"Ukip is on course for unprecedented victory"

[dutchman]

Voting has begun in crunch local and European elections, with Ukip on course to secure an unprecedented victory.



Polling stations opened at 7am after a bitter campaign dominated by clashes over Britain’s place in Europe, PR gaffes and allegations of racism, sexism and homophobia.

The whole of the UK will elect 73 MEPs to be sent to Brussels for the next five years, while in England there are 4,216 seats on 161 councils up for grabs.

Some councils will start counting ballot papers tonight, with the first results expected around midnight.

Most will emerge during the course of Friday, leaving all the party leaders to celebrate or lick wounds in the full glare of the media spotlight.

Not all EU countries are voting today, with some going to the polls over the weekend, so the results will not be announced until after 10pm on Sunday.

All of the party leaders risk a turbulent time if the results go against them.

Nigel Farage predicts he will trigger a ’political earthquake’ if, as polls suggest, Ukip wins the European elections when results are announced on Sunday night.

It would be unprecedented for a small party to come out on top in a nationwide vote, and will cause a headache for both Labour and the Tories.

An Opinium poll for the Daily Mail puts Ukip comfortably ahead of Labour, on 32 per cent to 25 per cent.

The Conservatives are on 21 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats battling the Greens for fourth place, each on a miserable 6 per cent.

Ukip also hopes to improve on the 140 council gains made last year, to secure a stronger local base to use as a springboard for next year’s general election.

Turning out to vote at Cudham C of E Primary School in Westerham, Kent, Mr Farage shrugged off allegations that Ukip was a racist party as ‘rot’.

He told reporters: 'If we get what we like things will never be quite the same again.'

Political campaigns expert Dr David Cutts, from the University of Bath, said: 'UKIP has been able to broaden its appeal to those voters "left behind" and alarmed by the extent of social and economic change – concerns about European immigration – while retaining their mainstream political legitimacy on the European issue.

'Farage has a unique appeal as a charismatic leader, seen as being able to articulate to both sets of voters."

[dutchman]

[rebbonk]

[dutchman]

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said his party will be "serious players" at the 2015 general election, in with a chance of securing representation in the House of Commons for the first time.

To put that into perspective, based on last night's voting figures UKIP would still only win a single seat in the House of Commons, that of Castle Point in Essex which is a UKIP stronghold.

[rebbonk]

The problem as I see it Dutchman is that UKIP will likely take votes from the Conservatives and let that plonker Miliband in.

If Labour want to seriously get in on their own efforts they really need to get back to their roots and ditch the semi-tories and professional politicians that they offer up.

My thought is that somewhere between now and the 2015 election we will see an alliance between UKIP and the Tories. Sadly, if that does happen, I see another 5 years of a nothing government.

Hopefully, I'm wrong...

[dutchman]

Based on last night's share of the vote Labour wouldn't win an overall majority in Parliament and things are likely to get even worse for Labour as the general election approaches.

Miliband is another Gordon Brown, he believes everyone is wrong except him and has no intention of changing policy even if it means certain defeat for Labour.

[rebbonk]

This party is frightening.

Yes and no Flapdoodle.

Yes, because there are so many parallels with 1930s Germany and UKIP seems to have more than it's fair share of oddballs, nutters etc.

No, because it might just give the establishment the kick up the ar*e that it needs in order to represent those that elect it.

[dutchman]

Ukip vote in European elections no flash in pan according to new poll



The vast majority of the four million people who voted for the UK Independence Party in the European elections will make the same choice at the general election, a new poll predicts today.

The poll, by ComRes suggests that 86 per cent of people who voted for Nigel Farage’s party will do so again next year.

More than 4.3 million people voted for Ukip in the European elections, giving the party its first national victory. The Conservatives came third, suggesting many of their previous supporters had defected to Ukip. Several Cabinet ministers have publicly said that many Ukip voters are merely “lending” their votes to Ukip this year and will return to the Tory fold ahead of the general election. But the poll, conducted in the days after the European election, casts doubt on those predictions.

The survey found that 37 per cent of Ukip voters said that they were “certain” to support the party at the general election. Another 49 per cent said that they were “likely” to do so, while 14 per cent said that they would probably back another party.

The poll was commissioned by Paul Sykes, Ukip’s biggest financial backer. In a further boost for Mr Farage, Mr Sykes today pledges to help the party score a second major victory over the Tories in next week’s Newark by-election. The Tories have poured resources into the by-election, which was prompted by the resignation of Patrick Mercer over a cash for questions scandal. On Thursday the party sent five ministers including George Osborne, the Chancellor, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and Sajid Javid, the Culture Secretary, in a sign of how seriously they take the Ukip threat.