Dear All
When Nigel Farage visited Scotland
previously, he was subject to racism, ‘go back home to England’,
What was his crime?
He came to support the UKIP candidate in
the donside by-election.
The by-election was caused by the death of
the SNP MSP Brian Adam.
Does UKIP have a chance?
Well in politics anyone has a chance if enough
of the public get behind you, but in this case I would say not a hope. In 2011,
UKIP polled 217 votes.
This by-election is not about winning for
UKIP but an attempt to establish their brand in Scotland, but they have a hell
of a lot of work to do.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he would return
to campaign in Scotland and he has kept his word, one month after angry
demonstrators hounded him out of an Edinburgh pub.
Nigel Farge is an MEP, he is the leader of
his party and he is an accomplished speaker and debater, but the task is
straight up the north face of the Eiger.
Is he welcome in Scotland?
Well Alex Salmond and the SNP don’t seem to
think so, but we should remember that Salmond and the SNP really don’t
represent the Scottish people, they represent a clique who have successfully
conned people by saying they stand up for Scottish values.
Mr Farage was involved in a very nasty public
confrontation when he attempted to hold a press conference in The Canons' Gait
pub in the Royal Mile, near Holyrood last month, the footage I put on the blog.
He was there to promote his Aberdeen
Donside candidate Otto Inglis but the event was cut short when anti-racism
protesters mobbed the room.
Anti racism protestors who told Farage to
get back to his own country!
Oh the irony of it of it all.
UKIP isn’t a racist party; they have developed
into a political force that speaks for those who currently don’t have a voice,
the working class. They don’t have the network in Scotland to make the
breakthrough just yet, but they have to start somewhere and grow.
Donside is just a platform to speak up for
those whose views aren’t getting an airing in Scottish politics as the debate
over Britain’s European membership continues.
I think Britain should be in Europe, but
the European project has gone badly wrong, while the union was about 10
countries, it was manageable within the existing framework, but enlargement has
brought problems.
One of the problems was free movement, in
theory a good idea in practice there are difficulties, and those difficulties must
be addressed soon rather than later or it will be a British exit from Europe.
Back to Mr. Farage, he said:
"I am thoroughly looking forward to
coming back up to Scotland again, this time to help our admirable candidate in
Aberdeen Donside, Otto Inglis. According to what our canvassers are hearing on
the doorstep, there is definitely a significant growth in support for the party
in Scotland and though we will have to work as hard as ever to deserve our
votes, that is precisely what we intend to do. On fishing rights, on wind farms
and, of course, on the constitutional issue, Ukip has a clear and distinct
position; one which we discover is getting an ever-larger audience".
217 votes in 2011 is a drop in the bucket,
realistically UKIP have yet to turn a corner in Scotland to get on the front
foot, but you have to keep putting yourself up for elections even when you know
that there is little prospect of success.
This by- election could be a primer for the
European election in 2014, at that election in Scotland, people looking at the
UKIP platform could see a swing towards them as they will undoubtedly get in
England.
Will that be enough to get a Scottish seat?
Possibly not but an increased share of the
vote might be achievable if they get a good run at it, and that helps set them
up for future opportunities.
Ideally, they need to start to get councils
seats in Scotland and then use that a lever to get a shot at Westminster, and
Holyrood even if it is by way of the list system.
UKIP’s star is on the rise just as the SNP’s
has started to fade, could they be the new indy party in Scotland?
Not just yet.
Nigel Farage, welcome to Scotland.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow
University
2 comments:
Thanks you for a fair assessment and comment unlike some of those groups who just spout a list of "isms" but are not prepared to debate the issues. At least the small group in Aberdeen were not as rabid as those in Edinburgh and they did at least listen a bit. It is a pity one of them spoiled it (and got himself arrested)by trying to drench Nigel in Coke but missed and soaked someone else.
Dear Peter
I like to think that the blog is fair, truthful and on the money.
Nigel Farage has the right to speak, and many people in Scotland agree with his ideas on the EU.
I think and hope the EU can be fixed but not enough goodwill exists at present for this.
Pity the idea has potential, although the current application leaves a lot to be desired.
People should decide in a referendum.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
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