Oh, dear. It’s election time, and the political parties bore the pants off the pissed-off general public with lies, more lies…. and dodgy statistics.
But over the last few years, one relatively new party has been getting more coverage despite its size… yep, its the United Kingdom Independence Party (known as UKIP). Under it’s charasmatic and often outspoken leader Nigel Farage, UKIP, unlike the three mainstream parties, have been open and honest about what they stand for, particularly for a referendum on whether the country should stay in the European Union. Understandably, this brand of political populism has spooked the mainstream coalition.
Yet for all of their success, they have been accused by many commentators as being ‘hard-right’, and more recently from a previous activist, ‘racist’. Is it because for the first time in a generation, the party could make a breakthrough where the likes of the British National Party, the Greens, and the split ultra-left groups have failed in the past? They have been quietly, and confidently gaining support from the other parties, from traditional Conservatives and core-vote Labour supporters, to those who may recognise the EU is partly to blame for the country’s current problems. Many people are also concerned about the ongoing issue of immigration. Despite getting a lot of negative coverage in the media, public support for the party continues to grow….
The Conservatives, despite failing to win an overall majority in 2010, has failed to deliver in office. the Lib Dems, their coalition partners, have seen their support plummet, and many commentators have already written off their chances of not only staying in government, but also winning any seats. The Labour opposition continues to be hampered by one man… no, not Ed The Dead, but jet-setting Tony Blair, who continues to be a huge festering boil on their collective conscience.
The real reason the mainstream coalition are worried is that they fear change…. real political change. The local and European elections could be a dry run for what’s next to come in next year’s general election…. and if I was a leader of any of the mainstream parties, I would start to get very worried.