How Ukip Normalised Far-right Politics

Since the Brexit vote in 2016, Ukip is no longer primarily concerned with attacking the EU. Now led by Gerard Batten, the party has started to normalise far-right ideas and has given roles to figures including Tommy Robinson. The Guardian's Peter Walker asks how it happened and examines what it means for British politics

THE GUARDIAN: Racism on the rise since Brexit vote, nationwide study reveals » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Monday, May 20, 2019

UKIP Launch EU Election Campaign amid Candidate Controversy

UKIP have launched their European election campaign with their leader insisting the party is the "true voice" of Brexit.

But just as Gerard Batten unveiled his top candidates, there were calls from some UKIP members to deselect one of them for offensive comments made online.

Carl Benjamin is one of the party's top listed candidates, but he's refused to apologise for a tweet he sent in 2016 to a Labour MP referring to rape. He said it was satirical. And Channel 4 News has learnt he made similar remarks at a comedy show, just last night.

Victoria Macdonald's report, does contain language you may find offensive.

Burqa & Sharia Court Ban: UKIP Unveils New Agenda ahead of Snap Elections (Debate)

UKIP is calling for new measures ‘Islamization of the country’ ahead of June’s snap general election. UKIP also wants to put a ban on Burqas as well as Sharia Laws.

Ukip to Campaign to Ban Burqa and Sharia Courts, Says Paul Nuttall

THE GUARDIAN: Party leader tells Andrew Marr the security situation means ‘you need to see people’s faces’ and that it ‘is all about integration’

Ukip will push to ban the burqa and sharia courts, Paul Nuttall has said, though he denied the Eurosceptic party was reinventing itself as an anti-Islam party.

In a BBC interview, Ukip’s leader also refused to confirm whether he would stand in the 8 June election, having been defeated in the Stoke-on-Trent Central byelection weeks ago.

Nuttall said the party’s policies were not singling out Muslims. He said there were no similar proposals to ban Jewish religious courts because the Jewish population was smaller than the Muslim population.

Nuttall had previously said in 2013 the party should not pursue a burqa ban, but he told the Andrew Marr Show that circumstances had changed. » | Jessica Elgot, Political Reporter | Sunday, April 23, 2017

UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall Defends Extremism Comments After Westminster Attack | Good Morning Britain

London Attack: Nuttall Says Cut Out Radical Islam Cancer

Brussels: UKIP Leadership Hopeful Hospitalised after Altercation

Nigel Farage Resigns as Leader of Ukip: ‘I Want My Life Back’

Nigel Farage announces his resignation on Monday as leader of the UK Independence party. Farage lauds his achievement in helping securing a victory for the leave campaign in last month’s referendum on membership of the European Union. He says he will support the next party leader and continue to be a member of the European parliament

Farage Mocks ‘Pipsqueak’ France Before UKIP Leader Takes Aim at German Refugee Plan

Read the Express article here | Greg Heffer, Political Reporter | Wednesday, October 7, 2015

'Burqa Not Conducive to Western Liberal Society': We Should Follow Ban Says Ukip

SUNDAY EXPRESS: THE wearing of the full face veil in public should be banned in Britain, said Ukip's acting leader Paul Nuttall last night.

His comments followed an announcement of a new law by the Government in the Netherlands, approved by the cabinet sitting in The Hague, which will ban the wearing of all face coverings including ski-masks and helmets in certain public places.

Mr Nuttall, the party's deputy leader, was recently placed in temporary charge of UKIP while Nigel Farage takes a break.

Last night he described the Dutch proposal as eminently sensible, noting that it echoed a decision by both France and Belgium to issue similar rulings.

Speaking to the Sunday Express, he said: Belgium and France and now the Netherlands have argued that the burqa is not conducive to western liberal society, and that people's faces need to be exposed so they can communicate and integrate.

This all sounds pretty sensible stuff to me. Leading French feminist groups supported the French and Belgian ban, with the International League for Women's Rights saying: The full-face veil, by literally burying the body and the face, constitutes a true deletion of the woman as an individual in public.

Mr Nuttall added: Should we follow this and ban the burqa in this country? Yes. Personally, I think this is about civility, not religion. » | Marco Giannangeli – Exclusive | Sunday, May 24, 2015

Tony Blair: Nigel Farage Is Deceiving the British People over Immigration

The former Prime Minister said that it is "dangerous and wrong"
for Britain's political leaders to pander to "unpleasant prejudices"

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The former Prime Minister says the Ukip leader is fuelling grievances about immigration and it is 'dangerous' for other politicians to pander to such 'unpleasant prejudices'

Nigel Farage is "traducing" Britain and "deceiving" voters by fuelling "grievances" about immigration and Europe, Tony Blair has said.

The former Prime Minister said that it is "dangerous and wrong" for Britain's political leaders to pander to "unpleasant prejudices" and an "attitude which says we don't like foreigners".

He said that politicians should not tell the "white, working class, unemployed youth" that they would find jobs if there were fewer Polish people working in the UK.

He said that the answer should be to provide young people with the education and skills they need to "face the world's challenges and overcome them." » | Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent | Monday, June 02, 2014

Sir John Major: Ukip Is 'Very Intolerant' And Will Not Last

Sir John Major, the former Prime Minister, says Ukip is 'very intolerant'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sir John Major warns that leaving the European Union would cost Britain billions and leave the country in a 'very isolated and very difficult' position

Ukip is a "very intolerant" party and its appeal is not likely to last for a "long time" despite its success in the European elections, Sir John Major has said.

The former Conservative Prime Minister said Nigel Farage has been "very smart" and proved "good at exploiting grievances".

But he warned that the arguments for quitting Europe are "absolute nonsense" and said it would cost billions and leave this country in a "very isolated and very difficult" position.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “Ukip are extremely good at exploiting grievances and people are very upset about Europe. Politically, Ukip have been very smart in exploiting those disagreements, but Ukip are not, frankly, a very tolerant party. » | Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent | Friday, May 30, 2014

Le leader de l'Ukip lance la bataille pour sortir de l'UE

Le chef de l'Ukip Nigel Farage, généralissime d'un parti
considéré hier encore comme marginal.

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le chef de l'Ukip Nigel Farage, féru d'histoire militaire, a la métaphore guerrière pour célébrer son assaut victorieux aux Européennes et son projet de conquête du parlement de Westminster.

«Vous n'en avez pas fini avec nous», a lancé, triomphant au cœur de la nuit de dimanche à lundi, le chef de l'Ukip Nigel Farage, généralissime d'un parti considéré hier encore comme marginal, avec ses 36'000 adhérents. Les médias britanniques généralement hostiles évoquent des troupes «aux tempes grises», constituées majoritairement de quinquagénaires.

Mais le but de guerre ultime de l'«armée populaire» constituée par Nigel Farage est de sortir le Royaume-Uni de l'Union européenne. » | mardi 27 mai 2014

Tony Blair Urges Labour to Take On Ukip over Immigration and EU

Tony Blair says an anti-immigration platform would confuse
Labour supporters.

THE GUARDIAN: Former leader says Ed Miliband will not gain anything if he tries to follow 'nasty and unpleasant' party led by Nigel Farage

Tony Blair has urged the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, and the rest of the mainstream political class to take on and confront Ukip, saying it would only confuse Labour's own supporters if it now ran on an anti-immigration platform.

He also urged Miliband to stay put on the issue of an in/out EU referendum, saying that yielding to the pressure of Ukip had not done the Conservative party any good to date.

Behind the Ukip facade was something pretty nasty and unpleasant, Blair told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The former Labour leader said: "For the Labour party, if it tries to follow Ukip either on its anti-European platform or, even worse frankly, on its anti-immigrant platform, all that will happen is that it will confuse its own supporters and will not draw any greater support."

Miliband has repeatedly apologised for Labour's lenient approach to immigration in the past, saying it had not understood enough about the downsides of globalisation for working-class communities. Read on and comment » | Patrick Wintour, political editor | Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Ukip Storms European Elections

Nigel Farage: My party's victory will 'terrify' the
political establishment

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Nigel Farage says Ukip's success in the European elections will 'terrify' political establishment and prove 'disastrous' for Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg

The UK Independence Party has won a national election for the first time, taking the most votes and seats in the European Parliament elections according to sources in all of Britain's main political parties.

The Ukip victory, which came as anti-establishment parties advanced across the European Union, represents the biggest shock to the British political system in a generation.

Even before the final results were announced, sources in Ukip and the three older political parties were all predicting a historic victory for Nigel Farage’s party, which was founded in 1993 and does not have a single MP or council leader.

Labour was on course to come second, the first time the main Opposition party has failed to win a European election since 1984 and a serious setback to Ed Miliband.

The Conservatives said they would come third, a result that will add to the questions about David Cameron’s ability to win a majority at the general election next year. » | James Kirkup and Steven Swinford | Sunday, May 25, 2014

Ukip Councillor Under Investigation Over Racist And Homophobic Comments

THE GUARDIAN: Newly elected Redditch councillor Dave Small referred to gay people as perverts and African immigrants as scroungers

Nigel Farage is dealing with fresh allegations of racism and homophobia in his party only days after the local and European elections as Ukip was forced to launch an investigation into comments made by one of its newly elected councillors.

Dave Small, who was elected to Redditch borough council on Friday, faces being kicked out of the party for referring to gay people as "perverts" and African immigrants as "scroungers".

In comments posted on Facebook, he also attacked BBC broadcaster Clare Balding and singer Elton John over their sexuality and referred to "our sworn enemies in the Muslim world". » | Kevin Rawlinson | Saturday, May 24, 2014

Related »

Farage: Cameron Needs to Go for Tories to Win the Next Election

UKIP Candidate: Gays Will Stop Marrying Because They Are ‘Promiscuous Prisoners’

Kohn Kearney: 'Marriage for gays will gradually
fall in numbers'

PINK NEWS: A UKIP candidate who believes gay people are “promiscuous” and resemble “prisoners who need freedom” will not face disciplinary action.

John Kearney is standing for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in the ward of Winklebury.

The Basingstoke Gazette reports on 29 March, the same day in which same-sex couples could begin marrying in England and Wales, he wrote on his blog: “Marriage for gays will gradually fall in numbers since it is against the promiscuous nature of that community.

“The Church of England will fall very soon and be conducting gay weddings and we will have the neo-Catholics in our church ‘giving us their compassionate views’, but the Church will stay strong despite their onslaught.

“We must pray for the gay community that they will see that they are indeed prisoners who need freedom.”

Mr Kearney, a Catholic, has also made outspoken remarks about Islam.

In August last year he wrote: “Today we have the rise of Islam and a contempt for human life among a large number of people of that faith. They seek world domination and are more evangelical in their cause than Christians have been in the past 40 years. » | Scott Roberts | Thursday, May 22, 2014

Nigel Farage: 'The Ukip Fox Is in the Westminster Hen-house'

Nigel Farage

THE INDEPENDENT: Farage believes his party will win double the number of seats predicted in the local elections as his opponents fear the birth of 'four-party politics'

A jubilant Nigel Farage has declared “the Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house”, after two of the largest parties in Westminster began losing control of councils as a result of gains for the Ukip leader’s “people's army”.

The surge in support for Ukip led Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander to comment the country appeared to have entered a period of "four-party politics" as Farage’s party shrugged off a campaign blighted by controversies to win seats in Conservative and Labour strongholds.

In a sign the party could do well in elections to the European Parliament too, Ukip won more new seats than any other party in local elections in England, according to partial results from around a quarter of councils.

Reacting to the first confirmed results, a "very pleased" Farage insisted Ukip are set to be "serious players" at the general election. » | Heather Saul | Friday, May 23, 2014

Ukip Candidate Lambasts Islam as 'Totalitarian Ideology'

THE GUARDIAN: Email emerges in which Brent Ukip candidate Heino Vockrodt says Islam is against everything modern Britain stands for

The UK Independence party has become embroiled in a fresh race row after it emerged that one of its local election candidates has described Islam as a "totalitarian ideology" that is "against everything modern Britain stands for".

Labour said the "deeply offensive" views – aired in an email apparently sent last year by Heino Vockrodt to the London council on which he wishes to sit – undermined Nigel Farage's insistence that he did not lead a racist party.

In a diatribe complaining about an alleged planning breach by the Afghan community in Brent, north London, Vockrodt said parts of the borough resembled Afghanistan's Helmand province.

"Being Muslims, they ignored both refusals and did it anyway," he wrote of what he said were unlawful changes to a cultural centre.

Political correctness was preventing the council taking action, he alleged, "for fear of being called racists, when, just like in all the other cases where Muslims are grooming children to be sex slaves under the eyes of the authorities, the council does nothing".

He claimed the neighbourhood was "already exploding under the weight of segregation" and shopkeepers had been "squeezed out by Muslims".

"The entire parade – once lovely owner/occupier shops – resembles Helmand province now. Time to call in MI5 and MI6 for sure," he wrote.

"Islam is a mono-cultural, totalitarian ideology," he added. "It is NOT a religion. It is against multi-culturalism and only promotes its own culture. It is against everything modern Britain stands for." » | Press Association | Thursday, May 15, 2014