Congratulations to the UK independence Party for its superb result in last week's European Parliamentary elections! Now over one third of our 73 MEPs are committed to UK withdrawal - all 24 UKIPpers, Dan Hannan for the Tories and perhaps one or two of his colleagues.
Some people who voted UKIP admitted they didn't actually want to leave the EU. It was a protest vote or they were unhappy about the current level of immigration or they wanted a referendum but intended to vote "in". Yes, you can find articles in the press featuring interviews with such people, but the majority voted UKIP for the same reason the party was set up 20 years ago - they want our country to leave the EU.
Although this was a great result by any standards - the first time a party other than Labour or the Tories has won a national election in over 100 years - there is still a long way to go if UKIP's goal of independence is to be achieved. I tend to be unhappy about generalisations - especially by the media - but they do have a point:- not much of UKIP's support comes from young middle-class professionals, who tend to be largely pro-EU.
I believe that very few people in this group have thought through their position clearly and understand all the issues. Many of them, like me until 13 years ago, are pro-EU by default. They probably don't realise that independence would make every family £20 per week better off because of being able to escape the restrictions of the Common Agricultural Policy. Few of them will be plant breeders, artists or leisure boaters who, among others, have suffered through ill-thought-out EU legislation and thus realise its damaging effects. Some may, in fact, work for multinationals who benefit from EU legislation. (Thanks to their substantial lobbying budgets, these big companies ensure EU legislation favours them and not their smaller rivals.)
Furthermore, Nigel Farage isn't everyone's cup of tea. Nigel has chosen to portray himself as an ordinary bloke you can have a pint in the pub with. He has been pretty politically incorrect at times and leads a party unafraid to highlight the threat to many jobs posed by immigration from the EU. However, it's not young professionals whose jobs are threatened or whose incomes are being reduced because of migration from Eastern Europe. Immigration isn't a big issue in the leafy suburbs and if you're a convinced non-smoker who doesn't enjoy a few pints in the pub, then maybe Nigel isn't going to be a big hit with you.
But being turned off UKIP by its leader doesn't mean that you cannot be brought to see the utter folly of our EU membership. It just needs some different people with a different take on the problem - people who can present their arguments in a well-thought-out and sophisticated manner - an approach very different from UKIP's, especially given that such people are not looking to win votes in any sort of election. This approach will also require patience, as winning the intellectual, professional types will not be as easy as UKIP's successes among the older white working classes. The party has picked the low-hanging fruit and many who voted for it a week ago may well stay loyal in the general election, but looking beyond 2015 to an in/out referendum, the "out" campaign will need other spokesmen besides Nigel Farage if we are to deliver the result that we so desire.
Some people who voted UKIP admitted they didn't actually want to leave the EU. It was a protest vote or they were unhappy about the current level of immigration or they wanted a referendum but intended to vote "in". Yes, you can find articles in the press featuring interviews with such people, but the majority voted UKIP for the same reason the party was set up 20 years ago - they want our country to leave the EU.
Although this was a great result by any standards - the first time a party other than Labour or the Tories has won a national election in over 100 years - there is still a long way to go if UKIP's goal of independence is to be achieved. I tend to be unhappy about generalisations - especially by the media - but they do have a point:- not much of UKIP's support comes from young middle-class professionals, who tend to be largely pro-EU.
I believe that very few people in this group have thought through their position clearly and understand all the issues. Many of them, like me until 13 years ago, are pro-EU by default. They probably don't realise that independence would make every family £20 per week better off because of being able to escape the restrictions of the Common Agricultural Policy. Few of them will be plant breeders, artists or leisure boaters who, among others, have suffered through ill-thought-out EU legislation and thus realise its damaging effects. Some may, in fact, work for multinationals who benefit from EU legislation. (Thanks to their substantial lobbying budgets, these big companies ensure EU legislation favours them and not their smaller rivals.)
Furthermore, Nigel Farage isn't everyone's cup of tea. Nigel has chosen to portray himself as an ordinary bloke you can have a pint in the pub with. He has been pretty politically incorrect at times and leads a party unafraid to highlight the threat to many jobs posed by immigration from the EU. However, it's not young professionals whose jobs are threatened or whose incomes are being reduced because of migration from Eastern Europe. Immigration isn't a big issue in the leafy suburbs and if you're a convinced non-smoker who doesn't enjoy a few pints in the pub, then maybe Nigel isn't going to be a big hit with you.
But being turned off UKIP by its leader doesn't mean that you cannot be brought to see the utter folly of our EU membership. It just needs some different people with a different take on the problem - people who can present their arguments in a well-thought-out and sophisticated manner - an approach very different from UKIP's, especially given that such people are not looking to win votes in any sort of election. This approach will also require patience, as winning the intellectual, professional types will not be as easy as UKIP's successes among the older white working classes. The party has picked the low-hanging fruit and many who voted for it a week ago may well stay loyal in the general election, but looking beyond 2015 to an in/out referendum, the "out" campaign will need other spokesmen besides Nigel Farage if we are to deliver the result that we so desire.