3/27/2010

UKIP and racism

Tory blogger Ellee Seymour has an interesting story about a UKIP poster in Cambridge that has been defaced, which bring to mind the contradictions that UKIP is.

I blogged last year about the UKIP leaflets in the Norwich North by-elections and the fact that, to my mind, they bordered on being the sort of leaflets the BNP would be proud to deliver. The only problem is that whenever I have met UKIP people they are a long way from being racists. Most UKIP people I have met are actually pretty decent people who are polite, thoughtful (unlike the Tory who swore at me at the Broadland Council meeting this week), and genuinely in politics for the best of reasons.

So it does beg the question why their leadership nationally persist in trying to out do the BNP. UKIP needs to become more than a protest vote and if they are to be taken seriously, they need more policies than just immirgation and Europe.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry but how is stating a fact (5,000 people settle here a week) and arguing against mass immigration, caused by the UK having open doors with the other 26 EU member states, in any way racist?

The immigration system UKIP want is far less racist than the one we have at the moment which discriminates those wanting to live in the UK by place of origin - those in the EU are free to come while those from outside face tests.

Anonymous said...

Let the voice of the ordinary citizen bring forth change.


http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/dignityforall/

Nich Starling said...

I did also reference leaflets in the Norwich North by-election, but you don't mention these.

The thing is, UKIP needs to reach beyond its core Europe/Immigration vote and take on other issues if it is to become a force.

There is, in my opinion, a real chance of UKIP taking third place in some parliamentary seats in Norfolk (Broadland comes to mind) so they need to do more than just repeat the same message.

neil craig said...

Considering your party actively supports war crimes for the purpose of assisting in racial genocide your hypocisy is astounding. The BNP are the only party to have said that kidnapping "untermensch" to dissect them, while still alive, for their organs is a bad thing. Are you seriously suggesting that the entire BNP membership put together are as racist as each of the individual "LibDem" MPs who supported war crimes & genocide? If so you should either produce evidence or make a total apology.

Anonymous said...

Please can you stop the handwringing and get real! We are overcrowded, our services and housing are stretched to the limit. We cannot continue with open border policies
It is not 'waycist' to deal with this drain on our resources, it is good sense.

Nich Starling said...

Again anonymous, you miss the point. The point I was making was that UKIP need to expand their arguments beyond Europe and immigration if they are to become anything more than a protest vote.

Anonymous said...

Ok, it was a different Anonymous - but as UKIP keep saying the EU is so bound up in every aspect of our lives from the economy to education, that it is valid to make Europe central. Most people should know that UKIP have a full range of policies. Though I agree that the party should keep highlighting this. I think Pearson has at least made a start in doing just that, for example in his recent conference speech (available to view in all the usual places...)

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