Having suffered the election debate, the passionate intervention by Victoria Prosser (the heckler who interrupted Cameron) was welcome. With the exception of UKIP, I concur with Miss Prosser’s view that the debate provided a clear illustration of how detached, self-serving and hypocritical our politicians have become.
Admittedly during the debate there were unhelpful distractions caused by inclusion of minor parties that variously wish to save part of the UK (Plaid Cymru), or dissolve the UK (SNP), or save their own skins (Lib Dems), or save a planet that they appear not to inhabit (The Greens).
Of course, Cameron wanted all this commotion to dilute the Ukip presence and avoid more robust scrutiny. Accordingly we were served mostly a full frontal liberal left agenda.
The Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, promised a distinctive mould and made a good fist of it.
Testament to this were the emotional snipings that he received from all corners during the debate (and afterwards, even from the likes of Gary Lineker that icon of diplomacy) together with a quite incredible media obsession with the most reasonable Farage claim that UK taxpayers should not host foreign health tourists.
In response, Nicola Sturgeon indignantly claimed that sick people should first be viewed as human beings, and Leanne Wood that Farage should be ashamed. Perhaps these two darlings of the Left might better prioritise their responsibility to the UK taxpayer above feigning outrage and concern for the whole of humanity (that is the Greens’ job).
Farage’s stance on other issues was, for the most part, also roundly derided. So what was so outrageous about his proposals? He said that we should have confidence in the British people. What sacrilege this is to the europhile elite who dream of a larger, greyer home and (despite their well rehearsed rhetoric) despise the rich cultural diversity embedded in the nation states of Europe.
Second, Farage insisted that it was crucial to eliminate the deficit very quickly. Such housekeeping details are irrelevant to the economically illiterate (unfortunately not only socialists now) who regard money and IOUs to be equivalent and don’t appear to know the difference between the debt and the deficit.
Third, Farage welcomed skilled migrants to the UK but opined that we must control numbers so that our quality of life and standard of living are not impaired beyond recognition. What’s not to like?
Undeniably the Ukip agenda would have sat very comfortably with the Conservative Party as recently as fifteen years ago. Now however it is deemed extreme right wing and demonised by all (except apparently the UK electorate in the recent EU elections).
Will people awake by May 7 and provide a sufficient dose of Ukip (necessarily targeted in the north of England) to help revive the corpse that is currently the UK Conservative Party? Without such an outcome I fear that the UK may lose control of its destiny and depart on a calamitous new route.
