I can't link to the Sky news interview with Nigel Farage but it was terrible

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It was Kay Burley. About 3pm today. She made his case for him just now and I don't even think she meant it. In fact I think she's sure she made a good job of portraying him as a mad racist while talking to him about UKIP's poster suggesting migrant workers were stealing British jobs.

He seemed quite reasonable in the face of Burley. He didn't emerge as racist - protectionist at best - xenophobic at worst. He didn't even grab anyone round the throat or ask them if they'd have given it up a bit more their husband wouldn't have been tempted to murder prostitutes.

Then she went on about a pretty young woman they're featuring as a candidate who is from her appearance, clearly of Anglo-Asian background and demanding why UKIP didn't declare her background. Burley was the one who mentioned pretty. Not me or Farage.

Farage asked why they should and to be fair I had to agree. And also, she's a pretty woman who's used a flattering picture on her literature. Wouldn't you? If you want to know more about her views then read her literature and ask her questions, rather than the party.

Oh criminy. I had to admit that Nigel seemed reasonable. They're heading for a major result in the European elections. In my mad moments I toy with voting UKIP just because I've always lived in Tory constituencies and want to crush them now more than ever.

It could happen here. I won't do it, but the temptation is fucking strong.

I'd think it was a right-wing plot if I didn't know Burley of old and realise it was incompetence.

hi babybarrister - which zone are you voting? perhaps there may be a better solution? i could maybe help you on that.

If they were successful and the UK left Europe - who would Farage find to hate then? I assume he would need to disband his party as they have achieved their aim - or would he then blame all the UK's problems on another random group?

Amusing to link to Telegraph Xpat. I read it every day anyway and can assure you the Telegraph is incredibly envious of Farage. It only wishes the craven Cameron had the balls to say what Farage does. Quite clever to wheel out a right on piece about sexism to veil its thinly disguised jealousy.

moondog - am amused that you note the telegraph links rather than the substance of the stories.. it's a classic distraction technique from the key issues.

Heheh Expat.
Did you read the Guardian on Saturday?
When even Polly's gang get wound up, one senses something large afoot.

yep i read a lot of things Moondog

you can tell that mama, you are one bright spark. Thanks for teaching me loads on this thread about other European native parties. Still haven't caught up with it all but just so you know it's appreciated.

This thread still brings disengenuous smears into what has become a serious debate regarding the establishments demise.

You could probably single out Tory policies and MP's for hate speech if you give it the right spin.

IDS can't hide the fact that he hates poor people can he?

Who employed ATOS?

Who ran the Steven Lawrence debacle or indeed the Hillsborough cover up?

Which party is destroying education and the NHS?

And still people who need to maintain the facade of a democracy in this country support the tax dodgers and the expense fiddling autocrats scurrying about in WM trying to make a dishonest buck.

Fascist they cry.

Racist they scream.

Xenophobic haters they cough and splutter.

All of this changes nothing because UKIP ARE popular and they ARE the antidote to this Oxbridge run gravy train they call a democracy.....it's only democratic if you have the power to get what you want out of it.

caruthers - whilst there are many things to level at the Lib, Lab Con parties, and I certainly do not agree with everything, at European level many of their MEPs work really hard and do a lot of stuff for the UK.

UKIP on the hand just cant be bothered. see the voting records. have they done any parliamentary reports?
www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/85563e82-8f44-11e3-be85-00144feab7de.html#axzz30HUaONqm
"Ukip MEPs have failed to protect British business interests in Brussels, according to party defectors and an FT analysis that showed the party misses key votes and committees, while claiming hundreds of thousands of euros in pay and expenses."

Plus I don't really think they are for the working citizen - look at the flat rate tax proposal, the protectionism towards bankers, towards extractive industries.

another quote: www.ft.com/cms/s/0/85563e82-8f44-11e3-be85-00144feab7de.html#ixzz30HV7BU1S

"Public figures analysed by the FT show that Mr Farage attended only one of 42 meetings of the fisheries committee on which he sat for three years. Paul Nuttall, his deputy, attended two out of 56 environment
....
"Other British MEPs are irritated they are not supported by their Ukip colleagues even when national interests are at stake. One example was the non-attendance by a Ukip MEP at the parliament’s economic affairs committee for a vote on the Financial Transactions Tax, a policy opposed by the party and the UK government."
...
"Sharon Bowles, the Liberal Democrat chair of the economic affairs committee, said: “There are numerous examples of where votes that would have been good for the UK have fallen because of the absence of Ukip – or bad ones got into text instead of being killed.”

Mr Farage has claimed he works an “18-hour day”, making no apologies for sometimes breaking off for a “lunchtime pint”. But figures show that he has the 10th worst attendance record out of all 766 MEPs.

He failed to attend any meetings of the influential fisheries committee between February 2010 and December 2012, when he turned up to vote on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

One MEP on the committee said: “For three hours during the morning he sat, looking somewhat bemused, as we ploughed through hundreds of amendments. He voted for or against some and abstained on many.”

Mr Farage did not attend the final vote on how much of the catch fishermen should throw away, despite having described the policy previously as “shameful”. Soon afterwards, he resigned from the committee.

Mr Nuttall, a member of the environment committee, has attended only 4 per cent of its meetings, admitting: “My attendance record is flaky to say the least.”

Stuart Agnew attended 27 per cent of the constitutional affairs committee meetings, and Gerard Batten 7 per cent of the civil liberties group..."

Thanks Eyebrows!!!!

Nothing you have posted has been in reply to my post.

Point scoring and pointing is getting us nowhere.

I'll await the vote and the sickening thud when it comes home to roost for Dave and his chums.

carruthers I replied specifically to you below.

Forgive me if I dont go line by line but the answer is pretty much the same.

For example, I am horrified by much of the ATOS stuff. However the key point is that I don't think that UKIP will be any better, they're pretty keen to limit welfare! I also don't think they are planning wholesale investment in the NHS.

I happen to think that there are a lot of bigots around. But they seem to be concentrated in UKIP.

Plus, whatever your political colours, voting for UKIP means voting for people that dont do the basic work they are supposed to do.

The chief issue is not so much the fine print.
It's the arrogance and sense of entitlement amongst those who have run the show (of whatever persuasion) for so long. They are convinced of their own expertise and superiority.
If Nigel does nothing more than kick the wheels off the apple cart and shake them until their teeth rattle, I will be happy.

Noone anywhere should assume they know all the answers and possess the expertise by dint of having been around for a while.
In my own working experience and dabbling in local politics, I see how much total horse shit is spouted.

David Cameron? Ed Milliband?
What do they know or indeed what gave them the divine right to KNOW Best?

ha moondog

Who said that they had a divine right? I reckon there's been enormous criticism of both of them.

Surely you can find a better way to kick the apple cart than support this nasty stuff?

Maybe pick some people who will shake the apple cart in Brussels - just making the odd speech over here whilst missing votes doesn't really do that.

Brussels?
Please.
A huge cadre of people noone wants or even voted for, getting fat and drunk on our money.

Oh wow just got my hands on another flyer...

It's so depressing how you guys don't see through this rubbish.

Isn't it just!
How unspeakably awful that there are people even people on Mumsnet who don't think Europe is a GOOD THING and are happy with the current posse of thieves, philanders and sociopaths, all oinking at the trough.

No I don't care that you're on Mumsnet. I do care that you are a member of the human race and you are putting us at risk with your extremism and your divisive ideas.

I find myself fascinated with the way he laughs his way through dialogue. He has a very warm and winning quickness to laugh.

What is all that about? Why do I like his laughter but yet at the same time feel wary in my gut.

Eyebrow, your insufferable smugness makes me even more gleeful.

What do I appear smug about? I don't get it. I am just worried there's a party like UKIP gaining popularity.

erm Moondog the "getting fat and drunk on our money" especially applies tothe UKIP MEPs. as they cant be bothered to turn up to vote, as I've shown.

The people that do work are the ones that you are sneering at - the other MEPs, the people in the Commission, the people in the Council.

And in my opinion you should care about what happens in Europe, and it's a big shame people don't really know what is happening. To take some examples, there is major work going on on environmental protection, on air quality, on climate, allowing the freedom for you to travel for you and your family to work elsewhere, to ensure trade for UK companies, to make sure we don't have another war amongst us, to make sure European Member States coordinate stuff rather than waste stuff through doing parallel things....

For me it is pretty insular to just go 'i don't give a shit about what happens in Europe'. whether you like it or not, we are now part of a more global world, we are connected to Europe.

I see it from the inside Xpat, and my suspicions are confirmed over nad over again.
Who are you to assume that not wanting to pay for that carnival is akin to 'not giving a shit about what happens in Europe '?
You won't get more European than me. I speak fluent French and have a sizable French family.

Hi. It's your raving roving reporter signing in after attending the UKIP meeting in Bath this evening at which Nigel got a couple of standing ovations, we all applauded Cleggy's successful campagn to raise UKIP's profile via his debate and we learnt from Nigel that Patrick Mercer had thrown in the towel.

We had some protesters outside with a large poster that stated "Farage is a Banker" - well had they used the past tense they would have been quite correct. Large Police presence. BBC vans outside as they have been out and about all day in Bath in true witchfinder general mode in the search of racism. Unbelieveably they managed to find and interview of Bath's 3 Labour voters. Great investigative journalists the Beeb have.

If I knew how to get photos off my Iphone and onto here I could show you some.