Dally wrote:
Seems UKIP is doing pretty well in the local elections. My guess is they'll do rather better in the Euro ones. Could be interesting times ahead politically.
I think one reason they have done relatively well on the local elections (except in London where they have not) is because the council elections and euro elections were on the same day. If you are going to vote UKIP for reasons of immigration or EU membership voting for a different party for the council elections would be a bit of a strange thing to contemplate for many. Some might vote two different ways but I think for quite a few it would be as if they were telling themselves they were being stupid for voting UKIP if they voted another way for the council elections.
It will be interesting to see how much difference there will be in their share of the vote in the two elections.
It's rather worrying in that we could sleep-walk into a Tory - UKIP (ie hard right Tory) coalition due the ineptitude of Labour. That would mean destruction of the NHS, etc, etc. Gove this morning saying UKIP were in tune with Tory policy - on education, welfare reform, immigration (ie trying to say Tory policy is popular with the electorate). Didn't mention that UKIP are essentially a single-issue (ie anti-EU) party. So, in his bid to put positive spin on things isn't he effectively continuing the established party position of ignoring a large element of popular opinion?
He's ignoring the fact that UKIP are claiming disaffected Labour support as well. I quite like the idea of Gove and other Tories claiming UKIP are in tune with Tory values as that might wake up a few Labour supporters who voted for them yesterday that they voted for a far right party.
UKIP also can't form any sort of pact with the Tories not to oppose each other in 2015 because if they did then it would stand out like a sore thumb that they were indeed a right wing party. I am not even sure if the did the Tory vote would switch to them en-masse. I don't think every Tory is a closet Ukipper.
Seems the knives are sharpening for Ed Miliband. They should never have let him stay this long. Trouble is, if he goes there is nobody electorally credible to replace him that I can think of. Also, there is a bit of a dilemma in that he seems to be appealing to the middle classes of London (a key election battleground) but putting people off if the rest of the country (where there are lots of key constituencies too). Throw in the Scottish referendum and we could be heading for interesting, if not turbulent times.
Labour did very well in London and virtually wiped the Tories out in Croydon. There the Tories are claiming UKIP split the vote but I think that is wishful thinking.
The best thing coming out so far is the continuing hammering of the snivelling LibDems and their tuition fee promise reneging leader. Let's hope he goes and soon.
While the tuition fee promise is the headline grabber its things like waving through the NHS reforms and effectively supporting the bedroom tax whatever they say about opposing it (because actually have it) while in government that has killed them.
There was a woman from the "Liberal Left" organisation on TV last night and she was scathing about such things and the party kow towing to the Tories. She felt they should never have gone into coalition with a party with those policies at all and that is certainly was not necessary to do so to "save the country". Listening to the other Lib Dem try and justify the coalition and having to accept being the minor party and how coalition government is about compromise and grown up politics fools no one. If the result of coalition is out and out Tory policies such as what has happened in the NHS they won't convince anyone they have not just enabled a very right wing Tory agenda.
