United Kingdom Independence Party takes over, more or less, as the UK's third largest party (racism, parties)

[VTHokieFan]

I would argue they are the second party in the UK, but alas they don't have any seats in Parliament. Above all, they basically destroyed the Conservatives this evening. Way to go UKIP

For Liberty!

BBC News - Local elections: UKIP makes gains as Tories defend council strongholds

[The Dark Enlightenment]

The tide continues to turn against mass immigration in Europe.

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by The Dark Enlightenment

The tide continues to turn against mass immigration in Europe.

This party is much more normal than the British National Party and serves as an excellent alternative to the Tories and Labour.

[Kenneth-Kaunda]

at least they are trying to control immigration, which is a good thing, but they seem a little right wing for my tastes

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by Kenneth-Kaunda

at least they are trying to control immigration, which is a good thing, but they seem a little right wing for my tastes

I just think it's shocking the shorts of benefits an immigrant who has never ever paid tax in the UK can get. I mean the US has its issues, but in the UK, benefits are ridiculous

[Kenneth-Kaunda]

yep, it's 3 months residency in UK then you can get most benefits.

ie: Welfare, free medical, housing etc..

So IMO it's not at all racist to complain about this.

July 1 - Croatia joins the line for freebies.

ever wondered why there are no jobs for young UK youth or it takes 2 hrs in the Post Office to get anything

kick the immigrants out if you ask me!

[Jaggy001]

It would be a mistake to read too much into this. Council elections and by-elections are often used as an opportunity to send a message to the government. It is very common for a government to suffer major losses in these elections and it is quite common for minor parties to do well in them. What they are not, and have never been, are an accurate gauge as to how the electorate will vote in a general election.

[The Dark Enlightenment]

...as if the only reason to support more restrictive immigration policies is racism.

[summers73]

It takes on average 3.7 minutes for a typical European to apply Godwin's Rule when discussing politics.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by VTHokieFan

I would argue they are the second party in the UK, but alas they don't have any seats in Parliament. Above all, they basically destroyed the Conservatives this evening. Way to go UKIP

For Liberty!

BBC News - Local elections: UKIP makes gains as Tories defend council strongholds

They'll end up with about 20% of the seats and not even in the governing coalition so how is that taking over? Further more most of the seats they will have will be at large seats (instead of district seats) and that means they're unsafe and only as good as their last election results so unless they can keep their percentage of the vote up they will lose all of their seats. In the UK what you want to do is build up your base in district seats because those are the secure seats which last more than one election cycle.