Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon, and wise too late- Benjamin Franklin






UKIP: Change of Approach

Saying no would be wrong, but then so would me saying yes. UKIP have no doubt risen from the outside racist party David Cameron claimed they were 6 years ago. But to say that they were a leading party for the election would be a step too far, in my opinion.

Well, its safe to say that UKIP have stolen the headlines this week. To have a party conference and get such a high level of popularity shows you mean business, but also shows that Labour have been humiliated, and the Conservatives are in hot water.

With the General Election next year, UKIP are clearly going out guns blazing with announcements such as reducing income tax from 40p to 35p if you earn up to £55,000 a year. Or that you'll now have to pay if you earn £13,500 a year, sounds all splendid and wonderful, doesn't it? Well the gain of 2 Conservative MP's clearly justifies this, does it?

Nigel Farage: Who will be laughing in office in 2015?

 They have gained a lot of influence, emphasised in their succes in the EU Parliament election, yet their policies have been strongly based on immigration and Britain's stance in the EU. So much so, that it is only now (8 months before the General Election) that they start showing the country their "other" policies and ideologies.

 It seems too little, too late compared to other parties, such as the Conservatives, who have been justifying their financial role in the aftermath of the triple dip recession. The same could be said for Labour, who have looked for reforms in welfare, particularly in the NHS. So UKIP have left themselves standing on one leg after the EU Parliamentary elections, in my opinion. Gone are the days of haggling other parties in hope of gaining cheap votes, but hopefully justify strong ideologies, with strong policies. But they won't have the time to gain much more influence before the General Election, meaning they won't get into Downing Street... Yet.






Jordan Ifield