UK Local Elections / European Parliamentary Elections

[Ben.]

I have a number of friends who live in the East Midlands and they mostly voted for Kilroy and a number of them are Labour Party members. From what I can tell a strong performance by UKIP and the Greens in the Euro Elections will be a good thing as it will “rattle a few cages” and force the main parties to take notice of the vast majority of people’s unease about the EU, it is not that they want to withdraw it is that they what a final settlement as opposed to the continuing pressure from France and Germany for “ever closer union” which always struck me as faintly sinister. Kilroy is vain but he isn’t hateful, I think that he does care and is a fairly Republican esqu figure for the UK, he very much a “personal candidate” as opposed to a “party candidate” he runs on his ability and his achievements rather than the party tag next to his name (unlike many very dull politicians in the UK), he is good on TV usually and seems earnest and intelligent, he taps wonderfully into a deep seated resentment within the UK  towards both the EU and the “metropolitan elite” it proper nationalism, not thuggish fascism (al-la the BNP) but a spirited nationalism and in Kilory’s case linked with a social liberalism that could really turn the UKIP into something more than a “doss house for the disaffected right of the Conservative Party” he as leader would be able to build on any success in the euro elections and possible stage some powerful campaigns in a number of selected constituencies at the time of the next election… On Europe I think UKIP are a bit far the right but most of the other party’s are way way to the left imho, with Kilroy-Silk as their leader UKIP would have the very real potential to become a populist-rightwing party that could do well.  

   Another point, a UKIP party as a respectable nationalist party, like the SNP or Pliad Cymre could do well… populist polices that would play well with middle and lower  income groups and could allow for inroads amongst both poorer Labour voters and middle class Labour and Tory voters... my final word, they could do well…    

[Ben.]

He *does* look like Haider...

Their views are roughly the same too. In fact, see little difference between UKIP and Austria's Freedom Party. Or, for that matter, Front Nationale, Vlaams Blok... they're all symptoms of the same disease. Petty nationalists who want to drag us back into the dark days.

You can't imagine how angry I am with the British electorate right now.

They are very like the "Freedom" Party...

They seem like a rightwing populist party with a heavy does of non-racist nationalism... While i disagree, I can understand why they are apealing and if properly lead and managed could do well.  

[Ben.]

Now, now...I don't think UKIP should be compared to Le Pen or Vlams Blok...there's a marked difference between xenophobic nationalists and racist idiots, IMHO. Vlams Blok vice chairman had to resign after claiming that the Holocaust was very exaggerated. I don't think a lot of people in the UKIP would do that.

One of their new MEP's was a member (and a candidate!) for a white supremacist party.
Kilroy-Silk has made racist remarks about Arabs and Spanish people (he actually lives in a villa in Spain. Hypocrite).

Not about the Spanish, it was a "joke" at the time that he made in the "stump speech" he made across the east midlands.

Yeah there is defiantly some prejudice in that party but not blatant racism, Kilroy is simply an islamiphobe, its as i said a small populist rightwing party that could do a lot of damage to the Tory party as a Kilroy lead,  assertive, UKIP could split the Conservative vote and make big inroads into the lower and middle income groups who could support the conservatives and even Labour and the LibDems it would be interesting if you ended up with LibDems (Radical Left) Labour (Moderate Left) Conservative (Moderate Right) and UKIP (Radical Right), its unlikely but not totally impossible...

[Ben.]

Well the LibDems are unlikely ever to develop into a radical leftist party... unless you mean social issues...

I say radical... I really mean the "Guardian Party"... "Big State, Social Liberals" (pretty similar to what Kennedy thinks is about right now)... basically a leftwing party positioned as the "real Social Democratic” party, quite a turnaround but not impossible with their constant chasing of the leftwing and leftwing middle class vote.  

[Ben.]

Well the LibDems are unlikely ever to develop into a radical leftist party... unless you mean social issues...

I say radical... I really mean the "Guardian Party"... "Big State, Social Liberals" (pretty similar to what Kennedy thinks is about right now)... basically a leftwing party positioned as the "real Social Democratic” party, quite a turnaround but not impossible with their constant chasing of the leftwing and leftwing middle class vote.  

Most of them aren't too keen on "Big State" from what I've seen... hell they want to abolish the DTI... but social liberalism is about right...
Kennedy is waaaaaay to the left of most of his party mind.
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As far as the progressive yuppy vote goes, that's a local thing I think... almost a hangover from the old SDP really...

Yeah, with Kennedy there is a definite sense that his politics are shaped by the facts that he’s a former Labour Party Member and an SDP MP.

But I just don’t understand how the Liberals suffer no hit to their credibility as they turn around and take stands to the left of all of Labour’s Domestic agenda. As I say though after the next election (by which time it is likely that Iraq will be subsiding as an issue) and shortly after that (probably) Blair will be gone and Borwn will probably be leader and while polices will not change much, the style of leadership and that leaderships concern for cementing its grassroots  support will be very different.

This will all leave Kennedy will loses on the right where traditional LibDem supporters could gravitate to the Conservatives and at the same time he will probably witness much of the Leftwing Middle Class and Antiwar vote behind a Brown lead “LABOUR” Party.