Opinion

Time for swivel eyed loons? UKIP – to be or not to be?

So the Tea Party staged a rather ambiguous coup d’état attempt that bechanced Obama’s front line in 2010. Cutting a long story short, the US economy had hit the wall and the stimulus package put forward by Barack Obama had seen it’s short term promise thrown back out of Congress and right back on it’s backside. The Democrats had lost their chutzpah and their mettle that promised so much in 2008. The consequence? Obama lost Congress, the majority once held so strongly by the Democrats had been usurped by a cerebral and radical Tea Party. Claiming values derivative directly from constitutional values focused on regenerating the Republican Party, they lost the 2012 election by a large majority.

Quite remarkably, yet rather frighteningly, something very familiar appears to happening in Blighty. Step forward UKIP. Their victory in the local council elections in April sent a frightening reminder through the halls of Westminster that the right are rising, and fast. Backbenchers revolting and a lackadaisical leadership is the embarrassing state of the Conservatives. But this isn’t new. Historically Labour and the Tories have both had their fair share of fractious MP’s, in particular Gordon Brown, whose leadership suffered from numerous acts of defiance and attempted coups.

Inter-party arguments are common and dealt with rather easily. David Cameron doesn’t just face infighting and unease amongst the grassroots, but a different kettle of fish altogether – he doesn’t know who is boss. Attacks from inside the party, from the press all seem to be destabilising Dave. From the swivel eyed loon debacle to the uproar over gay marriage, losing his core voters will surely see grim reaper make his way to Downing Street. Enter side stage British politics very own court jester, Nigel Farage – an enigma turned deceitful and unscrupulous rogue headset on grabbing the core of the Conservative party and taking it back to it’s dark ages. To be fair to Cameron, he has tried to reform an archaic party and bring it to the modern day; Farage’s main target markets are those who Cameron has disenfranchised. Just like the Tea Party Patriots, Farage is linking mainstream politics to the daily lives of those no longer feeling loved by the Tories; whether it’s fabricating the effects of leaving the EU, a freeze on immigration…what else is there? Nothing. He’s just a mumbling buffoon with a pint in one hand and a little white stick in another. A true swivel eyed loon.

Taking the lead from the Tea Party, the UKIP tactics have seen short-term gains. Their visionary right-wing belligerents contributed somewhat significantly to the 2012 GOP strategy. Back at home, Farage’s merry band of loons are hell-bent on reshaping the Tory ethos in 2015, vocally drumming their tosh in those silly enough to give them their time through their very own ventriloquist dummies and ex-Tory stooges, Michael Portillo and Nigel Lawson.  They have given a big two fingers up to Cameron’s supposed ‘socialist’ policies. To the classicists and their activists, many belonging to an older generation, a return to politics smeared with tradition gives the UK it’s best chance of reforming itself in to a stronger and more forceful country.

The British public don’t vote for radicals; they don’t take risks on the untried. Centre politics is the battleground; do you go slightly left or slightly right? Do you stay dead centre? The increasing number of young voters are heralding in a new generation that is tasked to clean up the mess left behind my it’s predecessors. Many of them come from diverse backgrounds, different ethnicities, religions, creeds, sexualities all with their own agenda and wishes. UKIP are at risk of losing their own core through chopping and rehashing it’s backwards policies despite their surge. Meanwhile, the Tories have a chance to claim the centre ground to secure the majority it so desires in 2015. Let’s just hope the swivel eyed loon’s don’t take centre stage.

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