As for making a transition to power, don't all nascent political parties have to do that? Haven't Labour and the Conservatives done so in the past? Why couldn't UKIP manage it? And the European experience can only have helped them, you don't think?
Actually, neither the Conservatives nor the Liberal Democrats have had to do this. The Conservatives can be traced back to the Jacobites, so they didn't have to transition to gaining power. Their great struggle has been to accept the idea that political power is not inherited from Mummy and Daddy.
The LDs are descended from the Liberals, who also predate democracy, and the SDP, which was formed from an elitist faction of Labour ministers.
So Labour, the SNP, and most of the N.Ireland pairs are the only ones that have to transition into political power.
Worst result they've ever got so far was 17% of the vote. Now that they're more like 7% we'll see an extermination.
Remember, Westminster doesn't use PR or even Aussie AV. If the 7% of votes were in the right places, they'd be fine. There's a new poll out today that suggests the Lib Dems have hardly lost any ground in seats they are defending against the Conservatives. I think they'll lose at least a dozen seats (especially in London and mainland Scotland) but will keep at least 30.
This kind of thing sours my belief in democracy. Like the Tea Party, the UKIP appeals both to a reactionary fringe and to the base prejudices and short term desires of the majority of uninitiated people. What results is political change of the worst kind.
All too true.
Not really. Their membership and support-base is disaffected middle-class Tories, and while they can make a fair grab at the working class racist vote in European elections, it's not consistent or reliable.
They stand for that particularly dangerous British take on 'common sense' - the largely uninformed intuition of the (privately) educated, middle-class, rural (at least at heart), white, male, Anglican, small-c-conservative. That's an archetype which people who don't naturally fit it actually aspire to; Farage is a role model just as Jeremy Clarkson or Boris Johnson can be. It's dangerous because their deceit and spin is as strong as that of any other party, but they're able to present themselves as appealing to 'common sense' and being 'no-nonsense' about things. There's not really a clearer example of that than Farage himself, whose general demeanour allows him to rail against politicians of all other flavours while he draws the politician's salary on which he's supported himself for upwards of a decade.
It amazes me that a public school ex-City financier who's worked for years as a professional politician in the European government alongside his German wife has managed to win support by saying "this country's problems are caused by immigrants, the elite and the European Union"! I think his appeal confirms three commonplaces of social science. Firstly, television is all about the pictures - pictures of Nigel in the pub outweigh the facts. Secondly, effective advertising is about a simple message - TV doesn't do complexity well. Thirdly and most importantly, it's always easier to blame your problems on the Other - in this case immigrants.
By the way, I hope we've all seen the wonderful video of UKIP's leader main interview on the BBC before the last General Election:
http://youtu.be/8hkxu51w628
The comedy starts five minutes in. Thank you, licence fee payers: the BBC has thousands of journalists so it can bring us moments like this!
I think the Liberal Democrats are in big trouble. But they've been in that for as long as I can remember. And this is the first time they've ever been near any real power. Is that what you mean by political pariahs?
As for making a transition to power, don't all nascent political parties have to do that? Haven't Labour and the Conservatives done so in the past? Why couldn't UKIP manage it? And the European experience can only have helped them, you don't think?
I don't suggest that they don't face difficulties. Just that they're not unusual or insurmountable. I wish they were.
All too true.
Not really. Their membership and support-base is disaffected middle-class Tories, and while they can make a fair grab at the working class racist vote in European elections, it's not consistent or reliable.
They stand for that particularly dangerous British take on 'common sense' - the largely uninformed intuition of the (privately) educated, middle-class, rural (at least at heart), white, male, Anglican, small-c-conservative. That's an archetype which people who don't naturally fit it actually aspire to; Farage is a role model just as Jeremy Clarkson or Boris Johnson can be. It's dangerous because their deceit and spin is as strong as that of any other party, but they're able to present themselves as appealing to 'common sense' and being 'no-nonsense' about things. There's not really a clearer example of that than Farage himself, whose general demeanour allows him to rail against politicians of all other flavours while he draws the politician's salary on which he's supported himself for upwards of a decade.
It amazes me that a public school ex-City financier who's worked for years as a professional politician in the European government alongside his German wife has managed to win support by saying "this country's problems are caused by immigrants, the elite and the European Union"! I think his appeal confirms three commonplaces of social science. Firstly, television is all about the pictures - pictures of Nigel in the pub outweigh the facts. Secondly, effective advertising is about a simple message - TV doesn't do complexity well. Thirdly and most importantly, it's always easier to blame your problems on the Other - in this case immigrants.
By the way, I hope we've all seen the wonderful video of UKIP's leader being interviewed about the party's manifesto before the last General Election:
Worst result they've ever got so far was 17% of the vote. Now that they're more like 7% we'll see an extermination.
All too true.
Not really. Their membership and support-base is disaffected middle-class Tories, and while they can make a fair grab at the working class racist vote in European elections, it's not consistent or reliable.
They stand for that particularly dangerous British take on 'common sense' - the largely uninformed intuition of the (privately) educated, middle-class, rural (at least at heart), white, male, Anglican, small-c-conservative. That's an archetype which people who don't naturally fit it actually aspire to; Farage is a role model just as Jeremy Clarkson or Boris Johnson can be. It's dangerous because their deceit and spin is as strong as that of any other party, but they're able to present themselves as appealing to 'common sense' and being 'no-nonsense' about things. There's not really a clearer example of that than Farage himself, whose general demeanour allows him to rail against politicians of all other flavours while he draws the politician's salary on which he's supported himself for upwards of a decade.
It amazes me that a public school ex-City financier who's worked for years as a professional politician in the European government alongside his German wife has managed to win support by saying "this country's problems are caused by immigrants, the elite and the European Union"! I think his appeal confirms three commonplaces of social science. Firstly, television is all about the pictures - pictures of Nigel in the pub outweigh the facts. Secondly, effective advertising is about a simple message - TV doesn't do complexity well. Thirdly and most importantly, it's always easier to blame your problems on the Other - in this case immigrants.
By the way, I hope we've all seen the wonderful video of UKIP's leader being interviewed about the party's manifesto before the last General Election:
This kind of thing sours my belief in democracy. Like the Tea Party, the UKIP appeals both to a reactionary fringe and to the base prejudices and short term desires of the majority of uninitiated people. What results is political change of the worst kind.
All too true.
Not really. Their membership and support-base is disaffected middle-class Tories, and while they can make a fair grab at the working class racist vote in European elections, it's not consistent or reliable.
They stand for that particularly dangerous British take on 'common sense' - the largely uninformed intuition of the (privately) educated, middle-class, rural (at least at heart), white, male, Anglican, small-c-conservative. That's an archetype which people who don't naturally fit it actually aspire to; Farage is a role model just as Jeremy Clarkson or Boris Johnson can be. It's dangerous because their deceit and spin is as strong as that of any other party, but they're able to present themselves as appealing to 'common sense' and being 'no-nonsense' about things. There's not really a clearer example of that than Farage himself, whose general demeanour allows him to rail against politicians of all other flavours while he draws the politician's salary on which he's supported himself for upwards of a decade.
It amazes me that a public school ex-City financier who's worked for years as a professional politician in the European government alongside his German wife has managed to win support by saying "this country's problems are caused by immigrants, the elite and the European Union"! I think his appeal confirms three commonplaces of social science. Firstly, television is all about the pictures - pictures of Nigel in the pub outweigh the facts. Secondly, effective advertising is about a simple message - TV doesn't do complexity well. Thirdly and most importantly, it's always easier to blame your problems on the Other - in this case immigrants.
By the way, I hope we've all seen the wonderful video of UKIP's leader being interviewed about the party's manifesto before the last General Election:
Not really. Their membership and support-base is disaffected middle-class Tories, and while they can make a fair grab at the working class racist vote in European elections, it's not consistent or reliable.
All too true.
Not really. Their membership and support-base is disaffected middle-class Tories, and while they can make a fair grab at the working class racist vote in European elections, it's not consistent or reliable.
They stand for that particularly dangerous British take on 'common sense' - the largely uninformed intuition of the (privately) educated, middle-class, rural (at least at heart), white, male, Anglican, small-c-conservative. That's an archetype which people who don't naturally fit it actually aspire to; Farage is a role model just as Jeremy Clarkson or Boris Johnson can be. It's dangerous because their deceit and spin is as strong as that of any other party, but they're able to present themselves as appealing to 'common sense' and being 'no-nonsense' about things. There's not really a clearer example of that than Farage himself, whose general demeanour allows him to rail against politicians of all other flavours while he draws the politician's salary on which he's supported himself for upwards of a decade.
It amazes me that a public school ex-City financier who's worked for years as a professional politician in the European government alongside his German wife has managed to win support by saying "this country's problems are caused by immigrants, the elite and the European Union"! I think his appeal confirms three commonplaces of social science. Firstly, television is all about the pictures - pictures of Nigel in the pub outweigh the facts. Secondly, effective advertising is about a simple message - TV doesn't do complexity well. Thirdly and most importantly, it's always easier to blame your problems on the Other - in this case immigrants.
By the way, I hope we've all seen the wonderful video of UKIP's leader being interviewed about the party's manifesto before the last General Election:
They stand for that particularly dangerous British take on 'common sense' - the largely uninformed intuition of the (privately) educated, middle-class, rural (at least at heart), white, male, Anglican, small-c-conservative. That's an archetype which people who don't naturally fit it actually aspire to; Farage is a role model just as Jeremy Clarkson or Boris Johnson can be. It's dangerous because their deceit and spin is as strong as that of any other party, but they're able to present themselves as appealing to 'common sense' and being 'no-nonsense' about things. There's not really a clearer example of that than Farage himself, whose general demeanour allows him to rail against politicians of all other flavours while he draws the politician's salary on which he's supported himself for upwards of a decade.
All too true.
Not really. Their membership and support-base is disaffected middle-class Tories, and while they can make a fair grab at the working class racist vote in European elections, it's not consistent or reliable.
They stand for that particularly dangerous British take on 'common sense' - the largely uninformed intuition of the (privately) educated, middle-class, rural (at least at heart), white, male, Anglican, small-c-conservative. That's an archetype which people who don't naturally fit it actually aspire to; Farage is a role model just as Jeremy Clarkson or Boris Johnson can be. It's dangerous because their deceit and spin is as strong as that of any other party, but they're able to present themselves as appealing to 'common sense' and being 'no-nonsense' about things. There's not really a clearer example of that than Farage himself, whose general demeanour allows him to rail against politicians of all other flavours while he draws the politician's salary on which he's supported himself for upwards of a decade.
It amazes me that a public school ex-City financier who's worked for years as a professional politician in the European government alongside his German wife has managed to win support by saying "this country's problems are caused by immigrants, the elite and the European Union"! I think his appeal confirms three commonplaces of social science. Firstly, television is all about the pictures - pictures of Nigel in the pub outweigh the facts. Secondly, effective advertising is about a simple message - TV doesn't do complexity well. Thirdly and most importantly, it's always easier to blame your problems on the Other - in this case immigrants.
By the way, I hope we've all seen the wonderful video of UKIP's leader being interviewed about the party's manifesto before the last General Election: