-:Undertaker:-
23-03-2013, 10:56 PM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/9950323/Ukip-celebrates-with-cheers-souvenirs-and-a-rallying-call-to-black-and-Asian-voters.html
Ukip celebrates with cheers, souvenirs and a rallying call to black and Asian voters
When the UK Independence Party decided to hold its spring conference at Exeter University, you may have expected the party to fall foul of a student prank.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02518/UKIP-farage_2518389b.jpg
Nigel Farage, Ukip’s leader, and his members have plenty of reasons for being chipper at the moment
In fact, undergraduates could be seen flocking around the merchandise stalls, snapping up the “EU Out” badges and canvas bags emblazoned with the slogan, “The EU is not my bag”.
In what could be an indication of the party’s current momentum, one of the bestselling items was a wooden, spatula-shaped device, developed by a Ukip member, to protect the knuckles and fingers of activists as they deliver leaflets through doors.
“These have been doing very well,” said an attendant. “People say they are often hurting their fingers with letter boxes or being snapped at by dogs.”
Ties flashing the pound sign were selling well among the 700 delegates who were there for a series of speeches and strategy meetings. Organisers said that turnout was 30 per cent up on the same event last year.
Nigel Farage, Ukip’s leader, and his members have plenty of reasons for being chipper at the moment. Recent polls have put his party at 17 per cent, the highest in Ukip’s 13-year history.
Last weekend, research commissioned by this newspaper laid bare just how attractive Mr Farage is becoming in Tory heartlands.
The party came second in recent by-elections held in Eastleigh, Middlesbrough and Rotherham. In the House of Commons Conservative MPs fret with one another about “how much Ukip” is in their constituencies.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02518/ukip-conference_2518396c.jpg
Support for UKIP is rising after success in the recent Eastleigh by-election(LNP)
Yesterday, with his party filling the Great Hall at Exeter University, Mr Farage mocked Westminster politicians for underestimating the party.
“A protest vote? Mid-term blues?” he bellowed. “No, we are seeing a wholesale rejection of the career politicians. We have had enough. They all look the same. They all sound the same. And not one of them is in politics for principle.”
He added: “They are all enthusiasts for building ugly, useless and expensive onshore and offshore wind farms that are despoiling Britain’s landscapes and seascapes.”
Another bête noire of disaffected Tories is immigration.
“Nobody should be able to claim benefits until they have been in this country for five years, paid their taxes and obeyed the law,” he said.
He reminded the delegates, many who could not find seats in the packed hall, that he had been railing against the European Union’s love of taking other people’s money long before last week’s plan to raid Cypriot savers as part of the island’s botched bail-out.
“But even I thought they would never stoop to stealing from people’s bank accounts,” Mr Farage said.
The crowd hooted with laughter at the idea of a Tory majority in 2015.
The cheer when Mr Farage ruled out any deal with the Tories under Mr Cameron was the loudest of the day.
The Prime Minister famously dismissed the party as one of “loonies, fruitcakes and closet racists”. But delegates yesterday bridled at the insinuation.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02518/Winston-Mackenzie_2518393c.jpg
Winston McKenzie (LNP)
Winston McKenzie, a boxer-turned-politician, urged the party to reach out to ethnic minority voters.
The Jamaican-born politician said that the party should not consider black and Asian voters off limits. Many would welcome a party such as Ukip that takes a tough stance on law order, he said.
Other keynote speakers included Diane James, the runner-up in Eastleigh, and Slavi Binev, a Bulgarian MEP, who joked: “I have a return ticket to Sofia and, while I am here, I am not claiming benefits.
"I have not brought my family nor my horse and cart.”
The party says it is now attracting well-heeled professionals in their thirties and forties, just the types who could one day stand as MPs, and some of these were in attendance.
Richard Turnell, 34, who works in insurance, joined Ukip earlier this month. He lives in Bournville, in Birmingham, with his wife, Anna, a solicitor, and their three-year-old son.
“David Cameron has been a great let-down,” he said. “At times, it seems he is ignoring anyone outside London. Anna and I both work, but even we still find it hard to cope with the cost of living.
“The Government just doesn’t seem to be helping ordinary people like us.”
Charlie Sammonds, 17, from Putney, west London, was disappointed that he could not join the party until his 18th birthday later this year.
“Ukip is the only party with sensible policies,” he said, as he cast his eye over Ukip memorabilia on sale. “Controlling immigration... If it continues, the NHS will not be able to cope. Housing shortages will get worse.
“Nigel Farage is a very good speaker. He believes in democracy. The EU is very anti-democratic.”
Last week, Victoria Ayling, a former Conservative parliamentary candidate who contested – and nearly won – Great Grimsby at the 2010 election, joined Ukip.
“I have been uncomfortable for some time with the Conservatives’ policies and leadership,” said Mrs Ayling. “The leadership has moved away not just from party’s members, but also ordinary people who work and pay taxes.”
She was unimpressed with Mr Cameron’s deal to cut the EU’s budget, even though it initially helped the Tories in the polls. “Britain’s contributions will still rise,” she said.
“Then there is the debacle over gay marriage. To overturn centuries of tradition and forget the sacrament just for a fad. Nothing against gays, but it’s just inappropriate.
“The Government hasn’t got immigration down and because of our membership of the EU, we are at risk of having 29 million Bulgarians and Romanians coming to settle here.
“There are ways of preventing these migrants getting access to benefits, but I don’t think David Cameron has the political will to do that. Instead, his approach is based on spin and shallow promises.”
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02518/diane-James_2518394c.jpg
Diane James, who came second behind the Lib Dem in the Eastleigh by-election (LNP)
Chris Lagdon, who served as a Conservative councillor in the New Forest for 12 years, is another recent defector. He described himself as a “council house Conservative”, someone who represented
Tories from working-class backgrounds who are feeling the most pain from the squeeze on living standards.
“I think David Cameron doesn’t get what tough times ordinary people are going through,” he said. “He’s lost touch with real people... Perhaps he never had it.”
A Tory party member for 15 years, Mr Lagdon doubts any prime minister could renegotiate a good deal for Britain in Europe.
“Margaret Thatcher is a shining light to me,” he added. “If she couldn’t get a deal for us in Europe, no one will. Mr Cameron says there will be a referendum if he wins the next general election.
"That’s like me saying I’ll give you a million pounds if I win the pools. I reckon the odds are about the same. Ukip have got the right idea. We should be pulling out of Europe.”
But other defectors to Ukip insist that the party’s momentum is not down to the EU at all. “I like Ukip’s support of grammar schools and the Armed Forces,” said Elliot Nichols, 24, from Waverley in Surrey.
“I’m sick of David Cameron and George Osborne claiming they are making cuts when they are actually borrowing more than Labour did.” A former Conservative activist, he says that there is far more of a “buzz” around Ukip meetings than those Tory meetings he attended.
“Ukip feel like they actually want to do something,” he said. “They are looking at actually doing radical things.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mU2VX2qoZg
Interesting article I found, I always like reading about why people are switching from the old mainstream parties and often there are numerous reasons as opposed to suspect opposition to just the European Union. Worth bearing in mind that Liberal Democrats membership is supposed to have dropped to around the 35,000 mark, and UKIP membership has gone from 18,000 odd in the summer to a total of 24,000 odd now.
I was going to go to this one actually, but it was too far down south what with time travelling and the cost - but I found when I went the regional conference back in the autumn that rather than the old image of UKIP as a party of disaffected old Tory men, it's actually taking support from former Labour voters, families, young professionals (as the article suggests) and so on and so forth.
Interesting times.
Thoughts, if any?
Ukip celebrates with cheers, souvenirs and a rallying call to black and Asian voters
When the UK Independence Party decided to hold its spring conference at Exeter University, you may have expected the party to fall foul of a student prank.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02518/UKIP-farage_2518389b.jpg
Nigel Farage, Ukip’s leader, and his members have plenty of reasons for being chipper at the moment
In fact, undergraduates could be seen flocking around the merchandise stalls, snapping up the “EU Out” badges and canvas bags emblazoned with the slogan, “The EU is not my bag”.
In what could be an indication of the party’s current momentum, one of the bestselling items was a wooden, spatula-shaped device, developed by a Ukip member, to protect the knuckles and fingers of activists as they deliver leaflets through doors.
“These have been doing very well,” said an attendant. “People say they are often hurting their fingers with letter boxes or being snapped at by dogs.”
Ties flashing the pound sign were selling well among the 700 delegates who were there for a series of speeches and strategy meetings. Organisers said that turnout was 30 per cent up on the same event last year.
Nigel Farage, Ukip’s leader, and his members have plenty of reasons for being chipper at the moment. Recent polls have put his party at 17 per cent, the highest in Ukip’s 13-year history.
Last weekend, research commissioned by this newspaper laid bare just how attractive Mr Farage is becoming in Tory heartlands.
The party came second in recent by-elections held in Eastleigh, Middlesbrough and Rotherham. In the House of Commons Conservative MPs fret with one another about “how much Ukip” is in their constituencies.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02518/ukip-conference_2518396c.jpg
Support for UKIP is rising after success in the recent Eastleigh by-election(LNP)
Yesterday, with his party filling the Great Hall at Exeter University, Mr Farage mocked Westminster politicians for underestimating the party.
“A protest vote? Mid-term blues?” he bellowed. “No, we are seeing a wholesale rejection of the career politicians. We have had enough. They all look the same. They all sound the same. And not one of them is in politics for principle.”
He added: “They are all enthusiasts for building ugly, useless and expensive onshore and offshore wind farms that are despoiling Britain’s landscapes and seascapes.”
Another bête noire of disaffected Tories is immigration.
“Nobody should be able to claim benefits until they have been in this country for five years, paid their taxes and obeyed the law,” he said.
He reminded the delegates, many who could not find seats in the packed hall, that he had been railing against the European Union’s love of taking other people’s money long before last week’s plan to raid Cypriot savers as part of the island’s botched bail-out.
“But even I thought they would never stoop to stealing from people’s bank accounts,” Mr Farage said.
The crowd hooted with laughter at the idea of a Tory majority in 2015.
The cheer when Mr Farage ruled out any deal with the Tories under Mr Cameron was the loudest of the day.
The Prime Minister famously dismissed the party as one of “loonies, fruitcakes and closet racists”. But delegates yesterday bridled at the insinuation.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02518/Winston-Mackenzie_2518393c.jpg
Winston McKenzie (LNP)
Winston McKenzie, a boxer-turned-politician, urged the party to reach out to ethnic minority voters.
The Jamaican-born politician said that the party should not consider black and Asian voters off limits. Many would welcome a party such as Ukip that takes a tough stance on law order, he said.
Other keynote speakers included Diane James, the runner-up in Eastleigh, and Slavi Binev, a Bulgarian MEP, who joked: “I have a return ticket to Sofia and, while I am here, I am not claiming benefits.
"I have not brought my family nor my horse and cart.”
The party says it is now attracting well-heeled professionals in their thirties and forties, just the types who could one day stand as MPs, and some of these were in attendance.
Richard Turnell, 34, who works in insurance, joined Ukip earlier this month. He lives in Bournville, in Birmingham, with his wife, Anna, a solicitor, and their three-year-old son.
“David Cameron has been a great let-down,” he said. “At times, it seems he is ignoring anyone outside London. Anna and I both work, but even we still find it hard to cope with the cost of living.
“The Government just doesn’t seem to be helping ordinary people like us.”
Charlie Sammonds, 17, from Putney, west London, was disappointed that he could not join the party until his 18th birthday later this year.
“Ukip is the only party with sensible policies,” he said, as he cast his eye over Ukip memorabilia on sale. “Controlling immigration... If it continues, the NHS will not be able to cope. Housing shortages will get worse.
“Nigel Farage is a very good speaker. He believes in democracy. The EU is very anti-democratic.”
Last week, Victoria Ayling, a former Conservative parliamentary candidate who contested – and nearly won – Great Grimsby at the 2010 election, joined Ukip.
“I have been uncomfortable for some time with the Conservatives’ policies and leadership,” said Mrs Ayling. “The leadership has moved away not just from party’s members, but also ordinary people who work and pay taxes.”
She was unimpressed with Mr Cameron’s deal to cut the EU’s budget, even though it initially helped the Tories in the polls. “Britain’s contributions will still rise,” she said.
“Then there is the debacle over gay marriage. To overturn centuries of tradition and forget the sacrament just for a fad. Nothing against gays, but it’s just inappropriate.
“The Government hasn’t got immigration down and because of our membership of the EU, we are at risk of having 29 million Bulgarians and Romanians coming to settle here.
“There are ways of preventing these migrants getting access to benefits, but I don’t think David Cameron has the political will to do that. Instead, his approach is based on spin and shallow promises.”
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02518/diane-James_2518394c.jpg
Diane James, who came second behind the Lib Dem in the Eastleigh by-election (LNP)
Chris Lagdon, who served as a Conservative councillor in the New Forest for 12 years, is another recent defector. He described himself as a “council house Conservative”, someone who represented
Tories from working-class backgrounds who are feeling the most pain from the squeeze on living standards.
“I think David Cameron doesn’t get what tough times ordinary people are going through,” he said. “He’s lost touch with real people... Perhaps he never had it.”
A Tory party member for 15 years, Mr Lagdon doubts any prime minister could renegotiate a good deal for Britain in Europe.
“Margaret Thatcher is a shining light to me,” he added. “If she couldn’t get a deal for us in Europe, no one will. Mr Cameron says there will be a referendum if he wins the next general election.
"That’s like me saying I’ll give you a million pounds if I win the pools. I reckon the odds are about the same. Ukip have got the right idea. We should be pulling out of Europe.”
But other defectors to Ukip insist that the party’s momentum is not down to the EU at all. “I like Ukip’s support of grammar schools and the Armed Forces,” said Elliot Nichols, 24, from Waverley in Surrey.
“I’m sick of David Cameron and George Osborne claiming they are making cuts when they are actually borrowing more than Labour did.” A former Conservative activist, he says that there is far more of a “buzz” around Ukip meetings than those Tory meetings he attended.
“Ukip feel like they actually want to do something,” he said. “They are looking at actually doing radical things.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mU2VX2qoZg
Interesting article I found, I always like reading about why people are switching from the old mainstream parties and often there are numerous reasons as opposed to suspect opposition to just the European Union. Worth bearing in mind that Liberal Democrats membership is supposed to have dropped to around the 35,000 mark, and UKIP membership has gone from 18,000 odd in the summer to a total of 24,000 odd now.
I was going to go to this one actually, but it was too far down south what with time travelling and the cost - but I found when I went the regional conference back in the autumn that rather than the old image of UKIP as a party of disaffected old Tory men, it's actually taking support from former Labour voters, families, young professionals (as the article suggests) and so on and so forth.
Interesting times.
Thoughts, if any?