Why NOT to vote UKIP (part 2)

UKIP AND THE EU

First of all, I just opened a website about UKIP manifesto for the 2015 election to check on what exactly they are saying on this topic. Running down each side of the page, all the way to the bottom (several scrollings down) was the same picture of Nigel Farage in front of the Union Flag mulitiple times. If I had not been put off before, this blatant narcissism would do so for me.

I have just spent the best part of an hour trying to find something about the UKIP manifesto for this election. I found something dating back to 2014, and something that said that there was no UKIP manifesto on Monday, March 2nd. I also tried to find a website www.ukineurope.com/ukip.html but it seems not to exist. Several times my browser could not find it. Not very encouraging

What I have found is set out below:

Firstly, UKIP seems to keep on saying ‘We want out of Europe’, and their main reason is due to immigration. They have very little to say on other matters pertaining to Europe. (See my previous post on this topic.)

Secondly, their economic spokesman, Patrick O’Flynn, has been quoted as saying that the Tories and LibDems are planning a ‘rigged referendum’ on EU membership. There seems to be no evidence produced, and without this it seems like a very dodgy thing to accuse other party leaders of.

Thirdly, they are going on about how much per day the membership is costing Britain. (£55m per day according to UKIP). This is a deliberate misrepresentation of the facts. This is the gross amount that we spend, but we get back nearly half of that in subsidies. This is misrepresentation, deliberately quoting gross and not net payments and is quite unforgivable as it makes the British public think that something is more expensive than it is.

I could find little else that UKIP had to say on the EU, but I think that it would be a grave mistake if we left the EU. There are many reasons why, but I will tacke them another day.

Of course, there are also all the gaffs and things that the UKIP politicians have been getting up to as well, none of which give me much confidence in them as a party. They say ‘Vote UKIP, get UKIP’ but in this election that seems very unlikely. More likely is ‘Vote UKIP, get a hung parliament with the SMP holding the balance of power.’ Nothing against the Scots, but do we in England really want the SMP holding us to ransom? Even without an official coalition, they may still be the ones who end up making our laws.

I will write more about the EU in another blog in the near future. Next week I will post another extract from The Wolf Pack.