UKIP are lucky that no one takes them seriously
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UKIP MEP Nigel Farage and Lord Pearson of Rannoch
The launch of the UKIP manifesto was somewhere between the student union and the saloon bar. An air of jocular unreality hangs about UKIP – you can tell from the way the political hacks pitched their questions this morning that they can’t take the party too seriously. And you can see why: Lord Pearson, the party leader, blasted the EU as a “dangerous and misguided project” but then acknowledged that Britain should follow the example of France and Belgium (last time I looked, both were in the EU) when it came to banning the Burka from public buildings. Nigel Farage, flexing his muscles to take on John Bercow, the Speaker, in Buckingham, alluded to Bercow’s strange political journey – conveniently ignoring his own colourful journey from Thatcherite to founding member of UKIP (and a 2004 visit to a lap-dancing bar during the French presidential campaign, and a 2006 incident when a Latvian woman claimed the two had a night of unbridled passion – NB: he said the story was entirely made up by the woman).
The problem with the joshing is that it lets off this party from serious scrutiny just as Lord Pearson is happy to let off Paul Wiffen despite his recent tirade against Muslims, Africans and Romanian gypsies. Wiffen’s despicable comments, claims M’Lord, “were less than wholly polite”, but apparently he should still be allowed to stand as UKIP candidate in Ilford South. Someone among the hard-bitten hacks should have jeered and booed the condoning of racist behaviour. But it is symptomatic of UKIP’s role in our national politics that they are allowed to dodge all responsibility for comments and actions: Pearson and especially Farage have perfected an act of phoney bonhomie that makes any serious investigation of their party as improbable as putting Sir Tufton Bufton under the microscope. (I should say that I once shared a BBC taxi with Farage: he was charming, self-deprecating and thoroughly good company.)
And what of the manifesto? Predictably, it groans with populist pledges: Britain out of Europe of course, but also a freeze, over five years, of permanent immigration, council tax slashed by 40 percent, a flat tax at 30 percent. All this plus power to the people in the shape of local control of everything from the police to the schools.
Sounds good. Until you ask two questions: where will the money come from to implement half these policies? And more important, how can we hold our head high if we elect representatives who say all Muslims are out to kill us and all Africans are guilty of selling their brothers into slavery? The idea of pulling out of the EU is one thing; but with UKIP at the helm we will be pulling out of a culture that prizes tolerance and mutual respect. No amount of boozy bonhomie, Mr Farage, can hide that.
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