And so the attacks begin

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...tionalism.html

UKIP is fuelling the same 'distrust' of foreigners that triggered WWI, claims Lib Dem peer in warning against 'negative nationalism'

- Liberal Democrat Lord Tyler voices fears in a debate ahead of centenary commemorations of the start of the Great War in 2014
- Warns against blaming 'foreigner scapegoats for our economic troubles'
- But UKIP leader Nigel Farage leads tours of WWI battlefields and claims Greek 'hatred' of Germany over Eurozone crisis is highest since 1945

The UK Independence Party has been accused of fuelling the same ‘distrust’ of foreigners which swept Europe before the outbreak of First World War.

Liberal Democrat Lord Tyler sparked a major row with UKIP leader Nigel Farage with a warning against blaming ‘foreigner scapegoats for our economic troubles’.

The peer made the provocative remarks during a House of Lords debate on how best to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.

War of words: Lib Dem Lord Tyler questioned how much UKIP's Nigel Farage knew about the First World War, but it emerged Mr Farage runs his own tours of battlefields

The peer claimed Mr Farage would ‘do well to revisit the history of that period’ to learn that ‘fomenting distrust can so easily lead to hatred’.

However, it emerged Mr Farage runs regular tours of First World War battlefields and he said his opposition to the European Union was in part informed by the way the collapse of the single currency had fuelled 'hatred' between eurozone countries.

As part of national commemorations next year, 100 years on from the start of the conflict, children from every state secondary school will travel to the battlefields as part of a £50million package of events.

The criticism of Mr Farage appeared to backfire after it emerged the UKIP leader conducts tours of World War One battlefields every year

David Cameron has said Britain had a duty to ‘honour those who served, remember those who died and ensure the lessons learnt live with us forever’.

But Lord Tyler, a former MP for North Cornwall, said the tone of the events must reflect how the sacrifice of millions ‘did not achieve the war to end all wars that they thought they were fighting for’.

Lord Tyler said his three uncles died in the conflict which was 'largely pointless, meaningless and avoidable'.

He went on: 'We should not be celebrating its absurd origins, however much we may pay tribute to those who fought, were wounded or lost their lives.

‘Instead, we must remind ourselves of the futility of negative nationalism, so sharply distinct from positive patriotism.’

He then went on to appear to draw parallels between the rise of UKIP based on attacking 'foreigner scapegoats' and the spread of nationalism across continental Europe before 1914.

The remarks come just days after UKIP ran the Lib Dems a close second in the hotly-contested Eastleigh by-election, as all the main parties wrestle with how to respond to the rise of the Eurosceptic party.

Lord Tyler told MailOnline today: ‘Making a scapegoat of other peoples for problems which are closer to home is extremely dangerous.

‘Clearly [UKIP] are more serious players than they were so they have got to watch how they approach these issues.’

However, Mr Farage told MailOnline the criticism was ‘totally absurd’. Twice a year he leads tours of World War One battlefields, with groups of friends, colleagues and visiting politicians whom he labels ‘Farage’s Foragers’.

‘I know a lot about the First World War and its origins and I know that in the wake of it we formed something called Yugoslavia to stop Balkan conflicts and look where that got us.

‘It is totally absurd, and I would invite Lord Tyler to go and visit Athens and see real hatred. They now hate the Germans more than at any time since 1945.

‘I want us to have a Europe of independent nation states that trade and co-operate together.

‘But if you force people together against their will, history tells us the long-term outcome will be deeply, deeply unpleasant.

'You breed extreme nationalism. Lord Tyler is 50 years out of date with his analysis of what Europe is.’

Idiot, and he's shown himself up to be one by the fact that German-married Mr. Farage tours battlefields every year. Moron.

But you know, stupid smears like this show just how scared they are now that the balance of power is being upset and ironically stupid comments like this will only cement and strengthen Kipper support. A recent YouGov said that 38% of voters would seriously consider voting for UKIP, with 48% of Conservatives saying the same. In all the by elections this year so far, UKIP has consistently polled higher than its national ratings which now stand at 12% to 14%.

But what do you think? do you think its 'extreme nationalism'/xenophobic/racist to say that the opening of our borders next year to Bulgaria and Romania (both very very poor countries) is something that ought to at least be discussed? if so, Lord Tyler doesn't think very much of you and I. You know, its not that I hate their opinion or them for having another opinion compared to mine - thats fine. But what really makes my blood boil is when polticians try to smear people who think conventional things like, say, we ought to have control over our borders. Its the lowest of the low when they resort to smear tactics and ad hominem.

The 'Independent', Telegraph, Guardian, ConservativeHome and Daily Mirror have also launched attacks in recent days if any of you have seen them - and I have to say, looking at the comments on even the supposed 'left wing' Guardian/Independent/Mirror - the attacks have achieved the complete opposite of what they intended.

Thoughts?