Tag Archives: robert ford

Ukip examined: who they are, what they stand for, and what it all means for British politics

revolt on the right ukipI’ve just finished reading Revolt on the Right, Robert Ford and Matthew Goodwin’s fascinating book analysing the rise of Ukip and what makes the party and its voters tick. Mark Pack has already written a very good review for LibDemVoice here. Here’s my take on some of its key insights.

Who votes for Ukip? The ‘left behind’

For a start, it debunks the myth that Ukip is a party of disaffected, well-to-do, shire-Tories obsessed by Europe and upset by David Cameron’s mild social liberalism on same-sex marriage. Yes, there are some Ukip voters like that, but they tend to be its peripheral voters, the ones most likely to give the Tories a kick in the Euros next month then return to their traditional True Blue ways in time for the general election. Ukip’s core vote in reality is made up of what the authors define as ‘left behind’ voters, overwhelmingly comprising older white working class males with no formal educational qualifications.

Posted in Books and Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , and | 85 Comments

Book Review: Revolt on the Right by Robert Ford and Matthew Goodwin

Farage ukip - Some rights reserved by Astral MediaOne of the political debates over UKIP is the question of whether it is primarily taking its support from disgruntled Conservatives or not.

Leading the charge for the ‘yes’ camp are several recent large-scale polls (or conglomeration of separate polls) from reputable polling companies. Looking at how people who currently say they’ll vote UKIP behaved in 2010, the pattern seems clear: UKIP’s growth in support predominantly comes from ex-Tories.

Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 5 Comments
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  • Craig Levene
    Chris , 380 billion relates to the Wests aid. There is nothing wrong in asking how you get to a position that would be acceptable to Ukraine. It's position is ...
  • Ambighter
    Only a small point, but it is defence not defense in British English, or has Donald Trump banned that too and I just didn’t hear about it?...
  • Chris Moore
    And how dare those awful Ukrainians invade Kursk, part of Mother Russia? How much is that costing the British taxpayer? Disgraceful behaviour....
  • Chris Moore
    Btw: UK government figure of 12.8bn for total UK aid to Ukraine since the start of the war. What a shame Putin's surprise attack didn't take Kyiv on the fir...
  • ChrisMoore
    I entirely agree with Craig Levene: what a waste of money and life defending a country against an aggressor. How unrealistic and silly to want one's country ...