UKIP (2)

The anti-E.U., anti-immigrant, U.K. Independence Party harvested almost 4 million votes in the recent U.K. general election, but won only one seat. Since then, it has gone into a downward spiral.

The problem is that UKIP is essentially a 1-man show, namely the blokeish Nigel Farage. He rather foolishly said that he would resign the leadership of the party if he failed to get elected to Parliament. Mr. Farage was already a member of the European Parliament, having been elected under proportional representation rules, but Britain's first-past-the-post electoral system is less forgiving. He didn't win in Thanet South, and so offered to resign. But who should (or could) replace him? A panicky party leadership begged him to stay on, but the process revealed deep splits within the party, between those who want more of Mr. Farage (i.e. a party run from the top) and those who want less (i.e. a party that listens more to those 4 million voters).

British political parties, unlike their continental counterparts tend to be "broad churches", encompassing a wide spectrum of views. However, the quid pro quo for this is that policy differences have to be debated internally, following which a united front is placed before the electorate. Parties that are seen to have disunity are punished heavily. Unless UKIP sort themselves out in a hurry, that will also be their fate.

Walter Blotscher