The influence of UKIP

[Workingman]

Interesting times.

Over the past few days Ed Miliband has said that Labour was not listening over immigration. IDS says he wants to limit their access to benefits. Cleggy wants certain of them to pay a deposit on entry to be collected on exit and Dave now wants to stop them getting social housing for between three and five years. Nothing concrete, just wishes.

Have they admitted to any of their doing wrong by the British people? Have they all been converted on the road to Damascus?

Have they Hell!

What has happened is Eastleigh. What has happened is the rise and rise of UKIP.

UKIP has always had at least a stance on immigration and Farage has recently said it will now be attacking Labour on just that subject. The BNP has had a more racist approach to immigration and for that reason the big three have always known that we British would not turn to it in droves. They do not have that guarantee from us with UKIP, as Eastleigh showed, and so we get the 'Weasel words' conversions.

Well, Dave and Nick and Ed, I might have had a conversion of my own..... and so might many others.

[cromwell]

I intend to vote for them in the Euro elections for certain, and probably in the GE as well.
Not that the GE vote will count for much; our part of the village has been gerrymandered into a rock solid Labour seat.

[medsec222]

I will definitely be voting for UKIP. UKIP are gaining ground because they listen to what the electorate have to say. For too long the three main parties have ridden roughshod over the wishes of the British people. Time for a change.

[TheOstrich]

I have voted for UKIP in the past, but they have not always stood in elections locally, at either council or parliamentary level. If they do field candidates, then they'll be getting my vote. If not, I shaln't bother voting at all, as there's no way I would endorse any of the three "main" parties.

Can I just say that I have absolutely no trust in Cameron to deliver what he speaks. The only way the Tories might get my vote is if I see positive action towards curbing immigration totally and getting us out of the EU - not just blah blah.

If voting UKIP means Labour get back in, so be it. I couldn't care less, to be honest. I'm done with British politics pretty much anyway.

[Suff]

I wrote to the office of the chairman of the Conservative party a few weeks ago. I was pretty much betting that writing to the chairman would get a better response than writing to the PM. Especially as the message was for the party, not the PM.

I told the Chairman why I joined the Conservative party shortly before the last election, why I would not be renewing that subscription and why I felt that Cameron, with his position on the EU, would not win the next election.

I did get a response and the person had actually read and understood my letter. A first!.

However the reply was pitiful. It pretty much said. "There, There, Sonny, we're doing the best for you and I'm sure we can trust in your support and that you are reassured that we are doing the best for you.

I responded to the point that

a) No I don't trust you
b) The reply was insulting
c) I hoped they enjoyed this session in power because it would be their last for a while

To be honest I've been thinking about the whole political motivation thing and I'm thinking that the only way to get it through to the government of the day is to stand for the EU elections and, pretty much, wipe the floor with them.

Unfortunately Mrs S would have a hissy fit if I did that. It may be that she'll just have to have one as I'm getting seriously unimpressed with the way the country is going. If Eastleigh can cause the Tories to pause their arrogance for 5 minutes and search for ways to stop immigration and reassess our relationship with the EU, I wonder what a cross the board UKIP win in the EU elections would do to them? Total panic?

[cromwell]

Suff, I think you can get an idea by looking at Boris Johnson's treatment on the BBC yesterday.
The BBC and the British political elite do not like outsiders. The Tory party itself seems to distrust Johnson. They like the routine and the predictable, not the possibility of surprises.

So, the outsider gets attacked. Remember a few years ago, when the BNP showed a twitch of life? A few weeks before any election you could depend on half a dozen BNP people being arrested. The message couldn't be clearer - don't vote for these people.

So sometime before next year's euro elections, the following will happen, imo.

There will be some sort of investigative documentary on UKIP.
Farage's expenses will be publicised.
One of their loonier candidates will have a criminal record exposed, or have an unflattering quote picked up on.
UKIP will be repeated linked to racism, and the BNP will be repeatedly mentioned in the same sentence as UKIP.
Attempts will be made to smear the party in any way possible, and the BBC will be right at the forefront of the villification.

It will happen, because the main parties, and the chattering classes of London, do not want UKIP's views to be allowable. In their minds, three's company, four's a crowd.

Whether the anti-UKIP crusade will be effective or not is another matter; but it will happen.

[Suff]

I don't doubt it Cromwell,

I've seen this happening over the last 15 years and it is the most subtle form of government censorship yet seen. People don't realise just how little choice they really have. I wonder how many people will remember the Austrian elections and Joerg Haider? It seems to me that since that result, there has been much more of this destruction of politics which are not EU friendly.

I also remember the arrests of BNP candidates. I do also remember that after the elections there was NO follow up whatsoever and I didn't check myself to see whether any of these arrests came to court. If I can forget it then the general person in the street has no chance.

I guess if I were to stand up and tell the truth about elections in the UK, there are enough events in my past life to make me unelectable, although not anything they could either charge me with or convict me. Timely reminder of the destructive power of the press and a political elite who don't want outsiders.

Remind me again. What was it? Oh yes, communism was about the common man being able to do anything he wants, within the law, so long as he either has the money or the capability. So ironic that it was the Labour party who made the greatest inroads into the "political" elite in the last 50 years.... Not that I'm surprised, but it would be interesting to see what the under 25's on the street think Labour values are. Most over 50's would probably be shocked rigid at the response....

[Suff]

It will happen, because the main parties, and the chattering classes of London, do not want UKIP's views to be allowable. In their minds, three's company, four's a crowd

It would appear that the BBC also doesn't want Boris as a viable contender either....

[Workingman]

Excellent summary Cromwell. Everything you say will come to pass.

Interesting that the BBC is running a HEADLINE about ITS treatment of BJ by using his TIC response as a sort of justification for its treatment of him. He is a lot cleverer than the BBC is.

[cromwell]

Just bumping this because:-
Today the Observer, Sunday Mirror and Mail on Sunday have run anti-UKIP stories, as have BBC and Sky news.
Ken Clarke and Hilary Benn have been interviewed, hurling gratuitous insults.
The conservative party have allegedly had members trawling through UKIP candidate's social media sites, looking for any dubious quotes they can supply to the media.
Dirty business, politics! Very dirty, sometimes.