Comment at the UKIP Conference

Our Chancellor seen here signing off on last week’s budget.
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Earlier in the week, we asked Ben Bradshaw (Labour MP for Exeter) for his views on UKIP and he tweeted, “Europhobic socially conservative right wing party with incoherent economic policy currently boosted by protest voting”. With that in mind Exeposé Comment decided to spend the day at the UKIP Spring Conference at The University of Exeter’s own Great Hall to investigate that claim.

Throughout the day we were witness to a variety of party speakers, only one of which didn’t know the difference between the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and  former two-time World Heavyweight Champion turned grill advocate George Foreman. Although there was no substantive mention of the word, “deficit” in any speech amid a wash of arguably half-baked environmental, transport and educational policy, it was made quite clear that, unsurprisingly, UKIP are quite vehemently anti-EU. 

We took advantage of our increasing Facebook following to ask if it was in Britain’s national interest to leave the European Union. Of those polled, 63% responded that, no, Britain’s interests in fact lie in remaining in the EU. Of the members of the audience at the conference who we interviewed, Will Himms of Somerset and Joan Martin of Cinderford both strongly disagreed.

A majority of those polled by Exeposé Comment favoured remaining within the EU.

“I like all of the countries in it, but I don’t think that it’s the right thing to try and force them all to be together”, said Will. Joan agreed and added, “I look at the state of the other countries in the EU and I don’t want that for us.” On the other hand Joel Mason, Vice President of Exeter University Liberal Democrat Society, weighed in saying, “I’m not going to argue that the EU’s perfect; far from it, it’s got many problems but I think it would be a very rash thing to overlook a lot of the benefits that we get from the EU. [Business and crime among other issues] exist across borders…we need to try to adopt a transnational approach which is what the European Union allows us to do.” It seems clear that there is a need for a degree of reform concerning our role in the EU, but the balance of cost versus reward remains unclear: are we paying too much in for little in return?

Almost three quarters of students polled agreed that a vote for UKIP is nothing more than a protest vote.

Nigel Farage was quick to dismiss UKIP’s recent surge in popularity as a protest vote, however the overwhelming response from the Exeter student community has seen it as just that. Of those polled, just 28%  believed that UKIP could now be considered a major force in British politics. We caught up with Jonno White, chairman of the Debate Society, who said in no uncertain terms that, “For the first time in a very long time the right is split in this country. [UKIP] seem to think that they can change politics…it is really a protest vote, now [the Liberal Democrats] are in government there’s no real other party to vote for in protest.” This sentiment was echoed by politics graduate Rob Owen who said, “They are a splinter group which is out of touch with most people in this country. They only have one major point in their manifesto and they will get swallowed back into the Conservatives within two years.” In a response to the aforementioned poll, UKIP sympathiser and Exeter student Nick Best stated that, “Whatever you think of their policies you cannot deny they are a major party. They are going to do very well in future elections. They have a huge impact in Tory marginals, that is a major force.”

Farage may need to extend his reach out past the stereotypical UKIP voter.
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UKIP were taking the opportunity at their Spring Conference to prove how diverse a political party they are, with a presentation from candidate Winston McKenzie on UKIP’s contribution to, “the black and ethnic community” and a rather oddly scripted speech from extreme-right Bulgarian MEP Slavcho “Slavi” Binev concerning his professed friendship with Farage and his promises not to, “claim benefits while here” or, “bring his horse and cart”. There was a tangible tension on the topic of immigration which might lead many to think that UKIP’s anti-EU sentiments may not come from such an economic standpoint. There was  definitely an observable demographic in the conference audience; the majority of attendees were ageing and white. The challenge for UKIP is to increase their popularity with a new generation. Until then, as seen in our own polls, younger people will arguably still consider them nothing more than a minor party.

Dave Reynolds and James Bennett, Exeposé Comment.

For further reading see  This isn’t the protest vote you’re looking for: Why we should say no to UKIP and UKIP: Filling the Void and Here to Stay. You’ve read the views of a variety of students and UKIP supporters. What, if anything, resonated with you or do you strongly disagree with? Leave a comment below or write to the Comment team at the Exeposé Comment Facebook Group.

UKIP: Filling the Void and Here to Stay

President of The Freedom Society Liam Taylor and Conservative Future member Nick Best put forward the case for why UKIP’s recent surge in popularity is more than a protest vote, and in fact makes them a major force in British politics. Here are Liam’s thoughts first, followed by Nick’s.

One of the most intriguing recent developments in British politics has been the surprising rise of UKIP. But just how has this party that just 2½ years ago only polled 3%, and indeed was so minor that the current Prime Minister felt comfortable dismissing them as “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists”, rocketed to 17% in recent national polls?

One obvious answer is the popularity of their leader Nigel Farage. In an age when people are getting fed up of artificial, image conscious, style-over-substance politicians who change their minds according to the whims of the latest focus group, the charismatic, straight-talking Mr Farage is a welcome breath of fresh air. The chain-smoking Farage strikes most people as a normal person, unlike the career politicians who seem so interchangeable that they could have all rolled off the same assembly line, and his German wife and bilingual children make the accusations of racism and xenophobia hard to stick.

But the reasons for UKIP’s rise run deeper than their leader’s personality; it is fundamentally an inevitable result of the disillusionment of the electorate with the main three parties over key issues, chiefly the EU and immigration. For years, hard-working people have had legitimate concerns over these issues, whether it’s concerns for their own job security or over the capability of their local hospitals and schools to deal with the extra pressures consequently put on them. But not only were their concerns ignored but they were insulted, slandered as racist or xenophobic when raised.

Does UKIP offer a substantial difference from the main three political parties?
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This is all only partly why people feel so disillusioned with all of the main parties, all three just seem too out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. The Conservatives are seen to be a posh-boy’s club, more concerned with insulting their core voters than running the country and obsessed with the fads of the Notting Hill metropolitan elite. Meanwhile, Labour are seen to be not so much the party of the working class anymore as the party of the non-working class, and just as obsessed with the latest fads of the metropolitan elite, only the one in Islington instead. As for the Lib Dem’s, the traditional party of protest, only time will tell if their voters will ever forgive them for selling out their principals in exchange for a botched AV referendum (or a “miserable little compromise” as Nick Clegg called it before the election), but at only 8% in the polls it doesn’t look promising for them. This is why UKIP is able to steal votes from all three parties, drawing the majority of its support from a mixture of traditional Thatcherite Tories, socially conservative working class Old Labourites, young libertarians and general protest voters, some of whom haven’t voted at all for quite some time.

So are UKIP just a glorified single-issue pressure group? Two years ago it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to say they were, an EU Referendum promise would have almost certainly been enough to see their limited support evaporate. But not anymore. UKIP is a completely different animal now, drawing support for a wider range of reasons. This is why Cameron’s referendum promise has failed to dent their rise in support, not to mention the fact that after his “cast iron guarantee” before the last election crumbled into a pile of rust most Eurosceptics simply don’t trust him to deliver anymore.

So are UKIP just a protest vote whose support will evaporate come election time? Yes and no. For most voters they are still just a means to an end, a way to express anger and try to scare the main parties into addressing their concerns by costing them valuable votes. But if their concerns aren’t addressed soon there is a danger to the main three parties of UKIP becoming an end in itself.  So it may be largely a protest vote but that doesn’t mean that their support will disappear come election time. As Beppe Grillo, the comedian turned anti-politician politician, showed in Italy, when voters are angry enough they like to give their political leaders a good kicking.

Liam Taylor

Conservative Future Member Nick Best outlines why he thinks that, “UKIP appears to be changing the political landscape”, and moreover why this is a good thing.

UKIP are the party of the moment but will this continue and grow into further electoral success? This is impossible to answer for sure but things looks positive for Farage’s party.  The party activists are highly motivated and their common sense and populist policies find favour with a large number of main party supporters and even people who haven’t voted for 20 years.  UKIP appears to be changing the political landscape and I for one welcome that.  The three main Westminster parties, 2 in coalition and the other in opposition, have shown themselves time and time again to be out of touch with ordinary hardworking people and have failed to represent the views of the electorate on so many issues.  Nigel Farage and UKIP have emerged from this environment offering a very different message; they are straight talking and conviction politicians, something that is rare in modern politics. Whatever your view of their policies at least they actually believe in them and don’t change course just because of a focus group or bad press.

Will UKIP be able to secure any seats in the 2015 general elections?
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Some question whether UKIP’s rise is just temporary and suggest that they attract protest votes. Whilst some of their voters might be looking to protest many are committed to UKIP and will not be returning to the other Westminster parties. We will have to watch the local elections, next year’s European elections and the 2015 general election to see what happens but my guess is that UKIP will continue to do well and will win many council seats, could come first in the European elections and have a good chance of getting into Parliament. That would be a real shock to the older parties and if it teaches them that representing real voters and their opinions is successful then that can only be a good thing.

The other main criticism is that they are a one man band, that without Nigel Farage they would not be as successful. This is probably partly true and I recognise UKIP need to push out their other members and spokesmen, but it is policies that matter. Besides, can ordinary voters tell you who the entire Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet are? I doubt it! Many of the attacks on UKIP can be sourced to the existing dominant parties who are very worried by the prospect of a rising UKIP. These attacks reveal that Cameron and others are scared to debate with UKIP and so have resorted to name calling and bullying tactics. Luckily, more and more people are looking at UKIP and are liking what they see. They see a party that is made up of ordinary people who have had jobs outside politics, people who are in politics to change things and not to gain power and prestige, and policies which normal people outside the political elite believe in and want to see enacted. We should not be afraid of a new party in British politics and whether you like them or not you cannot deny that they represent many people in this country and deserve a place in the major league of British politics.

Nick Best

For the case made against UKIP be sure to read This isn’t the protest vote you’re looking for: Why we should say no to UKIP. Does UKIP represent a real choice for the disillusioned voter? Or are they benefitting from a short term protest vote windfall? Give a reply below or post your comment to the Exeposé Comment Facebook Group.

This Isn't the Protest Vote You’re Looking For: Why We Should Say No to UKIP

Leader of Exeter Labour Students, Dan Richards and  Gender and Equalities Society Treasurer George Causer examine UKIP’s place in modern British politics. Below, Dan suggests that a vote for UKIP is nothing more than a misinformed protest vote and following suit in an interview with Exeposé Comment,  George condemns UKIP as, “out of touch with modern Britain”.

Those among you who look with glee at the rise of the UK Independence Party, and were counting down the days until Nigel ‘the Chosen one’ Farage graced the University with his presence at the  UKIP  Spring Conference should really ask yourselves a question: Are you really a UKIP supporter? Or are you simply a disillusioned individual, tired of party politics, who has been unfortunately led astray by the dark lord himself?

UKIP to me is nothing more than a protest vote for one simple reason. They only have one well-known policy, a policy which they manage somehow to link to every aspect of the British political system in an attempt to tap into the supposed wide-spread Euro-scepticism that currently exists in Britain. In other words, “If that big, mean and nasty European Union would just leave us jolly-well alone, we respectable Brits would be much better off!” Their entire platform is based upon a simplistic, reductionist view of the European Union. To truly give your support to a party, there has to be more than one issue with which you agree with them on and I would be surprised if many people could name a different UKIP policy.

“I believe a vote of confidence for the EU would be the response of the public once both sides of the argument were put forward…”
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As head of Labour Students, it is to nobody’s surprise I disagree with the policies of UKIP. I disagree with their ‘death to Europe’ attitude and believe that leaving the Union would be disastrous for Britain; but what most perplexes me about UKIP is the rest of the party’s platform and what would be left once they had removed the ‘coven’ of European bureaucrats. A couple of examples of their policies from their manifesto should show you what I mean. When it comes to the economy, the tax cuts and alterations they propose, although seemingly giving money back to the people, would make it almost impossible for them to protect the frontline services they promise to uphold. Their social policy is bleaker still, with UKIP claiming that ‘Britishness’ is under threat from multiculturalism (I do not know how we sleep at night!) and that they wish to teach a history of Britain in schools which, as a historian myself, appears to be somewhat at odds with the truth.

But I am in favour of a referendum on the European Union. We need a debate to show both sides of Europe for a change. I believe a vote of confidence for the EU would be the response of the public once both sides of the argument were put forward and with this, a dagger would be plunged into the heart of UKIP. The current protest vote party would once again be the black sheep of UK politics. We should not celebrate their arrival in Exeter but rather look forward to their eventual farewell from the political scene altogether!

Dan Richards.

 In the following interview with Exeposé Comment, George Causer examines UKIP not only as a simple protest vote, but as importantly a party with no, “coherent policy platform”.

Exeposé Comment: How would you sum up UKIP?

George Causer: I completely agree with David Cameron that most UKIP voters are a bunch of “fruit cakes” and “closet racists”. Their policy platform is incoherent. They want to hark back to a Britain that doesn’t exist anymore. Issues such as gay marriage show that they’re not up with social trends. Frankly, I believe that most UKIP voters are old Daily Mail readers who are out of touch with modern Britain.

EC: Why have UKIP become so successful, so quickly?

GC: I think it is because of the complete and utter collapse of the Liberal Democrat option as a protest vote. [The Liberal Democrats] seem to have compromised on their beliefs- they made unaffordable promises such as abolishing tuition fees. UKIP haven’t got the trappings of power so can make unaffordable and out of touch commitments which they have no intention to keep.

EC: What do you think of our relationship with the European Union?

GC: I think our relationship with the EU needs to be changed.  We give too much money to schemes such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which goes to subsidising French farmers at the detriment of starving Africans who can’t trade their way out of poverty. However I don’t think we should pull out of the EU; that would be the removal of a foreign market that we trade with and a silly move to make at this time. What we need to do is renegotiate, not leave.

EC: What are the main problems that face UKIP in their struggle to be considered a serious political party?

GC: They need some policies other than leaving the EU. At the moment they have a hotchpotch of unaffordable spending commitments where they say they can cut taxes for everyone whilst at the same time increasing the military budget, and spending more money on schools and the NHS. They also suggest a flat rate of income tax which would be grossly unfair. They need to think through a coherent policy platform. Also, they need to be less dependent on Nigel Farage…outside of Farage they have no credible political figures who any members of the general public would recognise. UKIP need to build up local council bases, they currently have a very low amount of councillors compared to the major parties.

EC: How long can UKIP maintain their current impressive polling figures?

GC: I think they’ll win the European elections when the public realise that it’s a vote to stick two fingers up to the EU and not really elect a government, but they’ll fizzle out in 2014/15; maybe because of more media exposure regarding their absurd policy plan and I think that by the time the General Election comes along they’ll be back to 6%. It will still be enough to damage the Conservatives but not enough to win them many seats.

For the case made for UKIP be sure to read UKIP: Filling the Void and Here to Stay. Is UKIP the only party offering a serious stance on EU referendum? Or are they simply reaping the protest vote from an unsatisfied conservative voter? Give a reply below or post your comment to the Exeposé Comment Facebook Group.