Do you know anyone in real life who votes for UKIP?

[puddingsforsandy]

And if so, do you judge them?

If you're a UKIP supporter yourself, are you happy to declare it in public/at work?

I haven't yet (well I think!) meet anyone who votes for this party. Someone from FB linked something from UKIP FB page disagreeing with it. This lead me to their page. The supporters of this party come across as thick (going by the FB page)

I can't believe this is the same party that was lead by that talk show host. Silk something.

Anyway that's my opinion but my questions above still stand.
Thanks.

Loads and loads of UKIP supporters round here. People don't generally go round declaring their party choices (or make a big deal of it) but I know loads who are happy to say they support UKIP. And it seems to be growing fast. It is historically a very strong Tory area though and a lot of Tory voters seem to be going over to UKIP.

I don't judge them any more than I judge anyone who likes something I disagree with! There are bits of the UKIP view which do make sense and there are bits which are awful. There are bits of the other parties views that make sense and bad bits too.

I do wonder if most UKIP voters are doing it more to make a statement or because they feel desperate for the more mainstream parties to wake up to their concerns about overcrowding, EU rule etc. They are not bad people - just desperate to wake up the other parties I think. Certainly the people I know who vote UKIP are not bad people.

Secretly we probably all judge those who vote differently to us - I know in the past I have secretly judged those who voted labour and tory depending on my choice that year (I am not a loyal voter!). I would definately judge a tory voter at the moment in the same way I would judge a UKIP voter.

I don't think it's all about UKIP and their policies, either.

Voters are desperate for a real alternative, a proper opposition because the three main parties are varying shades of the same thing.

The people who don't vote are mostly lazy bastards. Nothing to do with being conscientious objectors.

I'm not so sure that will be true in the next election. I was talking about this with friends, and we all agreed we will struggle to vote next time.

I am always a voter but I may well be writing "none of the above" at next general election.

Yep, bestfriend is (She voted BNP a few years back) and a work colleage who has told her children's friends to vote for them.

I don't believe either are racist; first friend has mixed-race kids & second has parents who are immigrants. I think they are scared of the unknown.

I won't be voting for UKIP.

My local labour party is run by Unite the union.

As will I, ghostly.

minifingers I support services for the very young but we need some wealth creation to pay for them. Labour just didn't look after the dull but necessary parts of running a country, like ensuring power production, trying to minimise debt, encouraging industry (apart from banking).

I don't think they are any worse than any of the two main parties - don't see lib dem as a main party as they have such a small minority of supporters and im sure UKIP would wipe the floor with lib dem if it was only a vote between these two parties.

None of the politicians seem to care about the ordinary people of this country - they don't stick to their manifestos so they basically lie to get you to vote for them then do what they want. MPs are meant to represent what their constituents want but im sure 9 out of voters have never seen their MP nor will they have they heard anything at all from them - since I have moved out of my parents house 15 years ago I have never once had any MP from any party at my door nor have I had any propaganda from (I don't know anyone in my area who has) - so much for them being out there speaking to their constituents.

shysters the lot of them!

I absolutely judge people for their political choices if they're as extreme as wanting to vote for UKIP.

A manager where I worked did and was as thick as two short planks. I remember once having to explain to him why you should never look directly at the sun and he didn't believe me (and refused to google it).

His hatred of anyone other than a white privileged male was quite apparent in his snide little comments about brown people, immigrants, etc.

I just hated him because he was a total wanker.

The people who don't vote are mostly lazy bastards. Nothing to do with being conscientious objectors. Do not agree with this at all.

I have always voted since I was 18 (now 50) but probably won't next time. I don't agree with the policies of any of the main parties, and those they all used at the last election they reneged on. Every single one.

I often wonder whether the MNetters so keen to insist that immigration is a Good Thing are far removed from the problems it causes. If you are looking for a minimum-wage level job, what hope have you got against people willing to work for nothing? But with a degree and A levels you aren't in competition with them. Similarly housing etc.

My DD goes to a school with 40% FSM. So it isn't oversubscribed and gets all the newcomers. We've had this term 7 new children (one-form entry school) ALL of whom are recent immigrants (from a variety of countries including Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and elsewhere). Yes they integrate and they eventually learn English. But they take resources away from the rest of the school in the meantime. Nothing against any of them individually, but it's the cumulative effect.

I do know someone - it was a "protest vote". They only knew about their immigration polices nothing else. They had not read the manifesto and were shocked when I mentioned the disabled being forced to live in communities. They are relying on lazy voters who will just think we need to shut the doors, whatever the rights and wrong of immigration policies they had some very scarey stuff in their manifesto that they were keeping might quiet about!

Last time I looked at UKIP's "economic" "policies" (the scare quotes because they appeared to have been written by people who failed O Level economics but have a load of Rush Limbaugh podcasts) they were banging on about flat tax, that old standby of the nutter right. Has it got any better?

None of the politicians care?

Really?

What utter shite. I bet you couldn't even name 3 mps other than the leaders and members of the cabinet/shadow cabinet. I really hate sweeping statements about politicians - they are always rooted in ignorance, as are most sweeping statements about large groups of people with diverse beliefs, practices and personalities.

Have you ever contacted your mp to request help or to flag up an issue of concern? Have you attended any local meetings?

friday16

Last time I looked at UKIP's "economic" "policies" (the scare quotes because they appeared to have been written by people who failed O Level economics but have a load of Rush Limbaugh podcasts) they were banging on about flat tax, that old standby of the nutter right. Has it got any better?

No, they're still failing to follow the economic policies recommended by the other three main parties. Those policies that have produced such amazingly low unemployment and such fantastic economic outcomes for us all.

1. No, I don't know anyone who votes for UKIP
2. Yes, I would judge them if they did.

2b. They would rapidly become someone that I used to know.

I don't really know how anyone I know votes.

I can see why people are concerned about immigration. There are entire areas of city centres which are in no way integrated with the rest of the population. Areas which I would not be happy walking through. I'm not sure how to resolve this problem as it seems so deeply ingrained.

I'm not sure how to vote at the next election as it does seem that the three main parties are very very similar. In the local election I voted for our local independent councillor, he has been elected three times now. I voted for him mainly because he has campaigned for keeping our local hospital services.

We will be voting UKIP.

I did know someone who voted for the BNP at their height.

lead to some very interesting discussions - especially after a few beers

she then went on to vote for the tories - saying that they will stop immigration and they wouldn't dare mess with the disability benefits she gets...

anyway, we aren't friends anymore!

One of my friends voted ukip in local elections. She was voting for the first time and had heard they wanted to keep the pound. She likes the pound and not the euro, simply out of traditionalism and knew almost nothing about politics. Now she is older and wiser she is quite ashamed of voting ukip.

This was always going to end badly. You can't possibly know that Olives is a prat Compos. Not from one statement. A lot of perfectly nice people will be voting UKIP and that is the problem. If it was the truly racist, anti disability, nasty people then UKIP wouldnt be getting more support. But it is the nice people turning to them in protest.

I know UKIP supporters who are in no way prats, no way racist, no way against people with disabilities. A person very close to me (disabled herself) has voted UKIP - she could never ever be considered anti woman, racist, anti disability etc etc. She is however, sick of the country being the most populated in Europe. That is her personal reason for voting UKIP - she thinks the UK is full and with more single parent families, more babies to be born -she thinks we will get fuller, without more immigration too. I am not saying she is right. I am not saying she is wrong. But she is a conservationist and hates the building on green fields, and the lack of countrside in the SE now. She hates that we will have to build thousands more homes a year and yet more fields will go. She thinks that if we leave the EU, reduce immigration (but keep refugees shelter) we will need fewer houses. She also has a lot of friends in nmw jobs who cant get work. That is her reasoning. It is a protest vote and if the main parties had any sense they would tackle the issues making people vote for a party like UKIP and stop people turning to it.

She is however, sick of the country being the most populated in Europe.

What does that even mean? Germany (and Russia, depending on your definition of Europe) have larger populations. Assuming that if you're trailing a coat for UKIP that "this country" means the UK, then Holland and Belgium have higher population densities, and Germany's is within experimental error of ours. Yes, England's population density is high (the only countries with higher densities are various joke micro-states like San Marino) but then if you want to play "pick a sub-region" then North Rhine-Westphalia, as a random example, has a massively higher population density than England.

she thinks the UK is full and with more single parent families, more babies to be born

The largest single year for births in the UK was 1964. That's highly unlikely to be exceeded in the lifetime of anyone currently alive. If you look at geography textbooks of the 1960s the prediction was a UK population of between 80m and 100m by 2000. The large spike in births and immigration over the past ten years has just about dragged the UK population back to net growth. If anyone currently over 20 fancies seeing what this country would look like with net population decrease, they'd better hope they die young: without an increasing young population counter-balancing increasing life expectancies, just who do they think is going to pay our pensions and staff our care homes?

She thinks that if we leave the EU, reduce immigration (but keep refugees shelter) we will need fewer houses.

She's presumably planning to never get old.

She also has a lot of friends in nmw jobs who cant get work.

Yeah, and a UK which cuts itself off from its largest export market is going to be so much more financially viable.

One little - you wouldn't want to walk through my area because it's full of 'forriners'. Scarcely a white face to be seen, a halal butcher every 10 yards, wig shops galore.

Can I just say that in 12 years of living here nobody's tried to rape me or convert me to Islam. I think you'll find most white people living in areas of high immigration will say the same.