UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP) is a British political party that had, as its main issue, opposed membership of the United Kingdom in the European Union. It had originally described itself as a libertarian party although like the other Establishment parties it was soon infiltrated by Liberals.[1] Since Gerard Batten became leader this process is being reversed.[2]
Contents
Foundation & Progress
The party was founded in 1991. It has continually received increasing support. In the 2014 election to the European Parliament it received 27.5% of the votes. In the 2015 general election it received 12.6% (almost four million) of the votes. In the 2016 referendum on the EU membership of the United Kingdom, the Brexit campaign supported by the party was successful.
Some Policies
The libertarian and liberal position of the original party is highlighted by its support for civic nationalism and rejects ethnic/racial nationalism.
The Party campaigned vigorously against the European Arrest Warrant and what it called "The Creation of a European Union Police State", producing a 50 page quality booklet in March 2012 entitled Freedom, Security & Justice? by Gerard Batten with input by Vladimir Bukovsky, the famous Soviet dissident and author.
The UKIP also produced a booklet 'guide for campaigners' on Fighting Wind Farms by the then MEP, Godfrey Bloom. In February 2012 one of the UKIP's MEPs, Derek Clark, stated, on the issue of wind farms: "Never will a paradox have been more destructive yet have been so cynically foisted on an unsuspecting public."[3]
Immigration
The party is anti-mass immigration which has contributed to its popularity. UKIP or individual UKIP members are sometimes attacked for less politically-correct views on issues such as on mass immigration, multiculturalism, or Islamisation. Others have instead criticized the UKIP for reasons such as attacking immigration from within the EU, but not immigration from outside of the EU, or even being in favor of non-EU immigration. nevertheless, the UKIP produced a quality 50 page booklet in 2010, entitled Immigration: Action Overdue! by Gerard Batten, MEP., assisted by Professor Stephen Bush, Lynnda Robson and the members of the UKIP immigration committee, which was exceptionally thorough and outlined the UKIP's position on this subject. Needless to say the political Left attacked it and questioned its effectiveness as policy. (See the "External links" section.)
Current Leader
It's current leader is Gerard Batten, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), a founder member of the UKIP.
In 2017, in response to the Irish Government's intervention in the Brexit negotiations, Batten said that Ireland is "a tiny country that relies on the UK for its existence".[4] The same year he described Islam as a "death cult" over its 1,400 year history.[5]
On 14 April 2018, Batten was elected unopposed as the Leader of UKIP. In a statement issued upon his appointment as Leader he said: "I received the backing of all three UKIP Lords, our major donors, our MEPs, our London and Welsh Assembly Members, and party activists and members from all over the UK".[6]
Under Batten, UKIP has witnessed a resurgence in support. Opinion Polls showed UKIP back between six and eight percent of the vote - with one (YouGov) revealing that almost a quarter of 2017 Conservative voters (23%) now considered UKIP to be the best party to handle Brexit, this was almost double the figure it had been in previous polling. Likewise, the proportion of 2017 Conservative voters who think that UKIP would be the best party to handle asylum and immigration had risen from 16% to 28% over the same time period.[7]
In addition to good polling, UKIP also saw its membership numbers rise further and reportedly by 15% during the month of July alone, with thousands of new activists joining the ranks of the party.[8] Many of the new members cited Batten's leadership and the perceived mismanagement of Britain's EU Exit by the Conservative Government as major factors in their joining.[9]
External links
Critical
- Exposing UKIP, Nigel Farage & Pseudo-nationalism
- The Points Based System in Australia – Appropriate for the UK?
