UKIP Are Awful (5th May)

Well, well. Sisters, misters, brothers, and mothers...we're almost there. I've not got a particular bee in my bonnet today; instead I'll be reflecting on the the UKIP General Election campaign, seeing as we're now only a few days away from the end.

It's been an odd old ride. On the one hand, in spite of the repugnance of their policies, members, and pretty much everything they stand for, it's been nice to have the traditional Labour/Tory binary broken up a little, if not smashed completely. Tory voters bleeding away to UKIP, and Labour voters to the Greens/SNP are both, in my opinion, positive examples of the British electorate challenging those more established parties. Thank god we have a diversity of choices and are not restricted to only two realistic choices (such as in the States), one (as in China), or indeed zero. It's great that there's a plurality of choice. Of course, it's an absolute shame that the biggest of the outside parties (or the one getting the most attention at the very least) is such a bigoted, hard-right bunch of tossers.

If there's one positive from this campaign, it's been the hilarious satirical opportunities

Looking back at UKIP's campaign, it's a little hard to make sense of what their strategy was. They've complained repeatedly about anti-BBC bias (as I covered in my last post), and yet they've been given copious amounts of air-time and coverage in which they've espoused their views. They make claims to be speaking for a 'silent majority' of British people, but then somehow seem unable to get their polling numbers up above the 15% mark. They make claims that they're being unfairly persecuted and excluded in much the same way that extremist groups like Britain First and the BNP have done in the past. Guys, you're not being excluded or denied your right to speak! It's just that the vast majority of people are either indifferent or opposed to your vile ideas. You're incredibly out of touch. Take Scotland, for example. 

Since the independence referendum, Labour's support in Scotland has absolutely collapsed. This is due largely to the hard campaigning that Labour did for the "No" campaign, along with the Conservatives and Lib-Dems. Now whilst it's understandable that Labour would want a "No" vote, the fact remains that Scottish voters didn't appreciate their siding with the Tories, especially now that many  South of the border are backtracking on pledges made during the campaign. Despite losing the referendum, it seems as though the SNP and Scottish nationalism in general is the strongest it's ever been.

...enter UKIP.

I mean, seriously. If you're going to try and persuade Scottish people to consider voting for you, you might want to:

A) launch your Scottish manifesto more than two days before an election.

B) make sure that you actually HAVE a copy of the manifesto with you.

C) I mean seriously, stick it on a USB and whack off a few copies on the nearest Epson.

It's symptomatic of the odd, disorganised campaign that UKIP have been running in general. This, for example, is a photo my brother took in our home constituency:

I mean, cast your eyes on that. I've heard of a battle bus on the campaign, but a conflict caravan? A little tip for UKIP; you're calling for a return of common sense, maybe don't paint your Range Rover and caravan a matching shade of violet.

So, barring anything unexpectedly idiotic happening tomorrow, this will be the last post in UKIP Are Awful. Normal service (inane bullshit on a variety of topics) will resume shortly. Thanks for reading!