UKIP are here.

That is what those Tories frusturated and angry with Ken Clarke's appointment as Shadow Business Secretary should remember. Any Conservative party Leader with a serious eurosceptic streak would not have dreamnt of bringing Ken Clarke into the picture. Indeed former Leader Iain Duncan-Smith did not even publically advocate EU withdrawal, yet was on the receiving end of constant public criticism from the Big Beast. No true Tory Leader with Britain's independence at heart would have resurrected Ken Clarke's frontbench career.

Tories needn't drive themselves up the wall in June. We're not living in the early 90's anymore, there is a credible alternative out there. As I have already blogged, when it comes to June's European Elections, eurosceptics can have their views truly represented by voting UKIP. No europhile filler, just EU killer.

It is now up to UKIP to be professional enough and effective enough to win over disaffected grassroot Tories. Similarly the party now must tempt Tory donors like Stuart Wheeler and Lord Kalms back into our direction so we have the finance to get our message out there. With Nigel Farage as Leader and a young driven team now heading up the party, I believe the party stands a very good chance indeed.

Smaller state forward.

I'm hardly a Thatcherite, but everyone I talk to is now in agreement that the state is vastly oversized and way overfunded by ballooning taxation, via the hated stealth taxes. As Iain Dale points out, the FDP pro-tax cut party have just seen their vote in Hessen rocket by 16%. I believe if the consequences of a less centralised, smaller state (less politicians, less civil servants, greater powers for local government, lower taxes) were put to the people in a calm and coherent manner, the people of this country would also go for it. The Tories won't be doing so anytime soon - so once again UKIP must step forward and continue to do its best to champion such values.

Barack Obama will deliver.

The US election cycle saw me turned from a bitter opponent of Barack Obama to an admirer. At first, I viewed him to be all about the hype and lets face it, the skin colour. The fact that he was billed as America's first potential black President despite him being as equally white as he is black wound me up for a while. As a vehement opponent of the Christian Right in America, the McCain/Palin ticket was never an option for me and so for a while I followed the small, fractured groups in America.

Yet with about a month left in the Presidential campaign, Obama captured my attention and my imagination. Sure, he may not be that proven. I accept that. But what America needs right now is a master in diplomacy, a figure who will heal damaged American relations around the world. That must be the number one priority and with Joe Biden as his VP, legitimate foreign policy experience required to deal with Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and others now stands by Obama.

This speech made yesterday reiterates for me why Obama will be a great President. No, not just his charisma, but his stature. You may dismiss these as material credentials but in a time of economic crisis, a country is much better off with a Leader who carries confidence and you feel really does have a vision for the country. Gordon Brown is not a man I would trust to oversee the cleaning of my room, let alone the governing of my country. I believe in fifty years time Barack Obama will be seen as a calming figure of reassurance and strong leadership during a vital time in America's history as it realises, just as Britain had to, that it could no longer dominate the world. I believe he will pick up the pieces of America's shattered reputation, economic and otherwise, left behind by President Bush. His policies are not perfect, he is not God, but I believe in Barack Obama.

David Cameron is the Tory Leader Ken Clarke never was.

While it may cause those on the right of the Conservative party to wince with pain, it is time for them to face up to a harsh but very real reality: David Cameron is the Tories 21st century version of Ken Clarke. It is for that reason that I am certain Ken Clarke will serve on Team Cameron's front bench.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think Cameron is as pro-EU as Clarke (though there is still plenty of time for the eurocrats to plug away). Nor do I believe that Clarke will necessarily be brought back into the fold during the next reshuffle as is being widely discussed. I'm certain that if it was not for the European Elections in June then Clarke would already have been appointed Shadow Business Secretary. However Cameron will rightfully recognise that with the EU issue coming to the fore once more, and with him finally unable to bury the issue in order to unity his party, the risk involved with a Clarke return become far greater. Labour's star performer at the moment, Peter Mandelson, would quickly grab the newly-resurrected euro issue and attempt to fragment the Tories to pieces with it. Having Clarke in such a high profile, key role during the current economic period, it would be hard to see how even 'Not Banging On About Europe' Dave could steer the ship steadily through that storm. I am sure it is a storm he does not want to encounter unless absolutely necessary as the polls show him to be building a considerable lead over Labour.

On the other hand though, I believe that Cameron is a great personal admirer of Ken Clarke. Clarke has long represented the Cameron-type of conservatism. In the 2005 leadership election Ken Clarke marketed himself as "the original moderniser". Unfortunately for him there was a newer wannabe moderniser on the scene and the Tories opted for David Cameron, who was not just a moderniser, but a modern man. Far and away from David Davis' message instructing Tories to "walk tall" and not apologise for what it had done in the past, as well as Liam Fox's decisively eurosceptic sentiments, both Clarke and Cameron focused heavily on winning over Labour and Liberal Democrat voters by pushing the party forward as one of One Nation and "compassionate" conservatism. The only real tangible differences between the two were Cameron's supposedly eurosceptic positioning (more on this later) and his greater emphasis on youth. The second of which, lets face it, Cameron was going to push as a key part of his campaign by default.

In reality I believe Cameron has proved himself even less on the right of the Tory party since taking the leadership. Some who backed him were bitterly disappointed over his decision to end support of grammar schools. Like Ken Clarke, Cameron, until recently, refused to commit to any tax cuts, oddly creating a scenario whereby the Liberal Democrats became the sole advocates aong the BigThree for a cut in taxation. David Cameron has also been criticised on the issue of the European Union by the very same wealthy donors who were busy attacking Ken Clarke's leadership bid. On the issue of the EPP, Cameron of course spat in the face of eurosceptics like Daniel Hannan who backed him by reneging on his promise to take the party out. More than that, while Cameron has not been as openly europhile as Ken Clarke, he has willingly allowed the issue of the Lisbon Treaty to linger needlessly on by refusing to promise a retrospective referendum if the Treaty is in force before the Tories come to power. This would hardly require great euroscepticism: Cameron and his team rightfully point out that Labour were elected on a manifesto to grant such a referendum, yet they refuse themselves to right this potential wrong. The final evidence of Cameron's Clarke-like love of all things europhile was the recent MEP selection process which protected existing MEPs, promoted females and ensured that no genuine new eurosceptic faces were anywhere near the top of the lists.

Clarke was a Cameroon long before the term meant a thing. The blokey every-man Tory who was supposedly a straight down the middle sort of chap who rarely got flustered by any issue and instead focused on moderate values on a centre-ground ticket. There are not too many genuinely of this ilk in the Conservative party at the minute outside of Cameron's Eton allies, though Cameron will do his best to drop the old guard in his party like a bad habit and bring in more Ken Clarke's of the future, like perhaps Shaun Bailey. While those who detest such a comparison in the Tory party will of course focus on the Big Beast's greater enthusiasm of the EU, there can be little doubt Cameron is no Iain Duncan-Smith on the issue. And if his approach and stances on other issues are anything to go by, the Tories are backing a Leader who is privately far closer to Ken Clarke's way of thinking on the issue than they are willing to sit down and logically comprehend. I accept that Cameron is not as vehemetly fanatic in his support of the EU, but please do not credit him as anything but the most shallow of eurosceptic, with the potential there for a fully fledged europhile. While the polls might look extremely attractive right now, the realities of a Cameron government will quickly kick-in and will end up being by far the closest thing to a would-be Ken Clarke government the Conservatives have ever produced, with the Big Beast himself overseeing its management.

If you're eurosceptic, elect eurosceptics.

This post over at ConservativeHome really says it all about the Tory stance on the European Union. It reads rather sadly, as anti-EU grassroots Tories make incomprehensible, mixed up claims in an attempt to convince themselves as much as anyone that the Conservatives once elected will fight for Britain's independence from the EU. Unfortunately for them, the Conservative Party, when it comes to European Elections, are obsolete. If you are europhile then you can vote Labour, if you are euro-fanatic then you can vote Liberal Democrat and if you want send MEPs to Brussels who will stand up for Britain's interests then you can vote UKIP.
The most commonly used argument by anti-EU Tories (of whom there are are lots) is that the Tory contingent includes legitimate and credible eurosceptics Daniel Hannan, Roger Helmer and Syed Kamall. These however are merely 3 MEPs from the 27 strong contingent of Tories that were elected in 2004 and for Tory activists to believe the three are viewed as anything but looney mavericks by the leadership of their party are deluded. The likes of Hannan, just like MPs like Douglas Carswell, have had their day in the Tory Party. Libertarians and Better Off Outers have no long term future in a Party which is copying the New Labour project of 1997 - a project which is still going strong some 12 years later. Pure conservatives - just like pure socialists in the Labour party - will be viewed as annoying and unwelcome fundamentalists. This feeling will only increase once Cameron becomes Prime Minister as I believe he will.

The Tory contingent in Brussels is already far more europhile than many Conservative Party members realise, or perhaps they are trying to turn away from the truth that is staring them in the face. UKIP MEPs are well known to pull their hair out at the actions of MEPs like Geoffrey Van Orden who talk tough while on British soil, but then strangely become plainly europhile during the flight over to Brussels. Recently Christopher Beazley, a Tory MEP since 1999, has begun saying what he really thinks now that he won't be standing for election in 2009. His outbursts (here and here) are far from isolated sentiment among the Conservative Party, either.

While it may be another comfortable delusion for Tory members to believe that David Cameron's failure to live up to his promise of leaving the federalist EPP was due to his lack of backbone, it was more down to the consequence. Yes, Cameron has indeed annoyed a handful of Conservative MEPs, but the number of strongly pro-EPP MEPs under Cameron tops a dozen. You can be sure that if Cameron does ever withdraw the party from the EPP, which I personally do not think he ever will, it will be straight into a group that seeks to deceive members as being eurosceptic rather than actually delivering any measureable change in Tory attitude.

My point is this: while anti-EU Tory activists and supporters may see UKIP as a threat, in reality we are their party now. The Conservatives under David Cameron will never leave the EU. They will never threaten to leave the EU. They may perhaps pay the issue a little more lip service and use slightly tougher language when discussing the issues. But the end game will be the same. The EU is not an issue that I believe will drift on for decades more. A federal European superstate is being built and if we do not leave soon then we will be part of it. Indeed, we are already partly consumed by the beast that champions supranationalism wherever it can and wherever it dare; 80% of our laws now come directly from Brussels. The EU issue is more important than party loyalty, sound bites or cheap point scoring. Those who believe in an independent sovereign Britain need to look past the rosette and branding and elect MEPs who will oppose the European Union whenever they can. For goodness sake, if you are a eurosceptic then vote for a eurosceptic party. If you want your views accurately reflected in the EU's clown Parliament, then vote UKIP. No other party will deliver.

Double standards, invisible coverage.

Whatever you may think about the Heathrow third runway issue, no one can doubt the principle behind John McDonnell's recent protest on behalf of his constituents.

The BBC has given the issue huge coverage as have all of the BigThree, which is fair enough. Airport expansion is a big issue on which I am yet to be totally decided, though I do think that many more runways will have to be put in place regardless of the environmental impact if the projected growth of the UK's population is at all accurate (an extra 4.4m in 7 years time).

What is absolutely disgusting however, is how coverage of an EU declaration partly concearning the environment has been almost completely ignored in the very same week.

The travelling circus of the EU Parliament's 785 MEPs is well documented. MEPs go from Brussels to Strasbourg and back again every month for no reason apart from a clause the French squeezed into the Treaty of Amsterdam (to ensure the EU wouldn't run away, presumably).

And while the European Union has been aggressive in imposing climate change targets on member states, only 268 of the required 393 MEPs saw fit to sign a declaration which would have given the EU's Mickey Mouse Parliament one home. This would simply have no longer made it necessary for 785 MEPs and eurocrats along with their staff and their luggage to travel across from Brussels to Strasbourg and back again every month.

One can only wonder why so many MEPs wanted to continue waste time and create contribute pollution. They almost unanimously claim to both opposed to both when the immediate consequences do not effect them. As is well documented however, it probably comes down to the money they can skim off the top when it comes to flights. Sad, but true.

Race is no longer a black and white issue.

A huge deal is likely to be made over video footage of Prince Harry referring to a fellow soldier, thought to be a friend of Harry's, as a paki. Sorry, but this is far more complex than Harry spouting racist language.

As a young man who has been educated in what was one of the worst state secondary schools in the country, that saw few of my class mates achieve five A to C grades, as well as attending one of the very best state sixth forms in the country, I have come into contact with people from an extremely wide range of backgrounds. This is key to the issue in my opinion. What I don't think most British people realise is the hugely varying degree of values among our society, of which race is a solid example. I have been in the presence of white middle class prats who spout off racist remarks (which I slapped them down for as they were using the remarks maliciously) who have rarely come into contact with those from other races, shielded by their almost exclusively white private education. This lot will end up running the country. Similarly I know working class black and asian lads who use words like "nigga" and "paki" in a relaxed social manner with their white mates.

At University now I know people from urban areas - inner city London for example - who, once you developed a relationship with them, would not bat an eyelid to the word paki as long as it was not used in an overly aggressive or malicious manner. These people can be of any race. Another block of young people are those who have been raised in more rural surroundings or who have perhaps been less socially active in their earlier years. These sorts of people tend to be interested in religion and politics. They would be horrified at the use of the word paki in any context and certainly do not use it themselves. They also struggle to understand why anyone who was asian would use the word. These are the journos of tomorrow. Again, people of this variety cannot be specified by race. Whilst I am hugely generalising here, it is a generalisation I have found to be accurate. What can best be described as the "cool", street-wise kids of my generation are in most scenarios so far past the issue of race that they see the "n" and indeed the "p" word as street lingo and joking language rather than anything harmful - though this only really applies when people they can identify with use these words. Naturally, I am one of these cool cats, and there are certainly few of us who will blog, stand for election or even vote.

This makes the whole story a very complex one for me, and one which highlights a few things which are going on in Britain. Whilst there will be outrage directed towards the potential future King of the country in the papers, what will the typical response be among many working class lads and ladies? Probably a claim, if quizzed, that they are hardly surprised he is racist - he is after all upper class and white. I differ from my default cool cat status on this one, as I recognise that Harry was not being malicious or nasty, but a prat for ever saying such a word given his Prince status and the responsibility this brings. This group of people though, from my experience, are in fact the least likely to give a damn about the press - apart from the sports pages and possibly page three. Which brings us to the real meat of the issue: who now do the media broadly stand up for in terms of values? I'd have to say that, particularly for the more populist papers like The Sun and the News of the World where the Prince Harry story appears, they represent a much more middle-aged crowd than they would like to think, more Mark the Builder than Jay the DJ. With the advent of the internet and the likes of MSN Messenger and Facebook, your average young person has enough going on in their lives without feeling any real need to force their way through a viewing of BBC News or read a newspaper. This has lead to, if you like, a breakdown in communication between the majority of young people and the generations above us.

I dunno, I haven't been alive for long, perhaps this has always been the case? What I do know is that whilst some young people are involved in politics, they seem largely to be well-off anoraks with very little life experience or knowledge of the values of an ordinary young man or woman. That's fine, but as I noted earlier, they are largely part of one – minority - group of youngsters. I'm not sure that that is common knowledge. Whilst I and the many other young people I know like me will never forget about the disgusting history of racism across the world and here in Great Britain, as well as its dangerous scumbag remnants that remain here today, we are mostly past that. We have moved on and are colour blind as Martin Luther wanted us to be. Some celebrity Prince figure saying the word paki ain't gonna stir much, and the reaction isn't going to be defined by skin colour.

The polls are positive for UKIP.

The first European Election poll by YouGov has UKIP on some 7%. Whilst on the surface this may not seem spectacular, it gives the party a much more solid starting point than it has previously enjoyed. The polling indicates that despite what the neo-Nazis say, they are not going to surge. Furthermore, 16% of those polled want to leave the EU altogether - the vast majority of whom will see no point in voting for any other anti-EU outfit once UKIP gets its campaign up and running.

Perhaps more important than all of this however, is that on top of the 16% who realise that leaving the EU is the only option, some 48% of those polled want a "much looser" relationship with the EU. This sentiment typically is a result of scare stories that talk of an independent Britain being a Britain that can no longer trade with our European neighbours. However a YouGov poll in 2004 showed UKIP's potential to bypass these mistruths. The poll firstly showed UKIP in fourth place when voting intention was asked plainly. However, when a second question was asked, which clearly stated that UKIP was the only non-racist party which would withdraw from the EU and scrap EU immigration laws, UKIP polled 25%, higher than any other party. UKIP came first.

In other words, if UKIP can put together an effective, well-funded campaign which clearly states that only our position can viably appease that 48%, the sky really is the limit. Only 22% of those polled wanted continued full EU membership - a position shared by all of the BigThree who are different only in their rhetoric. The media and political players in Westminster have all set out to ignore and discredit UKIP up until now. They better hope that they are ready for the beast which is about to be unleashed - a beast which is going to be representing public opinion on the EU like nobody else.

A practical approach.

One of the main issues which has in recent years shown the BigThree to be unanimously detatched from sentiment among regular citizens was the "green" issue. Notice how the talk of green taxes has died down as the recession has come. I'm sure the excuses are that the economic game has changed and so must their approach to "solving" global warming. Yet these are the same people who claim that global warming is going to destroy our planet in a matter of decades if we do not swallow their solutions, so I don't see why the topic would ever take a backseat to anything.

The answer of course, is that the BigThree treat the green issue just as they treat the EU issue. They attempt to pay lip-service wherever possible to boost their popularity, and ignore it the rest of the time. To this end I have some sympathy for the Green Party, as their cause has effectively hijacked and bastardised by the trendy Westminster elite who have made it their own. Personally I am undecided on the issue of global warming, leaning towards a position of not buying the hype whilst accepting that something needs to be done in terms of renewable energy.
So too though, do UKIP.

As the BigThree turn their attention to scoring points on economic matters, UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom has highlighted the issue of energy in a direct and clear manner:



Hear, hear. What Britain needs is more politicians who have clarity in their principle and adopt a pragmatic approach. No doubt Cameron and his ilk will soon flood back to the green issue whenever they see the opportunity to gain political advantage - which, as Godfrey mentions, is likely to occur when they all realise we are approaching an energy crisis which is going to effect the amount of electricity we all have access to. But UKIP will continue to advocate a wide range of beliefs on a wide range of subjects for one reason: because those who represent the party simply say what they believe.

The white working class: a political football.

In recent days the likes of Hazel Blears and The Telegraph have come out and pointed that the white working class feel mistreated and unheard.

Of course this topic of debate was triggered in the Westminster Village the same way as most discussion seems to be nowadays - via a report. There was a time when the findings of this report would have been common sense, when the term "white working class" was actually a decent description of some Labour MPs, and indeed when Tory MPs from humble beginnings like David Davis also had a degree of say. Unfortunately Parliament seems to be crammed with those who have either been to private, grammar or independent schools. Indeed we look set to have both an Eton-educated London Mayor and an Eton-educated Prime Minister. That can't be right. This, while at the same time, none of the BigThree advocate the national revival of grammar schools, the only educational system which gives all working class kids the opportunity of a decent standard of education. Just to highlight the level of support for this system, a YouGov poll in 2007 revealed than 49% of respondents saw a system based around the 11 plus exam system as the best way to produce the best education for most children, with the next highest option coming in at just 20% (and that was “don’t know”).

That is not to say that those from well-off backgrounds and who are well educated do not have their place in Parliament. Far from it. But a Parliament and more specifically, an accomplished party and government must have representatives driving policy from all backgrounds who are a wealth of different real life experiences. That is the key to this entire recent flare-up. It is fine and dandy for Hazel Blears to point out that how much of the white working class feel. Yet after some timid debate between the BigThree, no real options will be put forward to solve the feeling of resentment which is starting to spill over into political extremism. Instead the issue will merely be used as a political football with point scoring taking place as Brown and Cameron seek to prove that their party really understands and would really change things. In reality, neither will, as this issue is somewhat controversial and requires decisive thinking that is radically apart from anything that Brown or Cameron want to be associated with. I admit it is easy to throw stones on such issues, so I shall list three proposals I would put forward as a white working class man myself in order to ease the feeling of anger among the white working class:

-Stop unlimited EU immigration. In the past few years it is estimated that over 1,000,000 citizens have come to the UK from Poland alone. I myself have worked with many of them. They are honest and incredibly hard working people. I would advocate a points based work permit system which would let a workforce into the UK which the UK economy required. This is a system used by Australia and when my cousin recently went to go and work over there, he had to prove himself a useful addition to the country to be let in on a one year visa. He will regularly have to re-apply to extend his stay, and if the economic situation means that my cousin is putting an Australian citizen out of work, the government can refuse his visa and request he leave. That is not racism, it is common sense. Of course, this can only be achieved by the UK re-establishing her borders, which means withdrawal from the European Union.

-The re-introduction of grammar schools for inner city kids to work towards getting into. The lowest achieving demographic in England academically, aside from children from the travelling community, are now working class white boys and white girls. This has gone on relatively unmentioned in the political mainstream but is a reality which highlights not just family background and criminal culture, but the poor standard of education in many predominantly white areas. There are massive problems for non-white youngsters too of course, but remember I'm talking about addressing the concerns of the white working class exclusively here.

-Political correctness must be destroyed. There are several ways of doing this, none of them very drastic at all. Top of the list of priorities, the white working class must feel free to flaunt their identity if they wish. They must feel they can be proud to be British and display a Union Jack on their window without being associated with neo-Nazis. Unfortunately the far-right have infected British politics as they are seen by a growing section of the white working class as the only group who are patriotic and stand up for the flag. These people are in fact racist but hide their prejudices and play off of people's fears. There is no grand conspiracy among the non-white or non-British community in the UK. Many non-white people are proud to be British and have the exact same concerns about immigration as whites do - but certain presumptions have stopped inter-racial communication to a devastating level in some areas of the country. The last time I went to Birmingham white, black and asian cabbies alike all had the Union Jack displayed on the back of their cabbies. This is a country somewhat segregated, but far less apart in values and concerns than the far-right would have the white working class believe. I personally know people of all races who agree with everything I have talked about above. We must not let the far-right lead some to believe otherwise. We must not repress debate.

Those are just three very brief ideas I believe in and three ideas I know that only UKIP champion. One of the most dangerous developments in recent years is the slow but steady growth of white working class resentment and anger spilling over into out-and-out racism. I consider myself apart of one race; the human one. And yet under a Labour government, I can say objectively that those in white areas have been seen to have had to "fend for themselves". Hazel Blears and her fellow Labour MPs are never likely to do anything about this, their party is too far afloat from the island of sanity where ordinary people live. It is up to UKIP in my eyes, to champion all British citizens of all races equally. If we do not, the white working class will continue to be ignored and continue to grow angry. The result will be extremism and upset. And no decent British citizen wants that.

The Conservatives' EU line is out of fashion.

With the European Elections suddenly on everybody's mind, The Torygraph yesterday gave Shadow Defence Secretary Dr. Liam Fox an opportunity to continue his party's push as a eurosceptic choice. Instead though Fox's column simply exposed the Tories to be more "lost a grip" than "hip".

His criticism was aimed mainly at the claim Gordon Brown made about the Lisbon Treaty not affecting defence, rightly asserting that in actual fact it would. This type of Tory criticism, especially on the EU, is common: point out the problems but go nowhere near providing the only real solution that there is. In this case, withdrawal from the entire EU project.

The big difference now though seems to be that many more people seem to be realising that what the Tories have constantly insisted is a "hardline" position, is actually the only way to stop areas of defence being taken over by the EU. Credit to Liam Fox - he did bring up the topic of EU withdrawal during his leadership bid and is probably the most eurosceptic member of David Cameron's front bench - but his argument and his party's position is ripped to shreds in the comments section.

David Cameron has obviously been advised not to talk about the EU in order to maintain party unity up until now. But from now until June, his attitude towards the EU matters and will be under scrutiny. I suspect he is going to stay as timid as he has been up until now in an attempt to try and please everyone. If that is the case, expect UKIP to hammer the Tory vote in June as millions of Tory eurosceptics vent their frusturation and vote to send MEPs to Brussels who are honestly and unashamedly representing their views: that they wish for Britain to once again be a self-governing nation.

2009 will be the year of UKIP.

No one in the media or on the blogosphere is rating UKIP as having much of a chance in the European Elections in this new year of 2009. From The Guardian right across the political spectrum to The Daily Mail, the party's chances are either being downplayed or downright ignored. Some are pushing the Euro Elections as a run-off between Labour and the Conservative Party, with the result acting as a poll of opinion for the General Election which is mostly likely to take place some time in 2010. Others fear, as we all should, that there will be a BNP advance. I predict what is actually going to transpire is going to both terrify and stun the politicians, pundits and journalists alike, as UKIP add numbers to the 12 MEPs it scored in 2004.

There is no doubt that since 2004 UKIP has had its fair share of problems. The party was de-stabilised in 2004 when Britain's biggest ego Kilroy had to be shown the door, and went on to create, lead and quit the pathetic Veritas. Two other MEPs elected under the UKIP banner in 2004 have since been found out to be deceptive and stripped of the UKIP whip. More recently the Electoral Commission sought to swipe £300k off of the paty after donor Alan Bown made an honest mistake and forgot to get himself on the electoral register in 2005 despite being on it in 2004 and 2006. The result was a court case that ruled Alan Bown's money would not be confiscated, though an appeal has been put in by the Electoral Commission.

The party arguably gets the rawest deal from the media in all of British politics. UKIP are pro-European, pro-globalization and passionately anti-racism from the grassroots all the way up to the leadership. What's more the party has an increasing raft of libertarian-leaning domestic policies that are quite the departure from the social democratic consensus of the Big Three. Yet the media, at best, wrongly refer to us as an anti-European single issue party, and at worst, a xenophobic, isolationist, dangerous far-right cocktail of prejudice. There are of course reasons for this; politics is full of alliances, deals and self interest and the mainstream media sphere almost unanimously backs either a pro-EU, closet pro-euro party (Labour) or a party which is very sensitive when it comes to its lack of eurosceptic credentials (the Conservatives). Yet aside from a few notable exceptions (Simon Heffer), the party is brushed aside as meaningless, aimless and irrelevant at a time when turnout at elections is amongst its lowest in history. Just as an example of the media bias UKIP face, The Times was forced earlier this year to admit in court that their claim that Nigel Farage employed his son was unfounded and for some reason decided not even to report the fact that the party had its first MP when Bob Spink joined.

Yet despite that, the party has been plodding along and plugging away. Strongholds are beginning to develop locally for a party that has only recently began to take local elections seriously. Hartlepool and Newcastle-under-Lyme now have multiple UKIP Councillors and UKIP looks a good bet to finish second in Bootle at the next General Election, where superb young, newly-appointed 32 year-old Chairman Paul Nuttall has built an Association out of nothing. The party has representation in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, has launched a youth wing - Young Independence - which has began to recruit young members at Universities, high profile EU whistleblower Martha Andreasen has become party Treasurer and is second on the South East list for UKIP in the European Elections and wealthy Tory eurosceptic donors like Stuart Wheeler have admitted to being impressed by Nigel Farage. It has been far from all bad news in UKIP land.

What's more the European Elections this year guarantee UKIP good coverage at the very least, on the BBC, who are obliged to do so given that UKIP are the current "third party" going into the election, having beaten the Liberal Democrats nationally in 2004. Love him or hate him, few can deny that face-to-camera Nigel Farage is one of the best in all of British politics (I personally would say THE best) and he is going to be busy advocating a position of pro-trade but anti-political union which is shown to have greater support now than it did in 2004.

Ultimately the reason I believe that UKIP, despite the doubters and haters, will do well in June is for the very same reason I became a member in the first place: it is the only party with clear and honest intentions when it comes to the EU. The electorate have had enough of being treat like mugs, and the Tory line is outdated and confused. For those angry and frusturated with the EU, including many card-carrying Tories, a party which is in the euro-federalist EPP, has an MEP openly call for the euro and has an "in Europe but not run by Europe" policy which has been proven time and again to be complete twaddle, is not a party they are going to vote for when it comes to voting purely on the EU issue. The European Election is there for UKIP to win.