THE INDEPENDENT: Is there more to the party than an obsession with immigration and getting Britain out of the European Union?
Suddenly, the UK Independence Party is the wild card of British politics. It left the Conservative Party bruised and traumatised by beating it in the Eastleigh by-election. It is tipped to win a large share of the vote in next year's European elections, may well cost David Cameron's party victory at the next general election, and is the force whose electoral magnetism many say will pull the Tories ever rightward. It is also the party – its programme and personalities – that has so far escaped scrutiny. Until now.
If Ukip had a name that truly reflected its priorities, it might be called the UK Immigrationphobe Party. Ostensibly the anti-EU party, an obsession with immigration and exit from Europe as a means to close Britain's doors is its prevailing motive. The word immigration runs through its policy statements like red lettering in seaside rock, and its proposed five-year ban on entries to the UK is the message it rams home on every doorstep.
That is far from all. It is deeply sceptical of global warming, wants to abolish inheritance tax, employers' National Insurance contributions, aims to partially reverse the recent hunting and smoking bans, and would increase defence spending by some 40 per cent. It is, in thought if not yet in personnel, the extreme right-wing of the Conservative Party in exile; a party run in the main by self-made businessmen with an agenda to match. And it has a record of defections, internecine squabbles and acrimony, plus scandals that have led two of its former MEPs to jail. » | David Randall, Brian Brady | Sunday, March 03, 2013
