Posted on 06/13/2004 3:41:09 AM PDT by MadIvan
THE UK Independence Party has won the support of one in five British voters in the European elections and is set to gain four times as many MEPs, senior party figures predicted last night.
They forecast that the party, which wants to pull out of the European Union, has captured 20% of the vote, boosting their strength in the European parliament from three to at least 12 seats. The result would put it in third place just behind Labour, which is expected to poll only a few per cent more, and ahead of the Liberal Democrats.
While the Tories are expected to be the overall winners, with a share of the vote of just below 30%, Michael Howard will have done worse than William Hague five years ago.
“I think 20% is a realistic figure for us,” said Nigel Farage, one of the UKIP’s three MEPs. “And in some areas we’ll have done a lot better. Twelve seats is a very realistic prospect.”
Although the vote was on Thursday, the same day as the local elections, the results cannot be announced before 9pm tonight when voting booths close in the rest of the Europe.
The UKIP has recently won the support of Robert Kilroy-Silk and Joan Collins.
Both Tony Blair and Howard were facing recriminations from senior figures in their parties last night over the “super Thursday” elections.
Meanwhile, Gordon Brown has told colleagues he fears that Blair will this week be forced to surrender Britain’s right of veto over tax as part of a deal to secure the new European constitution.
The chancellor has told the prime minister that he should refuse to sign up to the treaty at this week’s summit in Brussels if provisions to “co-ordinate” economic policies remain.
Brown’s allies say the chancellor is “prepared to die in a ditch” before seeing a constitution that allows any tax harmonisation via the back door.
He is determined to show that Labour is not a soft touch on Europe, as the main political parties brace themselves for a strong showing by UKIP when the results of the European elections are announced tonight.
Howard is under pressure because the results are expected to reveal that the UKIP’s success has come from a significant chunk of would-be Tory voters.
Eric Forth, Conservative MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, said: “The leadership is going to have to think very carefully about how we respond to this. There is a serious groundswell of opinion in this country that the UKIP seems to represent better than anyone else.”
The issue of Britain’s future in Europe will dominate this week as Blair tries to draw a line under his drubbing and succeed in securing a landmark deal on the EU constitution.
Brown has been alarmed by passages in it that will require European countries to “co- ordinate” their economic policies, call for social and economic “cohesion” and establish European Union “competence” over national economies.
Brown, who successfully fought off an EU drive to harmonise savings taxes, is said to be “incensed” by suggestions that Britain should soften its opposition to the constitution.
He is backed by business. “If we give in on any aspect of tax harmonisation we would see it as the thin end of the wedge,” said Digby Jones, director-general of the CBI. “We feel very strongly about this. If Tony Blair does not get agreement on this, he should walk away.”
Yesterday Michael Meacher, Labour’s former environment minister, added to the pressure on Blair by saying: “After these election results, Tony Blair will only regain the confidence of voters if he can show that he is willing to listen to his party and to the electorate and changes course.”
No, there's a sense of resentment in Ireland toward Great Britain. One would think they'd be over it by now, but remember Ireland was neutral in WWII and on Germany's side in WWI. And the Franco-German alliance is only all too happy to agree: British imperial power must be restrained.
I don't see this attitude as positive for the Welsh, the Scots, or the Irish. But then again, I think they won their wars for independence here in America.
The Irish don't get over grudges that easily. Now, I understand.
They used to have Catholicism in common with France. There is none of that now. The rest of Great Britain will eventually find out that having spats with their family was preferable to the marxist rule of their EU taskmasters. (But many of them think communism is harmless when you remove the murdering dictators... who always seem to crop up from "nowhere.")
Ireland was on The German side in WW1?!?!?!
Given that it was still British at the time and sent over a hundred thousands of soldiers to fight under the Union Jack then this is possibly the most ill informed post I have seen here yet
Given that it was still British at the time and sent over a hundred thousands of soldiers to fight under the Union Jack then this is possibly the most ill informed post I have seen here yet
Actually, ambiguous. The Ulster Protestants of course were the most British of the British. It is my understanding that they have always accounted for a preponderance of British army officers in the way that Dixie does in our army. As for the South, the British in WW1 never dared impose conscription on Ireland.
I love this site. I learn so much here that I can never learn by clicking through the net..
Me too. This is fascinating.
MI, thanks for the ping.
I wouldn't be so sure... because there were no local authority elections here on Thursday, it's difficult to judge, but a lot of Scots are out for revenge after the EU fisheries policy, Not to mention the UKIPs promise to reform Holyrood.
There already is and with the promise to reform Holyrood, i think (and hope) that the UKIP will do well up here.
As for the SNP, they're going to lose most of their seats next election. They aren't trusted, they are no longer liked and the debacle in Holyrood has disgusted almost everyone North of the border.
I do.
It is out of balance. They need a '[true]Christian/Conservative Right'. Labour [=US Democrats] and Liberals [=Howard Dean/Al Gore democrats] are still both Liberals one is just further left than the other.
I don't get it.
That probably is the best way to describe it. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as countries form the United Kingdom of Great Britain [England, Wales and Scotland] and Northern Ireland. So the four countries form the nation state. England is the largest, with about 51 million people, then Scotland, with around 5 million people. Wales has about 3 million people, and Northern Ireland has about 1.5 million people.
Only three of the countries have their own legislatures; Scotland has the Scottish Parliament, Wales has the National Assembly for Wales, and Northern Ireland has the Northern Ireland Assembly (currently suspended due to the political problems their). The equivalent to a Governor in the United States is the "First Minister". The United Kingdom Parliament in Westminster, London, which Tony Blair speaks at Question Time every week in the House of Commons, is equivalent to the Congress. Because England does not have its own legislature or First Minister, matters for England are handled by the UK parliament.
At the same time, the UKIP did well. Which means that the Conservatives could have done even better if they found some way to appeal to the same audience. In any event, this is a country where approximately half the votes went to conservative parties - this is a large change from the last couple of general elections where Labour won.
Regards, Ivan
Thank you for that explanation. I sincerely appreciate it.
If they do ever accede to joining the Euro and ditching the Dollar, than I don't think it will ever be because of a genuine shift in public opinion. Rather, it will be because they were not given a genuine alternative.
The Scottish people are very well aware of the pro - Europe stance of the SNP. The Scottish people are generally much more pro EU than the English
Frankly that statement is scary, but it fits a historically dominant Scottish idea (but dormant in the days of the Empire) that it felt more in soldarity with france than England. Now isn't it interesting that the descendents of Scottish migrants to America today are the most strident anti-frogs? (most Americans have tints of Scottish ancestry one way or another, but it was the South with particularly strong Scottish ties)
But here's a puzzle. we all know the Bible prophesises that before Jesus returns, there will be a revived Roman Empire which will come out of Europe or Europe-Mediterrenean or the West-Mediterrenean and the Antichrist will come out of this structure. I can't figure out how today's relativist, pacifist, and wimpy socialist Euros will come out and support someone in which the Bible says will trust in nothing but only in materials and military prowness?
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