If UKIP are so terrible, why did they win so much?

[balloondoggy]

I didn't vote UKIP - I voted for my local Christians. However, if I were to purely read the comments on Mumsnet and the comments on Facebook re UKIP, I would have thought they would come last; yet they didn't. Why? Are there so many of us on here that are so different from (clearly) the majority?

Why did they win so much?

Because government has been neglecting the poor and ordinary people, the everyday things we have to deal with like the NHS, poor wages and unsecure housing.

When people are disatisfied and feel this is unfair they try and find a reason for it and when the reasons are complex and have been whitewashed with doublespeak and abstract policies they go for one they understand.

Our problems are not due to immigration and Europe but it's an awful lot easier to put the blame there.

All I can say to politicians is "know your people".

FidelineandFumblin

To be fair i'm just enjoying the moment and the way the tories are trying to find a way to limit immigration.

Angela is probably livid.

"are you talking about those with LD? who are usually visited by their family once a year?"

Or those that live with their families now.

As for women's rights, they voted against equal pay in the EU vote, well those that bothered to vote at all anyway.

They had a lot of employment stuff in their small business manifesto, which they also removed from websites.

They've very publicly and repeatedly said things about maternity pay and not employing women of childbearing age.

A lot of our problems, not all of them by any means, but a lot of them, are due to immigration and the EU. Once we are out of the EU, politicians will have no-one else to blame. And without immigration, wages will rise, working conditions will rise, house prices will fall, as will pressure on public services. It will take several decades for the damage done to be repaired and the immigrants already here to be assimilated into British life, but it will happen.

Labour MPs who voted against gay marriage (22)

Joe Benton (Bootle)

Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley)

Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill)

Rosie Cooper (Lancashire West)

David Crausby (Bolton North East)

Tony Cunningham (Workington),

Jim Dobbin (Heywood & Middleton)

Brian Donohoe (Ayrshire Central)

Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent South)

Mary Glindon (Tyneside North)

Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe & Sale East)

Dai Havard (Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney)

Michael McCann (East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow)

Jim McGovern (Dundee West), Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde)

George Mudie (Leeds East)

Paul Murphy (Torfaen)

Stephen Pound (Ealing North)

Frank Roy (Motherwell & Wishaw)

Jim Sheridan (Paisley & Renfrewshire North)

Derek Twigg (Halton)

Mike Wood (Batley & Spen)

So does that make labour a homophobic anti gay party? I assume so! I'm shocked any of you would now vote labour (tongue in cheek)

Angela is probably livid.

So are a great many people.

I'm glad you are not giving in too much to the temptation to crow.

You still sticking by your policy that you need to have parents and grandparents living in the area to get social housing?

Yes, I'm still interested in this one.

I'm glad you are not giving in too much to the temptation to crow.

The establishment have got a window of opportunity here to display that they are at least listening.

If they listen and act on the issues at hand then I for one will return to normal voting protocol, but if they continue to spin and absorb themselves in self protectionism who knows.

but if they continue to spin and absorb themselves in self protectionism who knows.

Care to elucidate at all?

Until there recent cleaning up of the net, UKIP were saying they did not support gay marriage. Farange now is vague when asked.

So this is not about some of a parties MPs views, but about official policy.

I dont understand the highlighting of the UKIP policy of needing to have parents, Grandparents in the area for social housing.

When i applied for my HA property 15 years ago, i had to state all of my local connections to the area including listing local family members

Maybe they dropped that bit on the application forms after Labour got in but it was definitely there years ago so its not a new thing.

It DOES NOT say you "need" parents and grandparents to live in the area to get social housing. More spin doctoring. It says that gives you priority. Which I understand. How many times, when the bedroom tax was introduced and people were facing having to move out of the area to somewhere cheaper to afford a house, did people counter the argument with "people have the right to live near to family for support network etc"

I think it makes sense, much like how school admissions give you priority if you have a sibling there, to have priority if your family live in that area. You can be black and have family living there you know - this isn't a racist policy that excludes asians from living in a certain area or something equally hysterical.

Tucson - that simply isn't true. We need immigration to grow our economy.

Care to elucidate at all?

It's pretty obvious isn't it?

Immigration and the control of the European state needs addressing and as the votes highlighted it needs doing sooner rather than later.

The establishment don't want this because the problems that face the voter on the floor actually help the enfranchised.

We have seen posters on this thread complain that if we left the EU we wouldn't have anyone to pick fruit for us cheaply which is shocking.

Some obscure worker working in a factory isn't flexible enough so Polish workers can have a job doing what he can do because they are paid cheaply work all hours god sends without regard for the conditions fought for in this country.

The revolution moves on and hopefully the attitudes in the UK will change accordingly.

Until there recent cleaning up of the net, UKIP were saying they did not support gay marriage. Farange now is vague when asked.

They're all vague, about almost everything - supporters, candidates, all of them. It's like trying to seduce a blancmange.

This for e.g.;

If they listen and act on the issues at hand then I for one will return to normal voting protocol, but if they continue to spin and absorb themselves in self protectionism who knows.

I think caruthers and claig particularly wind us all up deliberately. I'm off to paint the shed.

Gato - you currently get points for having living relatives in an area, alongside other things like being homeless or overcrowded.

UKIP suggested actually giving priority to people on the basis of it being their grandparents' place of birth...it's not exactly the same thing.

anyone going to comment on my post of 16:29?

X post

It's pretty obvious isn't it?

Well yes and no caruthers

It's time for detail from UKIP so we can all judge properly; specifics and time-frames and proper policies.

We know what the chords are. Tunes and lyrics are a bit overdue though.

Giving priority to parents and grandparents living in the same area, equals in most areas, that if you don't have, you won't get social housing. My grandparents are dead or immigrated, so hard cheese to me.

I don't think the government should have anything to do with marriage, gay or otherwise. Leave it to the churches etc. Government should just recognise civil partnerships. If you want to have a marriage that is also a civil partnership, fine. If you want to have one but not the other, also fine. Churches should be free to marry or not marry whoever they wish, based on any criteria they see fit to have.

It's time for detail from UKIP so we can all judge properly; specifics and time-frames and proper policies.

When the UK leaves Europe Farage tells us he's going to retire.

That really should tell us all what his intentions are and what his absolute main focus is.

He knows that if he can force a referendum and we get a yes vote his job as he sees it is done.

This focus on "Other policies" is a smokescreen because the aims of Farage are well set out.

So do you want the churches not to be able to officially marry people? So it would simply be a religious ceremony?

I assume so, otherwise the churches and Government would be involved in marriages.

Yes he said that last night Caruthers....

By the way Caruthers are you Farage himself?

Tucson - that simply isn't true. We need immigration to grow our economy

Sorry immigration or Mass immigration the like that has not been seen before in peace time?

That really should tell us all what his intentions are and what his absolute main focus is.

That's not enough for a mainstream political party to operate on!

This focus on "Other policies" is a smokescreen because the aims of Farage are well set out.

Smokescreen? Poppycock!
How does one fight a GE without policies?!