Tag Archives: ukip

Where Ukip won (or almost won) on 2nd May 2013

By Stephen Tall | Tue 14th May 2013 - 7:45 am

Wondering where Ukip won (or almost won – see below) in the local elections on Thursday, 2nd May? Then here’s a handy graphic and breakdown by constituency…

My thanks to Lib Dem Ben Mathis (@binny_uk) for crunching the Ukip numbers, as below. We’ll update the list with any more found…

Posted in News | Also tagged anthony wells, local elections 2013 and lord ashcroft | 17 Comments

Ukip surge to 18% in latest ICM poll: Lib Dems at 11%

By Stephen Tall | Mon 13th May 2013 - 9:50 pm

ICM: the pollster Lib Dems love and rely on the most. Maybe not tonight, though. Here’s The Guardian’s graph and report:

Ukip’s 18% is the best it has achieved with any pollster in any of the surveys logged at UK Polling Report. It is all the more remarkable for ICM, whose careful adjustments for voters who decline to reveal their political preference smooths out the wilder fluctuations of the electoral cycle.

The Tories are plumbing depths they have not experienced in more than a decade – barring

…

Posted in Polls | Also tagged icm and tom clark | 39 Comments

LibLink: Richard Marbrow – Ukip is essentially a ‘party of the south east’ despite gains

By Nick T | Thu 9th May 2013 - 3:33 pm

Writing for Public Service Europe, Lib Dem campaigner Richard Marbrow has an interesting piece on the distinctly geographical ‘success’ of Ukip.

Here’s an excerpt:

For those of us who ply our politics in the north or the west of the United Kingdom, the inability of the British press to understand the existence of parts of the country more than an hour from London is a source of never ending frustration. The game changer of UKIP gains in the county council elections is a phenomenon largely contained in the South and East of England. Their breakthrough did not even extend into the South

…

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged europe | 22 Comments

Adrian Sanders writes: Behind Blue Eyes

By Adrian Sanders | Tue 7th May 2013 - 2:31 pm

Both UKIP and the Conservative Party fear the exposure of the truth of what lies behind the image UKIP have so successfully deployed.

It is a truth that on the one hand explains why UKIP would be opposed to what they perceive as big government – the European Union – but it also exposes the designs its ideological founders have for the UK economy and our welfare state, and that is where their problem lies.

It is a truth both parties would prefer hidden as it could encourage even more Conservative

…

Posted in Op-eds | 27 Comments

A Tory-Ukip pact? Up to you, guys. But you do know there’s an easier way, right?

By Stephen Tall | Mon 6th May 2013 - 3:35 pm

Ukip’s spectacular showing at last week’s local elections has got the Tories spooked. The full realisation is sinking in that this may not be a one-off eruption of popular protest.

Nigel Farage’s band of modern-life-is-rubbish disciples will likely top next year’s Euro polls. Such momentum may propel them towards a double-digit general election performance in 2015. If so, the Tories’ hope of a majority is dead: Ed Miliband will become prime minister as leader of the largest single party.

Though the local elections were scarcely a bundle of laughs for …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged conservative party, ConservativeHome, featured, nigel farage and tim bale | 47 Comments

Newbury by-election: 20 years on

By Paul Walter | Mon 6th May 2013 - 12:53 pm

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Newbury by-election victory for the Liberal Democrats on May 6th 1993.

It seems appropriate to thank all the Liberal Democrats who came to help in that campaign, to pay tribute once again to the party’s by-election machine, to its driving genius, Chris Rennard, and to David Rendel. David was, for twelve years, a first class MP for Newbury. He continues to be an inspiration as a model of liberalism and selfless integrity.

It seems a good day to report that the flame of …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged by-elections, david rendel and newbury | 4 Comments

Opinion: Ironically, the rise of UKIP makes Britain a more European place

By Giles Goodall | Fri 3rd May 2013 - 7:00 pm

UKIP’s relative success in the English local elections and South Shields by-election this week has met with predictable reactions across the political spectrum: from copycat politics and jealousy on the Tory right, to handwringing and downright despair on the centre left.

But while UKIP has succeeded in hoovering up disenchanted Tories by the thousand, its appeal is clearly much broader. In fact, the rise of UKIP’s populist anti-politics replicates a pattern played out across Europe since the crisis hit, from the Danish People’s Party to Italy’s Beppe Grillo. Ironically, with …

Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged denmark, eu, europe, featured and local elections 2013 | 25 Comments

Ukip set to win 22% this Thursday according to ComRes poll

By Stephen Tall | Wed 1st May 2013 - 10:10 am

Much excitement this morning at an unusual event: a poll looking specifically at this Thursday’s local elections. And more than that, a poll showing Ukip on 22%! The full figures are:

Important point: this poll was conducted only in the areas which will actually vote this week. That’s why the Tories are ahead and Labour’s behind. The equivalent vote shares compared to the last time these same seats were fought in 2009 is as follows (via the ever-excellent Anthony Wells):

Posted in News | Also tagged anthony wells, comres and local elections 2013 | 18 Comments

Opinion: Is UKIP a threat to community cohesion?

By David Hennigan | Wed 10th April 2013 - 8:47 am

Much has been made of the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party under Nigel Farage. Watch any of Mr Farage’s rabble rousing appearances on Question Time and one might feel that here is a man who speaks common sense. A man on your side – a party ready to change the three party system in this country.

Delve a bit deeper into UKIP and you’ll see a slightly sinister side more akin to the Far Right. It was only 3 years ago that, at the invitation of Lord Pearson (then UKIP Leader), the Dutch Far Right politician Geert Wilders showed an anti-Islam film in the House of Lords. Cheered on by the English Defence League, UKIP claimed that this was a victory for free speech and common sense.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged immigration and manchester | 94 Comments

LibLink: Guy Verhofstadt, still taking it to UKIP…

By Mark Valladares | Fri 5th April 2013 - 4:21 pm

In November, we reported on Guy Verhofstadt’s attack on Nigel Farage in the European Parliament. In yesterday’s Independent, the Leader of the Alliance of Liberals & Democrats in the European Parliament, gave his views on European migration policy and its effect on the United Kingdom. In a piece notable for its calmness of tone, he points out some of the flipside of the debate, pointing out the benefits of freedom of movement within the European Union, and nailing some of the misleading claims of UKIP leaders and activists.

Given …

Posted in LibLink and News | Also tagged eu migration and guy verhofstadt | 13 Comments

Opinion: A Surging UKIP: Implications for Lib Dems in 2015

By William Mosseri-Marlio | Mon 11th March 2013 - 1:59 pm

Against a less than optimal backrop, Eastleigh was a remarkable victory for the Lib Dems. And yet, the by-election was by no means unqualified success –support fell by 14 points relative to the 2010 general election result, with Mike Thornton winning in large part because the Conservative’s share dropped by a similar amount.

Of course, it was UKIP’s performance that caused such a divergence from the 2010 result. The UKIP question, then, is an important one – how will a surging centre-right party affect the electoral dynamics of the 30 or so constituencies in which the main threat to Lib Dem …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged eastleigh by-election | 30 Comments

Chris Davies wades into Ukip foster care row. Why?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 16th January 2013 - 8:40 pm

A couple of months ago you may recall a big row when it was alleged three eastern European children were removed from their foster parents by Rotherham council because the couple were members of Ukip.

Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies certainly recalls it. And on Monday he made a one-minute speech in the European Parliament about it:

Chris Davies (ALDE ). – Mr President, before Christmas there was, rightly, a furore when social workers in Rotherham took away children from foster parents because they belonged to UKIP,

…

Posted in News | Also tagged chris davies, european parliament and rotherham | 14 Comments

The Eurosceptic tide is turning. Lib Dems must be in the vanguard

By Giles Goodall | Fri 11th January 2013 - 10:21 am

We have become used in recent months to unrelentingly bad news about our relationship with Europe. ‘UKIP now the third party’, ‘Majority would say no to EU’ and ‘UK heads for the Brexit’ have become commonplace headlines. But while the current polls and general debate are still far from positive, several recent developments suggest the tide is starting to turn on the antis – and are enough to give cheer to pro-Europeans from all sides.

First – in case you missed it – the Obama administration has made clear in no uncertain terms to its concern about the UK’s Eurosceptic …

Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged barack obama and european union | 40 Comments

So you think Ukip are the new third party? Let’s have a look at the data…

By Stephen Tall | Tue 1st January 2013 - 5:45 pm

Food for thought for John Rentoul (who calls Ukip ‘The new third party’ here), courtesy of PoliticalBetting’s Mike Smithson:

Aggregate vote shares from all 198 local by-elections in 2012 show: CON 33.74: LAB 29.22: LD 19.15: UKIP 6.13 twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/st…

— Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) January 1, 2013

(Hat-tip: Vote Clegg, Get Clegg Facebook page.)

Posted in News | Also tagged featured, john rentoul and mike smithson | 101 Comments

Why the UKIP surge is good for Liberal Democrats

By Tom Richards | Fri 21st December 2012 - 12:51 pm

Party activists should be cheering on UKIP’s rise in the polls. Why? Because a UKIP surge would most likely end up making it easier for Liberal Democrats to win in Conservative marginals. By my reckoning, every 1% on UKIP’s popularity increases the Lib Dem majority over the Conservatives in these areas by about 90 votes. If last weekend’s polling, putting UKIP at 14%, is correct, that gives Lib Dems in Con-Lib marginals about a 1000 vote head start.

Where do these numbers come from? A recent ComRes poll found that, of people who said they were going to vote for …

Posted in Op-eds and Polls | 43 Comments

Did you know the Lib Dems have lost half a million voters to Ukip? Here’s what I think it means.

By Stephen Tall | Tue 18th December 2012 - 4:55 pm

Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft — who, as ConservativeHome’s Tim Montgomerie has noted before, spends more on polling than all three parties combined — has today published the latest survey looking at the timely issue of the threat of Ukip. Nigel Farage’s party is now regularly polling around the level of the Lib Dems, seemingly taking voters disproportionately from the Tories, contributing to lengthening Labour poll leads.

Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged european union, featured, immigration, lord ashcroft and peter kellner | 51 Comments

Europe Day Special: Avoiding the slippery slopes towards euroscepticism

By Sir Graham Watson MEP and Andrew Wigley | Wed 9th May 2012 - 11:56 am

Today is Europe Day. The Treaty of Rome, the EU’s founding treaty was signed 55 years ago; post war Europe sought a new strategy to end old enmities and forge shared prosperity through economic growth. However one measures the achievements of those goals, the conclusion has to be the European Union has delivered on both counts.

For those of us who believe in the EU’s objectives and feel that Britain should be leading in Europe, these are turbulent times.

Restoring faith in a political structure which may appear removed from the citizen, and rebuilding an economic framework which has been proven inadequate …

Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged conservative party, eu, europe, europe day and euroscepticism | 10 Comments

UKIP burn picture of Brian Paddick in Soho

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 2nd May 2012 - 7:48 pm

Pink News reports that UKIP supporters burnt a picture of Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Brian Paddick in Soho this afternoon.

How did they find out? Because UKIP press officer Gawain Towler tweeted the picture.

If you look at his Twitter feed, Towler’s attitude undergoes a significant shift.

From justifiying the photo at 3:46 pm

to saying it was all a big mistake and he hadn’t seen the lighter just 43 minutes later.

…

Posted in News | Also tagged brian paddick, gawain towler and london mayoral election | 2 Comments

Flying Free: Nigel Farage’s take on his own life

By Mark Pack | Thu 5th January 2012 - 10:25 am

Events and the political calendar are likely to keep UKIP as one of the most prominent ‘other’ political parties in the UK over the next few years, making this newly revised and expanded autobiography of its most high-profile and flamboyant personality, Nigel Farage, timely not only for the party’s own fans but for anyone else interested in British politics.

It is a well written, lively book, full of the sort of pugnacious language that has helped give Farage his high popularity. It is also rather kinder to some of his opponents that you might expect if you had only come across Farage through his headline grabbing strings of insults aimed at others, though when it comes to the EU and its main functionaries he doesn’t hold back. He even has some kinds words to say for the man who threatened to kill him – and rightly so given the person’s mental health had fallen apart.

Posted in Books | Also tagged nigel farage | 9 Comments

The weekend debate: Are Lib Dems too pro-European?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 12th November 2011 - 8:45 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

With the looming debt crisis in the Eurozone and Eurosceptics from across the political divide baying for blood, the LDV weekend debate couldn’t resist the pressure any longer.

So, with people openly talking about the possibility of the end of the Euro as we know it, and Europe seemingly in crisis, are Lib Dem Ministers taking the right decisions for the party and the country as a whole?

The party has long been …

Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged featured and weekend debate | 59 Comments

Opinion: One good reason to vote Lib Dem

By Richard Clare | Sun 9th January 2011 - 12:50 pm

With the looming by-election in Oldham East & Saddleworth and each candidate eager to win, with each of their respective parties hoping to be able to boast about the win for years to come, I’d imagine the people of OE&S are probably scratching their heads. A Labour party that endorsed the Phil Woolas who combined pretty much everything we hate about politicians in his lies intended to stir racial tensions? A Liberal Democrat party that, let’s be honest, is not the most glamorous of groups at the moment, still reeling from scandals and broken pledges? A Conservative party barely even …

Posted in Op-eds and Parliamentary by-elections | Also tagged ed miliband, norman tebbit and oldham east and saddleworth | 49 Comments

Nigel Farage to stand for UKIP leadership (again)

By Iain Roberts | Fri 3rd September 2010 - 1:49 pm

According to the BBC, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage is to throw his hat into the ring and attempt to get his old job back.

The position became vacant last month when Lord Pearson stood down, admitting with surprising honesty that he wasn’t up to the job. Farage’s decision may have been prompted by suspicions that none of the other likely candidates are up to the job either.

Farage, an MEP, failed in his attempt to unseat the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, at the General Election, finishing a disappointing third. An election day aircrash had left him injured and …

Posted in News | Also tagged nigel farage | 10 Comments

UKIP leader Lord Pearson stands down

By Mark Pack | Tue 17th August 2010 - 8:34 am

The BBC has the story about Lord Pearson standing down as UKIP’s leader following his less than successful general election performance (with that TV interview):

In his resignation statement, Lord Pearson said he was “not much good” at party politics and UKIP “deserved a better politician… to lead it”.

The outgoing leader had a difficult general election campaign, telling one interviewer he could not remember his own manifesto in detail.

An interim leader will be chosen at UKIP’s annual conference next month.

I must admit I’m a little impressed with his departure – it’s a rare person who admits they aren’t up to …

Posted in News | Also tagged lord pearson | 7 Comments

By slimmest of margins Supreme Court overturns UKIP donations ruling

By Mark Pack | Sun 15th August 2010 - 9:20 am

A quick update on our previous coverage of the court case over more than £350,000 of impermissible donations accepted by UKIP. Last month the Supreme Court ruled in UKIP’s favour, reducing the amount UKIP has to repay to just under £15,000.

Although on a strict narrow literal reading of the legislation wording all impermissible donations have to be forfeit, by a 4-3 ruling the Supreme Court decided that the word “forfeit” is used in an unusual way in the wording of the legislation and that the wider context shows that the total of impermissible donations is the maximum that …

Posted in Election law | Also tagged donations and electoral commission | Leave a comment

UKIP donations case set for Supreme Court

By Mark Pack | Sat 12th June 2010 - 5:42 pm

Left Foot Forward has reported:

The United Kingdom Indpendence Party’s dispute with the Electoral Commission over its refusal to forfeit more than £350,000 of impermissable donations has this week escalated to the Supreme Court…

A spokesman for the commission told Left Foot Forward that there had been 67 instances of UKIP not adhering to the laws on donations by failing to check whether donations of more than £200 were from people on the electoral register, over a period of a year, despite repeated warnings from the commission.

You can read the full piece here.

Posted in Election law and News | Also tagged electoral commission | 4 Comments

Opinion: The linked vote shares of UKIP and the BNP

By Antony Hook | Mon 10th May 2010 - 11:20 am

The 2010 General Election was a failure for Britain’s two openly xenophobic parties.

UKIP stood in 556 constituencies and lost their deposit in 459 (83%). Their vote share varied between 0.65 and Nigel Farage’s 17.3 in Buckingham where none of the three main parties contested the Speaker’s seat. No other UKIP candidate hit double digits.

The average vote share per UKIP candidate was 3.54.

The BNP stood in 338 constituencies and lost their deposit in 267 (80%). Their vote share varied between 0.4 and Nick Griffin’s 14.6 in Barking. Only two other BNP candidates hit double digits.

Eight out UKIP’s …

Posted in General Election and Op-eds | Also tagged bnp | 15 Comments

Bits of election fun you may have missed

By Mark Pack | Wed 21st April 2010 - 11:20 am

The best leaflet correction so far; you’ve got to love the biro work.

Phil Willis shows his moves (but just skip over 1 min 48 sec, ok?).

Ben Goldacre edges close to saying “Vote Lib Dem” here and here.

Esther Rantzen takes to removing Liberal Democrat posters in Luton South.

Not heard the David Cameron song? Hear it here. (Hat tip: Jonathan Calder)

And the prize for the worst campaign interview goes to UKIP leader, Lord Pearson (clip via Left Foot Forward):

Posted in General Election | Also tagged ben goldacre, david cameron, esther rantzen, lord pearson, luton south and phil willis | 4 Comments

Racist comment not such a problem for UKIP after all

By Mark Pack | Fri 9th April 2010 - 8:51 pm

I’d previously blogged about UKIP Parliamentary candidate for Ilford South and London chair Paul Wiffen being suspended by the party after the Community Care site reported, “A senior UK Independence Party member has posted a racist comment”. Not just a brief comment, but a multiple-sentence rant about Romanians, Muslims and Africans, with an extra general insult thrown in at the end.

Now however UKIP has decided to reinstate him. As the local newspaper reports:

Mr Wiffen, who is chair of UKIP London, was reinstated after saying sorry for the email and following an internal party inquiry.

Posted in News | Also tagged ilford south and paul wiffen | Leave a comment

UKIP caught by Sunday Times investigation into hiding donations

By Mark Pack | Sun 4th April 2010 - 3:22 pm

The Sunday Times reports:

Stuart Agnew, a UKIP MEP, and Lord Pearson of Rannoch, the party’s leader, have told undercover reporters how a real donor’s name could be kept secret by passing tens of thousands of pounds through intermediaries. If carried out, one or more of the suggested methods could have been illegal.

Our disclosures will embarrass UKIP and Pearson, who also told the undercover reporter that some UKIP members were “neanderthals” and described Agnew, 60, as “one of our only really sane MEPs”.

The report goes on to detail how UKIP explored a range of ways for a donor to hide their …

Posted in Election law | Also tagged lord pearson and stuart agnew | 1 Comment

UKIP candidate suspended over racist comments

By Mark Pack | Sun 4th April 2010 - 10:20 am

Community Care reports:

A senior UK Independence Party member has posted a racist comment on Community Care.

In response to a post by Community Care‘s Outside Left blogger on asylum, Paul Wiffen – who is chair of UKIP London and a parliamentary candidate, said:

“You left-wing scum are all the same, wanting to hand our birthright to Romanian gypsies who beat their wives and children into begging and stealing money they can gamble with, Muslim nutters who want to kill us and put us all under medieval Sharia law, the same Africans who sold their Afro-Caribbean brothers into a slavery that Britain was the first to

…

Posted in News | Also tagged ilford south and paul wiffen | 5 Comments

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Tag Archives: ukip

Where Ukip won (or almost won) on 2nd May 2013

Ukip surge to 18% in latest ICM poll: Lib Dems at 11%

LibLink: Richard Marbrow – Ukip is essentially a ‘party of the south east’ despite gains

Adrian Sanders writes: Behind Blue Eyes

A Tory-Ukip pact? Up to you, guys. But you do know there’s an easier way, right?

Newbury by-election: 20 years on

Opinion: Ironically, the rise of UKIP makes Britain a more European place

Ukip set to win 22% this Thursday according to ComRes poll

Opinion: Is UKIP a threat to community cohesion?

LibLink: Guy Verhofstadt, still taking it to UKIP…

Opinion: A Surging UKIP: Implications for Lib Dems in 2015

Chris Davies wades into Ukip foster care row. Why?

The Eurosceptic tide is turning. Lib Dems must be in the vanguard

So you think Ukip are the new third party? Let’s have a look at the data…

Why the UKIP surge is good for Liberal Democrats

Did you know the Lib Dems have lost half a million voters to Ukip? Here’s what I think it means.

Europe Day Special: Avoiding the slippery slopes towards euroscepticism

UKIP burn picture of Brian Paddick in Soho

Flying Free: Nigel Farage’s take on his own life

The weekend debate: Are Lib Dems too pro-European?

Opinion: One good reason to vote Lib Dem

Nigel Farage to stand for UKIP leadership (again)

UKIP leader Lord Pearson stands down

By slimmest of margins Supreme Court overturns UKIP donations ruling

UKIP donations case set for Supreme Court

Opinion: The linked vote shares of UKIP and the BNP

Bits of election fun you may have missed

Racist comment not such a problem for UKIP after all

UKIP caught by Sunday Times investigation into hiding donations

UKIP candidate suspended over racist comments

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Alison Suttie writes: Thank you to our volunteers

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