Eamonn reported the UKIP victory in the bye-election at Clacton giving them their first victory at the polling booths but as important was their narrowly being beaten by the Labour party at Heywood and Middleton where they lost by just a few hundred votes, thumping the Conservatives into third place.
UKIP won at Clacton and won easily, taking 60% of the vote and a majority of more than 12,000 and victorious winner Douglas Carswell, who had called the election by stepping down at MP for the Conservatives and enjoys huge local popularity, was all embracing in his victory speech:
We must be a party for all Britain and all Britons, first and second generation as much as every other
And that’s the interesting point as I see it.. UKIP is now being regarded in some quarters as a party of the people with its “man of the people” beer swilling, bacon buttie chewing Nigel Farage at the head of the charge.
Nigel – Mine’s a pint or three – Farage
With the electorate long having had only a two/three party option, and last time undecided enough to warrant a coalition for the first time in generations, UKIP is making strides at broadening its church and indeed its manifesto from being just an anti-EU and controlled/limited immigration party.
Ok, so no one is expecting them to get any significant number of seats at next year’s general election but last night’s victory was a landmark one which now gives them greater credibility. When push comes to shove voters/homo sapiens are naturally conservatively minded but with the UK populace becoming more and more divided who knows where this might take us. UKIP holding the balance of power ? Who would have thought it just a couple of years ago.
I’ve got no axe to grind here and remain a-political but I do think we are witnessing a sea change which means next year’s election will be more keenly contested than before, and that means an uncertain outlook for the UK. And there’s another bye-election coming up following another Tory defection last month.
The latest YouGov poll has the oppostion Labour party now in the lead again (Con 30%, Lab 35%, LD 9%, UKIP 15%) and we know that investors hate uncertainty so we can attribute some of the pound’s losses this morning to the events of last night, and this political hot potato will continue right up until next May and beyond.
Just something else to throw into the mix.
