy leader of the party. Ex-UKIP insiders have also raised concerns that the party favoured wealthy MEP candidates before this month’s European elections.

Two leading candidates for the May 22 poll, and the partner of a third, donated or lent the party tens of thousands of pounds about the time they were selected for safe seats, according to an analysis of Electoral Commission records.
 
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4089092.ece

In todays Daily Mirror it has been reported that Ukips Poster Girl, Sanya-Jeet Thandi, said Ukip has descended into a form of racist populism and will not be voting Ukip any time soon.  She thinks the Ukip party deliberately attracts the racist vote, I wonder what excuse Farage will come up with for decent people leaving the party that will be worthwhile reading NOT.

Why do working class people vote UKIP?
 
Extracts from an article by Sunny Hundal:-
 
We may wish people made decisions merely on policies but they don’t. This is worth remembering because it applies to UKIP sympathisers perhaps more than any other key group of British voters. UKIP supporters are older, not that well-off and usually suffer from financial insecurity. These are people hurt by growing inequality and have become disillusioned with the political system. YouGov polling shows UKIP have had little success in reaching better-off Britons, graduates and those under 40.

UKIP is the party of the disenfranchised English. They feel powerless about the change taking place in the world around them and they’re lashing out. The insecure world of UKIP supporters may be driven by financial insecurity but they are a culturally conservative bunch. They dislike political correctness, modern liberalism, globalisation and international institutions: especially the EU. Support for Nigel Farage (and even Jeremy Clarkson) is much more a cultural backlash than merely about financial insecurity.

Ed Miliband is right when he says Farage’s party “promises higher taxes for working families and huge giveaways for the rich”, but that’s not what UKIP supporters are listening out for. They care more about whether Ed Miliband sounds like the guy who wants to make Britain ‘great’ again. They want to know if he has the country’s interests at heart. Instead they see, like Cameron, a metropolitan liberal who is part of the establishment they despise.
 
For the whole article and reader comments:-
http://labourlist.org/2014/05/to-win-ukip-voters-miliband-must-articulate-a-sense-of-progressive-nationalism/

QUOTE: ".... the establishment they despise."

Well, Good Luck with that attitude guys! The British establishment is particularly well umm, errr, ESTABLISHED.

Our postie made me laugh the other day.  Handing me some envelopes with one hand, he said 'Here's your post...' and handing me the leaflets with the other hand, finished...'Here's something for the recycling'.

At least two or three of the leaflets might be more appropriately destined for the 'smallest room' where they could accompany any spare Daily Mails which might have infected the household...      

So far I have not had a glutt of leaflets from anybody, I suppose that is because we only have the EU election here in Scotland no local election here until 2016. Since I do not allow the Daily Fail over my doorstep as I do not think it's even fit for the smallest room in the house.

I got a leaflet from the English Democrats through the door yesterday. It focussed on the really important issues in my life - English Independence, getting out of Europe ASAP, asylum seekers and the influence of Sharia law. They know their electorate.

All the leaflets I have seen so far all look very depressingly predictable and uninspiring. To be fair, however, my 10-second glance through most was not likely to inform me greatly and more time was spent gleefully ripping them up. Mercifully, I can't even remember the Farage offering's bilge.

I read Ed's more thoroughly ( or should that be : I read Red Ed's...?) and was similarly far from excited. Oh for some inspiration...!    

I particularly like the reference to the named candidates as "your local representatives". It's just as well we are voting for a Party, since the hopefuls live nearly a hundred miles from Oftenwrong Towers.

" ...nearly a hundred miles from Oftenwrong Towers."

A situation which is doubtless a function of the score after score of acres which are part of- and surround - said country seat...!      

Does anyone notice anything about the colours of The Standing at the Back Dressed Stupidly and Looking Stupid Party from 'Blackadder'?   
 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bnsz-txCMAAhMSg.jpg

At last - Farage gets his comeuppance in an interview:-
 

www.youtube.com/embed/-pyYoL9ngtE

Unsurprisingly, Nigel is beginning to wilt under the strain of running a one-man-band. But will "his" voters have noticed?

Meantime, David Miliband is receiving bags of publicity but sets out Labour Policy rather in the manner of someone "painting by numbers". Who is pulling his strings?