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Nigel Farage to stand at next General Election

Deborah McGurran | 11:58 UK time, Sunday, 17 April 2011

Nigel Farage

On the election trail - Nigel Farage

"Election night wasn't great for me", says the leader of the , who survived an air crash that day.

"I was doing other things. We have these elections and the next set of European elections to get through but yes I will stand again in the general election."

has been on the campaign trail in North Norfolk and he tells us, yesterday in London, today in Aylesbury and tomorrow, Leicester. No one can doubt his enthusiasm but is that matched by the enthusiasm of the voters?

do well on the European front here in the East, where they have two MEP's but can they win at a local level?

"It all depends on how it translates at a local level. We are the party of small government. We are the party that believes you should have a say. The UKIP message is simple. Vote for us to give you power back. We think people at a local level should have the right to hold binding referenda on issues that really affect their lives."

UKIP is increasingly seen as a threat in Conservative circles, which may explain why the Prime Minister decided to make his controversial speech on immigration this week.

"I think the timing was all about the local elections," says Mr Farage.

"Most Conservative voters feel let down - like a cheap pair of braces. This is a man that promised a referendum and turned his back on it. This is the man who is now taking off into yet another foreign war with very unclear aims. Tory voters feel badly let down and in the eastern counties we will certainly tear into that Conservative vote".

As I said, no one can doubt the enthusiasm but with only three councillors across the whole of the East, there's a long way to go.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Farage also implied that UKIP might appeal to 50% of the BNP vote. Although he mentioned libertarian ideals which would not resonate with the remainder in the BNP, it is a little worrying to consider such an overlap in appeal and indeed what influence the BNP vote might have over future UKIP policy and direction. Hopefully this would only ever be marginal, but UKIP need to do some hard thinking about who they are appealing to, why, and what influence those voters might assert down the line.

  • Comment number 2.

    Steve, I feel that if for any reason there would be appeal to BNP voters is due to UKIP's sensible policies on immigration, it's stance towards things like political correctness and even the fact that the party is pro-British and wants to make this country great again. Remember, there's nothing racist about being supportive of your own country.

  • Comment number 3.

    It is so unbelievable that people moan about the government, then vote for Labour, Conservative and Liberal. I am all for trading with Europe, but when we have 2 million people on the dole and another 2 million classed as unfit to work (who could with the right support), we should be dealing with this problem, before allowing any more immigration into the UK. British people should come first, whether they are black or white. On top of that I like the idea of referendums on issues of national importance, like the Swiss do.

    On top of that, our country is too full as it is and can't take any more people.

    Bearing in mind we have a trade deficit with Europe of £50 billion a year, then pay £50 million a day into Europe and get very little out of it. Being sent to coventry by our European friends wouldn't be a bad thing.

  • Comment number 4.

    Look at the Finnish Election result for the true Finns Party - 4-19% support. Why? Immigration and the EU. Cameron will not try to reform the EU - he cares not for British workers' wages being undercut by A2/A8 cheap labor. I want their numbers severely restricted & only UKIP will have a chance of doing that and scaring the mainstream Parties into action, not only in UK but all over Western Europe. Voters in the West have had enough of open borders madness. France April 2012 next - if EU autocrats not worried now, they will be.

  • Comment number 5.

    It is unfortunate that the mainstream parties have almost guaranteed inheritance in local and general elections. With the Cabinet system in local government, any 'independent' is often a waste of votes.
    Nevertheless, if any opportunity arises to vote in a UKIP councillor, I'll take it, and not use my votes at all for the other runners on the ballot paper.
    It's an opportunity to show what we think about the creeping eu madness that the mainstream parties have foisted on us without consultation or choice. This is a bigger issue than who chairs what in council.

  • Comment number 6.

    Nigel Farage quite rightly pointed out that allthough he agrees with Mr Camerons speech, he would only have the power to effect non EU imigration, 'We can not control migration into Briton if we are part of the EU & thats a debate Mr Cameron dos not want to have' from Ö÷²¥´óÐã news interview.

  • Comment number 7.

    There is no doubt that the policies of BNP and UKIP are based on fundamentally different attitudes: BNP is more old Labour, authoritarian whereas UKIP is libertarian and free market. Accordingly one would be surprised to find so many former BNP voters attracted to UKIP. I would expect them to return to Labour from whence they came.

    But on further reflection, many turned to BNP from a history of not voting. Among these people, and the former Labour people too, include a large proportion of respectable non-racist voters. They turned to BNP because they had been abandoned by the political class and they were afraid. Not unreasonable in my view, but they perhaps now realise they chose a party with no future.

    UKIP draws support from different origins in different constituencies. What UKIP has been able to do recently is avoid being trapped by a focus on class, income or even ethnicity - national independence, democracy and accountable government are appealing to all. This also shows in growing support for Eurosceptic parties in Europe - some are from the left others free market; some have agrarian links, others are youth and libertarian oriented.

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