UKIP: The Septic Sceptics

Xenophobia has a new voice in British politics; a distinctly upper-middle class voice. UKIP have been rumbling away in the background for nearly two decades, but given a series of high profile cases, they are now the largest ‘minor party’ in England. The time has come to take notice of them and to challenge them.

UKIP are fashioning themselves as the ‘third party in British politics’. This claim comes about from successful elections in 2009, 2010 and by-elections, and the collapse of Liberal Democrat support. It’s great that UKIP are so optimistic, but they need to get real. They are not going to appeal to Liberal Democratic voters, and the Liberal Democrats are still polling about the same as ‘Other’ in the polls (‘Other’ being primarily UKIP, BNP, SNP, Plaid and Greens). They are not as much a force as they think they are; not in Britain and not even in Barnsley.

Their claim is a bit pre-emptive; yes they came second in Barnsley but in the grand scheme they gained only 3.5% of the vote in England in 2010. Scarcely a massive signal of intent. And let’s bear in mind this was an election where opinion of the two mainstream parties was at historic lows.

UKIP want to ‘replace the Liberal Democrats’. That tactic is not going to work; the majority of UKIP voters, it’s fair to say, come from more Conservative backgrounds. UKIP got more votes in the South West and less in Scotland, Wales and the North East. They are not going to win over Liberal Democratic voters but instead are more likely to make gains from disillusioned Conservative voters.

The reality of 2009 and 2010 for UKIP is not as rosy as they claim; despite gains averaging 1% in every region, being concomitant with BNP gains, and becoming the fourth party and the largest ‘protest vote’, they still only got 3.1% in 2010. In the EU elections, where UKIP are expected to punch above their weight, they still only got 2.5million. The majority of people simply do not care whether we are in the EU or not, primarily because they do not know about the EU.

The message for UKIP then is simply ‘get real’.

Personally, I am massively pro-EU. But I acknowledge not everyone is enthusiastic, and I can accept criticism of the EU; there are arguments and cases against it. But the arguments UKIP level against the EU border on the illogical.

Their main platform is one of sovereignty – the right to self determination, for Britain to decide British laws, not Brussels. But then what of Britain’s economic sovereignty which is being given away to the markets? What of the UN, NATO, the WTO? There was not even a referendum to join them. Our cultural sovereignty is not being attacked by the EU, or even immigration, but if anything, by American hegemony; we have malls, proms, fast food and neo-liberalism, not siestas, schnitzels, lederhosen or dirigisme. EU funding has in fact gone towards preserving British culture and the EU slogan “United in Diversity” enshrines our cultural autonomy. Our sovereignty is being taken away more by other forces, and the EU actually protects Britain from them. In the 21^st Century there are no independent states, we are all interdependent upon each other.

Furthermore on this sovereignty debate; sovereignty belongs to the people. The EU is not taking away that sovereignty but through its regionalism program is in fact giving sovereignty back to the people. What is the difference between giving our power to the markets and giving it to the EU? We can influence the EU, and with the growing power of the democratic EU parliament the people are swiftly gaining influence. The sovereignty platform of UKIP is illogical and full of double standards.

Another main argument against the EU is that it is undemocratic and unaccountable; however this is something that can be rectified and to change that we need to get into Europe rather than get out. But how undemocratic is it compared to Britain? The executive is not directly elected, but neither is the UK's Prime Minister or Monarch, and with upcoming Lisbon Treaty changes the executive will be directly drawn from the elected Parliament, in line with our own procedures. The lack of recognition is a major problem for the EU, but again it can be rectified and is not an argument for leaving it. The EU is as democratic, if not more so, than the UK Parliament.

The image painted by UKIP is that the EU is an overly-bureaucratic and expensive monolith. This over-bureaucracy makes it hopelessly inefficient. That is actually a fair argument, however UKIP exaggerates it, and we just know that if the EU was efficient they would complain about a ‘lack of democracy’. Democratic checks and balances create inefficiency; things get debated fully and properly, as a result progress is slow – the federal level of the USA is a prime example here. That is not efficient, but it is democratic, whereas efficiency is often associated with tyranny. The EU is in a lose-lose situation here, much to the joy of UKIP.

As flawed as UKIP policy and ideology is their methods border on disbelief. If any mainstream party tried their tactics they would be laughed out of contention.

Phil Woolas got the boot for lying about an opponent, and another independent candidate is facing court trials of accusing another candidate of paedophilia. But if politicians were not allowed to lie in elections then UKIP would have no campaign; they are full of lies, the infamous “Euro-Myths” (most of which are debunked at http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/take_part/myths_en.htm). Some of these myths are outrageous to the point of disbelief; and yet they are being believed and spread outrage. I remember a UKIP candidate in 2009 saying to my face that the EU was planning to put tracking devices in iPods. That is not a misreading of a proposal, but a flat out lie. Even if the EU wanted to, it couldn’t, and yet this was apparently “immanent”. Pure populist scaremongering, pure exploitation of a misunderstood entity, pure lies. And yet they get away with it. They are lying in their campaigns, surely there is some grounds for prosecution?

Things only get worse when they gained office. One need only look at their behaviour in the EU Parliament and cringe; they called Martin Schultz (leader of the Social Democratic grouping in the EU Parliament) a ‘Nazi’, they cause a ruckus, they oppose simply for the sake of opposing even when they agree with the proposals. A prime example of the latter is any attempt by the EU to protect animal welfare or construct a more efficient energy scheme which UKIP supports but votes against. Not only does that damage the EU, but it damages Britain, the very entity they claim to protect.

We need to expose UKIP. It is far more beneficial for the UK to be more active in the EU; we are the third biggest nation both economically and by population and yet since joining we have been a spanner in the works, the ‘empty chair’. It is time for the UK to take its rightful place in Europe and not sideline ourselves anymore. We should be central; any Franco-German summits concerning the EU needs to have UK representation. One problem here is the Conservatives leaving the EPP, thus leaving Britain without representation in the biggest party in the EU. They complain of being sidelined; they have sidelined themselves!

Recognition of the EU is the greatest asset to tackling the growth of UKIP. We get headlines of a US congresswoman being shot or of floods in Australia, but nothing on Europe 2020, or of Sarkozy at G20, and there’s barely a sniff of the Hamburg elections in Germany or the Portuguese Presidential elections. Recognition is vital for democracy; once people understand the EU, or learn to look beyond the mistruths, then UKIP can no longer exploit them on lies.

UKIP are a symptom of a fundamental problem with the EU-UK relationship; recognition and communication. Not only are they a product, but they are also now a cause of it by spreading myths and misconceptions about the EU. The UK benefits hugely from EU membership, and there is the potential for more; we need to get this message out there. The most effective way to tackle UKIP is to tackle their single issue and turn it against them; have people recognise and support the EU. This requires a shift in Labour's attitude, but also a shift in media coverage and a more active role from the EU.