UKIP revel in voter backlash
The recent European Parliament elections inspired a turnout of 37%, astonishingly an all time high for this country. In the other European nations where turnout fell across the board and votes were used as means to lodge protests against national governments, the EU was strangely absent from people’s minds.
By contrast, the success of the United Kingdom Independence Party ensured this was not the case in Britain, albeit for the wrong reasons: they support complete withdrawel from the EU.
Aided by quasi-celebrities, UKIP has blossomed into a seemingly credible force in UK politics, on the EU level at least. Former Labour MP and talk show host Robert Kilroy-Silk has become an integral part in UKIP’s success.
Dismissed from the BBC earlier this year for anti-Arab comments in his Sunday Express column, Kilroy-Silk sees British membership of the EU as “the most important issue of our generation.”
Their grievances include the possibility of losing the pound and Britain’s influence in Europe. Kilroy-Silk is keen to explain that “This is about getting our country back from Brussels.”
With UKIP quadrupling their previous number of seats, taking their number to 12, they feel well placed to follow this through. Yet instead of constructive action to increase awareness and encourage action to correct the real problems of the EU’s democratic deficit, UKIP intends a campaign to “wreck” the European Parliament.
Since becoming an MEP for the East Midlands, the constituency where UKIP came within 0.3% of beating the Tories, Kilroy-Silk has reiterated his proposal to spend as little time is Strasburg as possible.
Whether he will claim his parliamentary salary is unknown. His three incumbent colleagues did claim theirs. They also registered poor attendance records and have been described as a standing joke for their failure to vote the same way on issues.
In the last EU elections in 1999, UKIP representatives aligned themselves with the Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD) group. The group is Eurosceptic but not in favour of withdrawal from the EU. With 12 MEPs and bolstered confidence, it is possible that UKIP will follow the same course or join the far-right coalition along with Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Many suggest UKIP have made a deep impression on the political landscape of Britain, sending shockwaves through the three main parties.
The Liberal Democrats, despite making gains, were relegated into fourth place, which can only add to disquiet about Charles Kennedy’s leadership.
For the government the results were an important reminder, as Tony Blair travelled to Brussels for a summit last Thursday, that securing a ‘yes’ vote for the constitution will prove difficult.
It is suggestions that UKIP ‘derailed’ the Tory campaign and reopened the party’s long-standing divisions over Europe that have caused the biggest stir.
Vowing to disassociate himself with hard-line Euroscepticism, Michael Howard paved a middle ground between the “extremist” Lib Dem and Labour Pro-Europeans, and the “cranks” and “little Englanders” that make up UKIP.
Eager to brand a UKIP vote as wasted, the Conservatives ended up being the biggest losers of support to them.
Five Tory peers publicly acknowledged support for UKIP; four had the whip withdrawn. According to rebel peer Baroness Cox, such dissention is just “the tip of the iceberg.”
However, UKIP’s 17% of the vote is really a tiny proportion of national support, considering that turnout was just under 40%.
A Sky News poll showed that 51% of Britons wish to remain in the EU. For Europhiles this figure is dismal, but it does demonstrate that the Eurosceptics haven’t yet won.
Despite gains in local and GLA elections also held on June 10, UKIP are unlikely to do well in Westminster elections next year. But if the growing Euroscepticism is not confronted with positive and informative campaigning, movement towards the extreme right of British politics is likely to increase.
This involves tackling xenophobia in both the British National Party and in UKIP’s all out opposition to immigration.
UKIP success can be seen as a protest vote, a means to stiffen the resolve of the government and the Conservatives, but we must ensure that this resolve is stiffened in the opposite direction to that intended by UKIP.
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