EU Referendum


UKIP: Anti EU or BNP-lite?


13/03/2014



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Much indignation attends the designation "BNP-lite" when applied to UKIP, even though the party makes no secret of wanting to attract the million voters who voted for BNP in the last euro-elections. But how far the party has morphed into a BNP clone, in order to attract that vote, is indicated by the latest monthly YouGov poll on issues which voters feel important.

Top of the list for all voters is the economy, with 60 percent of voters thinking it is one of the most important issues facing the country at this time. Second, on 53 percent, is "Immigration & Asylum". Fifth, of 15 issues, is "Europe" on 17 percent, leading such issues as housing, education and crime.

But how different things look when we go to UKIP voters. For them, the economy only gets 45 percent, although it beats "Europe". This attracts a mere 36 percent. The really big issue for UKIP voters, though, is "Immigration & Asylum". That gets a massive hit of 92 percent.

What that says is that, to UKIP voters, "Immigration & Asylum" is two and a half times more important than "Europe". Nor is this an outlier. An IPSOS-MORI poll last month had UKIP voters give "Europe" a mere 6 percent, while immigration and related matters gets 63 percent. 

On this basis, it is very difficult for UKIP to claim that it is primarily concerned with the EU. Its main preoccupation is immigration. It may or not be racist but an anti-immigration party without the racism can justly be called BNP-lite.

Whether Farage wants to take the party in that direction is his affair - as long as he has the support of his members. But what he can't then do, with any justice, is claim to be the leader of anti-EU movement as well. 

This is all the more so when he's making a pig's ear of it in reacting to the Miliband referendum announcement. As he so often does, he has missed the point, in this case failing to recognise, much less understand the implications of the referendum lock switch from "yes-no" to "in-out".

The anti-EU movement has enough difficulties without lightweight amateurs queering the pitch. If Farage and his party really want to take over the mantle from Nick Griffin be BNP-lite, and they should concentrate on that. But they should then leave the EU issues alone - they are quite obviously not up to the task of fighting the EU. 

If Farage and his party continue at this rate, they will lose us the game.