Tuesday 31 March 2015

UKIP: Thanks For Nothing

We've noted before on this blog UKIP's increasingly toxic tendency to blame "everything on immigrants". Previously it was Farage's assertion that he was held up on the M4 motorway due to the fact that "open door immigration has meant that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be'".

That he was traveling by car early evening on a Friday around a notorious bottleneck on the M4 wasn't taken into consideration. Thus "bloody immigrants" was dog whistle politics writ large.

With this in mind it therefore comes as no surprise to see that Farage believes that immigrants are to blame for children not playing in the streets:
Britons are so ill at ease with levels of immigration in their towns that their children do not play football with their neighbours in the streets, Nigel Farage has said.
The UK Independence Party leader said people in eastern England felt a “deep level of discomfort” about the millions of immigrants who have settled in the UK in the past decade.
He said: “I want to live in a community where our kids play football in the streets of an evening and live in a society that is at ease with itself.
And I sense over the last decade or more we are not at ease"
It's not unfair in our view to believe that Nick Griffin would have been proud of these sentiments. That children may not, or cannot, play in the streets is often down to a myriad of factors, not least its illegal, it's unsafe and that many roads simply have too many cars - ironically Farage's children couldn't play outside his own house, in the street, for this reason alone.

In trying to remove ourselves from the EU however Farage's language is toxic. With what began as a eurosceptic party, has been hijacked by a man who has turned it into a self-promotional vehicle and is prepared as a consequence to condemn the eurosceptic movement in terms which hinder significantly the argument of getting out. So much so that we are set to lose before we even start.

With such language and thus with effectively a self-imposed glass ceiling on support, no wonder the media have begun to catch up with bloggers by noticing belatedly that UKIP's trend is on a downward trajectory.

With so-called 'UKIP strategy' we get a measure of the man when we see this:
“If we went to every town up eastern England and spoke to people about how they felt, their town, their city had changed in the last 15 years, there is a deep level of discomfort, because if you have immigration at these sorts of levels integration doesn’t happen.” 
Note the words "eastern England". It's an odd statement to make for a leader of a party named the United Kingdom Independence Party. What about Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales where immigration is not necessarily such a vote winner - immigration has an uneven effect across the country.

But within "eastern England" is the constituency of Thanet South; where Farage is standing to be elected as an MP. It's also next door to where UKIP held its Spring Conference in Margate which had no mobile signal nor internet access.

A professional party with workable facilities at its conference less important than Farage's own campaign it seems. So no policies, no strategy, no exit plan just dog-whistle soundbites to get Farage elected.

Perhaps in this sense it will work and this will please the cult, but in getting us out of the EU no chance.

What a waste of 20 odd years...

13 comments:

  1. I do not like using the immigration card much, but as someone that has grown up in the Wonderful City of Birmingham, I have to say immigration is destroying our Country. In 1939 there were less than 300 Muslims in Birmingham, now the figure is given as 250,000. Then there are the Hindu's. Sikhs, Irish, Afro Caribbeans, others and Europeans on top of that. The population of Birmingham has bobbed around the million mark since 1939. The only demograph that has reduced in Birmingham is the White English. Even the older Muslims etc say there is TOO MUCH IMMIGRATION! It is not a race thing, it is the desperation of the people that are at the coal face of multi culturalism. That is true for all of the races, creeds and religions.

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    1. You just can't see how wonderful it all is. If only you'd take off those gritty realism spectacles of yours and see the world through the kaleidoscope of multiculturalism you'd see how much richer your life is.

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  2. The surging tide of immigrants has now happened. Many of these human beings have little or nothing in common with us English in their manners, their eating habits, their religion, their honesty, their family structure. But they are now here.
    And a lot of people are very justifiably very angry about it too. Our schools are the melting pot and they are taking a lot of flak - and doing an excellent job of integration too. In the "community" however, assimilation is slow - except among children.
    Exploiting this anger is fruitless and it puts a lot of people off Ukip - and the EDL and the (defunct) BNP.

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    1. Quite right Mike. Addressing the concerns of the ordinary voter in ways he understands is absurd in a democracy based on universal adult suffrage.

      We accept your criticism of the prevailing system and eagerly await your politically acceptable solution.

      Answer came there none.

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  3. That's hilarious! Are you sure it's not from the Daily Mash?

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  4. Nearly 30 years ago, we moved to Dunstable from East London. My children spent their evenings and holidays playing outside in the street with the other kids. Today, my grandchildren are not allowed outside to play with their contemporaries. Only two weeks ago a young girl was stabbed 5 minutes away from where we live and a young man we know, has been murdered. Life has NOT IMPROVED.

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  5. So playing in the street is illegal and unsafe eh? Well bugger me! So for all of my childhood then, I was in fact a serial law breaker. I am only surprised after hearing this rubbish that I am in fact still alive.

    You are beginning to sound like Richard North and his idiot son (whose blog bars dissenters),when you start blaming UKIP for all the ills, whilst conveniently forgetting that it was the other parties that got us into this mess in the first place. UKIP are by no means the finished article, and yes they do need to sharpen up quite a lot. In that I do not disagree, BUT, and it is the only BUT going, they are the ONLY party that want this country out of the EU. You can posit all sorts of possibilities of a referendum under the Tories, but regardless of what UKIP do or don't do, we all know deep down that the tories will do anything than have a referendum. It is down to UKIP that they've even managed to get "Call me Dave" to realise that the EU subject is dangerous to him unless he starts to take notice. Before UKIP pushed him, it just never got discussed.

    So whilst you are free to slag off UKIP till the cows come home, bear in mind that they are in fact the only party that wants us to leave the EU and campaigns on that front. Should one not vote for UKIP then you are effectively voting for us to remain in the EU.

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    1. UKIP may represent a voice, but they have no plan, and without a plan - there will be no action = fail.

      I wonder what the situation surrounding Utah Close is today, for just around the corner is a large grassed area . . .

      With regard to immigration; Is there not some misunderstanding over what is apparently the problem/no-problem over current immigration levels, and the problem created by the immigrants established from 1948 onwards, the number of immigrant families who have landed and multiplied many hundred fold - and whose offspring do not consider themselves immigrants at all, but British citizens? The cuckoo has whole communities established and thriving. There are areas where even the Police will not go in several of our major towns and cities - is this not the problem that is called "immigration"?

      Looking at the more recent numbers of immigrants is looking out of the overcrowded stable through the still open door, and declaring: "Nope, not that many coming in".

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    2. Immigration has gotten completely out of control. In comparison with pre 1997 levels, it's a deluge. Historically the average since 1948 was 30,000 a year. Post 1997 its well over 10 times that. UKIP's immigration policy is based on the Australian system and is quite sensible and fair.

      As for leaving the EU, even Farage has accepted that invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is the way ahead. As I stated earlier - they do need to sharpen up and quickly - but, they are STILL the only party that want us to leave and campaign on that. I cannot comprehend why you don't seem to grasp that.

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    3. 'I am only surprised after hearing this rubbish that I am in fact still alive.'

      I cannot be the only one surprised that you are still alive.

      While I agree that North junior is an idiot, and his father obviously a failed and angry prima donna, UKIP is a joke and worth votes only in protest.

      If you really want to change things, vote for an independent candidate and read Richard North's arguments in his Flexcit paper. He may be the Kim Jong Ego of his own little part of the 'blogosphere', however, no one else seems to have a comparable breadth of knowledge of the EU, nor any better plan on how to get out of it. I

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  6. it just never seems to escape me the depth that is gone to, lets just blame immigration for everything, after all it was because of immigrants wanting to move our nation to foreign time zones i lost an hours sleep last weekend. :)
    Give is a break Nigel, look at EU which is what you are supposed to be doing, then come up with a credible exit plan. Honestly do bloggers have to do everything for you?

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  7. Britain has changed, irrevocably one could argue, for better or worse is however too complex a question to answer in sound bites or headlines, one would argue we have changed for better in some ways, but yes, worse in others and is it down to immigration? Yes in some ways but also one would argue down to poor and woefully lacking political leadership subservient to a foreign entity.

    The changed face of Britain’s population mix is something we just have to adapt to now. We cannot (heaven forbid) just sweep up vast swathes of ‘foreign’ looking gentlemen and ladies, cram them onto steamers and wave goodbye as they disappear into the sunset! But we can retake control (eventually) of our borders, fishing grounds and maritime limits and host of other areas of sovereignty we have allowed to be given up, however forty plus years of integration will be decidedly difficult to unravel.

    But I still believe that with; either very strong political centralised leadership or true total devolution as advocated by yourself and others in The Harrogate Agenda we can adapt in ways (that will never satisfy everyone of course) for the good of the majority, but that we are lacking ‘something’ or ‘someone’ to lead the way is so evident it’s painful to witness and be part of as we sink ever further into the mire.

    Immigration is a fact of life but so is emigration. People with wealth can do so at will either way or with education and qualifications also, which used to be the great social mobility denominator both domestically and internationally until “educashin, educashin educashin” or the deterioration (deliberate one could argue) became the catchphrase of Anthony Charles Lynton Blair and those of his ilk who came before and since!

    One is incredibly saddened and dismayed at the opportunities that UKIP has squandered over the last twenty years to raise both the profile of our shackling to the EU construct and the opportunities that exist outside such. One can only question Mr. Farage’s intellect or sanity or perhaps both for allowing such folly to permeate the party at every level, yet he soldiers on, pint in hand (no glass just pint in hand) immersed within a world of his own construct rather like “The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha” to the faux pas and stupidity he has been largely responsible for by both design and neglect.

    That it is down predominantly to the ‘cult of leader’ Nigel Farage has tried to foster abetted by his ruthless removal of those who constructively critique is in no doubt. The chickens will come home to roost as they say and this G.E. in May will be interesting to watch not for the main LibLabCon spectacle of irrelevant drivel nor for any meaningful change in how and who governs us but rather the fortunes of the lesser parties such as UKIP, SNP, Plaid Cymru and so on who can bring a potentially interesting and intensely enjoyable paralysis to those few areas of domestic governance we still have. Perhaps such a paralysis may be the key to educating a wider audience to the aims of The Harrogate Agenda?

    One has nowhere to go sadly, not a single political party under the current representative democracy model offers one anything of value or hope, (irrespective of UKIP’s stated aim of leaving the EU) nor motivates one to visit the polling booth come May. One shall enjoy the spring sunshine either within or without one’s glasshouse pint (or rather single malt in hand) within a glass one would add, while toasting the misguided theories and writings of Rev. Thomas Maltus 1766-1834; for if his sage prediction “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce sustenance for man” be true then we are all doomed.

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  8. Forget about your fetish with UKIP's Farage. Immigration is a problem. But go ahead, let's let them all in by the tens of millions, the view of Eunatics.

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