…but this country is not for kipping.
History clearly demonstrates that in times of economic troubles public opinion can polarise. The electorate become disillusioned with the political parties of the centre, who they blame for creating the economic mess, and look instead to the political extremes, with their simple ideologies and easy answers. There are enough historical examples which show how democracy can be subverted as the electorate sleepwalk towards totalitarian regimes.
Luckily, in the UK, the public have been less inclined in the past to fall asleep at the democratic wheel.
I’m not suggesting that UKIP are fascists or that Nigel Farage is a dictator in waiting, I do not believe that but I am suggesting that the general public should be ever watchful and take note of the direction of the political tide because it is not too big a step from lazy xenophobia to intolerance and racism.
I am not criticising anyone who voted for UKIP. I understand that it is precisely because the political parties of the centre, ever eager to coalesce around the safe electoral centre ground thus denying the public any real choice, have not listened to the genuine concerns of ordinary people, that the public are now turning to them.
But I am asking those who voted for UKIP to be ever watchful and hold that party to account.
Nigel Farage is a ‘City’ man. In 1982 he joined the London commodity brokerage firm Drexel Burnham Lambert. In 1986, he joined Credit Lyonnais Rouse. He joined Refco in 1994, and Natexis Metals in 2003.
Though I agree that the relationship between the UK and European Union needs to be renegotiated, the EU institutions have become bureaucratically bloated and increasingly democratically unaccountable, I do ask myself what solutions Farage has for the economic mess that this country is in, considering that he, himself, made his fortune by exploiting the faults within the capitalist system which led to this mess in the first place.
This is obviously just my opinion and readers are free to comment and give their own.
Vote for whomever you like but don’t kip on the job.
theneedleblog 
I accept your point. I for one am increasingly uncomfortable in modern England, for the reasons you give. As the son of a refugee I am scared by the rise of right wing xenophobia, and goverment dictated by the Daily Mail.
I’ve been interested in Farage since I saw this a few years ago
He’s got balls and says what he thinks, a breathe of fresh air compared to most politicians I’ve ever seen. Whether I agree with what he’s saying/going to say – I’ll have to take a while to decide
Incubus, you are rather more emotional than analytical, with respect. Personally I don’t agree with spending more on the military, but that is bye the bye, but whatever libertarianism is about, and it varies a bit according to where you go, it is not about dictatorship, and whilst one of the valid criticisms might be that it might fail to protect the poor from too little legislation, it is not reasonable to suggest that anarchists, who by definition want even less legislation, would do this better. There is no whiter than white in the political trade offs you have to do. Free markets are arguably a lot kinder to the poor than monopoly capitalism, and crony capitalism, which is what we all too often have; look at the musings of King World News as a starter of how corrupt the present day markets in fact are!!
If a party came forward and said: ‘We will expose (for the want of a better word) all the paedos in power” I would vote for them for the rest of my life…
But that is not going to happen.
Keep the internet unregulated.
Whatever your opinion UKIP will now have to prove they can be effective and become a “serious” political force. They have certainly rattled the other parties big time listening to the spite and belittling remarks coming from some of them. The toys have been thrown from the prams, even Cameron stomped off after his soundbite on respect.
For the record I distrust ALL politicians, I’ve voted from them all over the years, always in hope more than expectation. Without fail they disappoint.
There’s nothing quite like being consistant eh!?
Yes, the problem with the EU all along has been the democratic deficit, the trade off between having a single profitable market balanced with universal working and welfare rights. The Right has always opposed the social element, whereas the Left has seen it as a ‘bosses’ union- rightly so, especially now. The political and business classes in the UK have always had a strong aversion to the social market models of Germany, Italy and France- though the ideal of containing German economic and financial power has now backfired, and Germany, with its integrated welfare and technological systems is emerging once again as the dominant european power- What they used to call the ‘German Question’ ever since the 1860s is back with a vengeance- Anti-EU Brits would rather revert back to an insular Victorian society, except we no longer have an empire to fall back on, nor any industry, just plenty of hubris and chauvanism…
Not English so excuse me for commenting – one of the reasons your media is so anti-EU and your politicians too cowardly to defend it is that it often defends the rights of those at the bottom.Frankly theres no votes in that compared to the Auslander aus line…
Err… also whatever you think of them they self-describe as “libertarian” and “non-racist” so both of these would actually make them the opposite side of the spectrum from Nazism, which is totalitarian and racist. Now there can be difficult areas with “libertarianism” but on the control freedom axis it is between the middle and anarchism, notably opposed to both Communism and Fascism which are repressive and totalitarian.
I think you’ll find so-called Libertarians of the Right want to slash all government spending that protects the poor from the worst excesses and failings of capitalism, all the while spending massively on repressive Police and military power, and claiming to be against the State. Since 99% of anarchists are opposed to bigotry, capitalism the authoritarian state, they have absolutely nothing to do with hypocritical, fundamentalist free-marketeer, self-serving millionaire scumbags like Farage (who is descended from Huguenot refugees) who is scraping up the BNP, far right tory and general protest vote.
You can’t renegotiate the European Union treaties. However, you can leave the EU by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and if the voting public give permission by way of a referndum the government can reapply joining the EU on new terms if the EU then lets them.
i’ve talked to plants maybe that makes me prince charles..
A poor argument, Stardog, as you can discredit by the means you are making any party by finding a nutter or a criminal within it. Any party, any religious belief, any family with a black sheep within, even any blog!!!”
Incidentally I think “guilt by association” does need to be very carefully handled. I have been seen talking to paedophiles myself, even been seeing being friendly towards them. The important distinction is that I had no reason to suspect that the individuals concerned were paedophiles at the time, and we do need to be aware that this can often be the case for many people, rather than saying “here is a picture of X with notorious person Z; hmm we know what he is!!”
“I’m not suggesting that UKIP are fascists or that Nigel Farage is a dictator in waiting,” I AM because they are and he is.
If having people in your party who think forced euthanasia for disabled kids isn’t actually Nazi thinking what is? If having candidates making racist jokes about this country’s sporting heroes isn’t Nazi, pray tell what is? Farage is a self obsessed pathological liar so that makes him almost an identical mindset to your typical dictator.
UKIPs only policy would lead to this country’s bankruptcy, the rest of their agenda is a mish mash taken almost wholly from the pages of ” How to be a Small minded bigot 101″. People who vote for them are either stupid, stupid and bigoted, ill informed and bigoted or just plain thick as pigshit and and the sort of people who were a school yard bully.
the rest of his ‘people’ are just as xenophobic sexist racist, homophobic neolib speaking twunts..even the female ones..
Although generally accused of being to the ‘right’, UKIP actually have more parallels with the growth of the Labour Party a hundred years ago. At that time, the established parties were far adrift of the general public, not offering to address the real concerns of the masses, hence the steady growth of the Labour Party, eventually achieving government.
UKIP is doing the same. The concerns of the masses, be that immigration, Europe or social engineering, have been completely and deliberately ignored by the major parties, who have ploughed along with their dogmas carelessly disregarding their ‘paymaster’ voters. Now is the reckoning. The British voter is a tolerant creature but, if pushed too far, will bite back hard. It’s biting now.
Whether the major parties have it in them to reverse their three decades of voter-alienating direction seems doubtful, so prepare for continuing UKIP growth and perhaps, in a decade or so, even a UKIP government.
I don’t think anyone requires any lectures from you on their voting choice however benignly put. We are all capable of backtracking historical events and making choices with that in mind
You are off piste here and it doesn’t suit you
I’m not lecturing anyone.I’m giving my opinion and I’ve invited others to share their own opinion.
However, you are lecturing me on what I can and can not comment on. You’re the one ‘Off Piste’
“But this country is not for kipping” There’s a lot of people who don’t agree with you …
i dont want this country run by kippers…
his blog his rules, surely!
Well of course but it doesn’t mean that everything he says is right surely? If you make bold statements like that on behalf of others you have to expect to take some flack
MM,
“But this country is not for kipping” ie ‘sleeping’ There are enough references to sleeping and sleepwalking in the text, I’d have thought you’d have picked that up.
I’ve never suggested I’m infallible. I’ve simply expressed my opinion. I assume you’d accept I’m entitled to one ?
And I’ve invited others to express their own opinion but instead of doing so you’ve decided to take this opportunity to question my right to express my opinion on my blog.
Why vote for any of them. Politicians are only interested in being elected.
Once in power they do what ever they are told to do because it seems nobody is allowed into power without their controllers having a little “dirty-secret” to pull out when they need something done.
By voting you just endorse the system to fleece you and to place more restrictions on the individuals freedom.
I agree as I’ve written before here- Why I don’t Vote.https://theneedleblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/why-i-dont-vote/
Pingback: Alternative News Network – UKIP If You Want to…