Question and answer session…..first one, why don\’t we make more about the regional system of government? We know it\’s appalling and wasteful….
Nigel\’s response is that yes, we have indeed got our plans to abolish that level of government but we need to remember something….
We can\’t go around banging on about just the issues that interest us. We need to run our political campaigns around what interests others as well…
Second question…can we make sure that the Press Office includes the SNP and Plaid Cymru in the lists of the EU supporting parties?
Umm, yes, that\’s me isn\’t it….OK, so that\’s done.
Interesting point made…..opposition to the EU seems to be strongest in the 18-30 group.
Yet, that’s not an age group that has much presence when you go to a UKIP meeting.
It’s because we’re the ones who don’t get to vote on our own government. Farage is excellent, but UKIP has to work on its image. We need young people to be more visible; it’s easy for young people to fall for the line that UKIP are all a lot of cranky eccentrics if they only see people of middle age or older involved.
The problem is that the UKIP doesn’t have a distinctive constitutional agenda that would make regional government any more than a rubber stamp for the UK Parliament and a waste of taxpayers money.
The UKIP’s most distinctive policy is its opposition to the EU (or at least Britain’s membership of the EU). Its also one that gets very little traction at general elections.
The other part is that the UKIP is seen to be a party of Little Englanders, who blame foreigners for all the woes of Britain.
Certainly the rhetoric from some of the membership doesn’t exactly challenge the image.