UKIP's Nigel Farage never met a controversy he didn't like. In this case, it's being protested against in Edinburgh. A number of protestors yesterday confronted him as he held a news conference in a pub, and he had to be locked in for his own protection.
Now he is trying to put a brave face on it today, by saying that he'd been in worse places than that. Yeah, right! You felt scared for your life, so you got the police to bring a van so you could get away without facing the protestors again. Because you knew in your heart, they had you pegged, to a T.
UKIP describe themselves as "...the UK’s third political party – and the only one now offering a radical alternative...". Third political party? Not true. In terms of elected representatives, they have only 11 MEPs, 3 members of the House of Lords, 1 Assembly Member in Northern Ireland, and 201 councillors in Local Elections. That's a lot lower than many parties, behind the SNP, Plaid Cymru, and even The Green Party.
Yes, they may have made a major breakthrough in England, but outside of England, they have just 1 MEP, for Wales, and 1 Assembly Member in Northern Ireland, and even this was a defection. Their only electoral success outside of England is the one MEP in Wales. This gives the impression that they are somewhat of a band of 'little Engalders', as it were.
They're fighting hard to establish themselves as a mainstream party, even going so far as to ban former BNP Members from joining or standing as candidates, but this is mere smoke and mirrors. The party's policies and actions in various situations have spoken far louder.
They proposed a 5 year freeze on immigration, and they wanted to initiate a drive to remove all illegal immigrants from the UK, something that in cost terms, is impractical. They want to leave the European Union, withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, and the European Convention on Refugees. They want cut corporation taxes and abolish inheritence taxes and national insurance. UKIP lost a sex-discriminitation case when Nikki Sinclaire was expelled from UKIP. Now you might say they lost because they mounted no defence, but to be honest, they must have known what they'd done was indefensible. This is an extremist right wing party.
And whilst Nigel Farage might find it easy to accuse Scottish Nationalism of being extremists and being "akin to fascism", but it's clear to me, that he obviously has little understanding of Scottish politics and his view of the UK is obviously a view of England primarily and not of the other nations in the Union.
However, SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, got it wrong when he said the UKIP Leader had "lost the plot." as to be honest, UKIP and Nigel Farage never had the plot in the first place. Farag'e accusations of a hate campaign as well are liudicrous. If you think a small student demonstration constitutes a hate campaign, then you know nothing about politics. UKIP has little credibility, and even less believeablity after this.
Nigel Farage might be trying to make UKIP seem more electable, but nobody should be fooled by extremism dressed up in a suit. And their audience outside England, might be extremely limited indeed.
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