Why Did Ukip Fare (Relatively) Badly In London?

[sp1814]

A greater number of liberal 'chatterati'

A recognition that UKIP don't represent the voice of London?

Fear that some of us will lose our EU home help?

Or a conspiracy amongst the Guardianistas?

Or a disgusting streak of common sense?


http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/23/ukip-results-divide-london-rest-england

[sp1814]

naomi24

Actually, that's one of the more depressing facts about the vote.

Someone told me at work yesterday that it was 36%....which is surprisingly low.

I suspect that local and European elections normally see a lower turnout than at GEs, but I thought that UKIP (and anti-UKIP) voices would see this one buck the trend.

[DrFilth]

mikey

> xenophobia
noun: xenophobia

intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries.
"racism and xenophobia are steadily growing in Europe" <

in a news article it said he has a german wife is that true ?

[naomi24]

SP, did he actually say it’s ok for people to be homophobic, or was he explaining why they’re homophobic?

The posts here make it clear that you’ll find bigoted people in the ranks of every political party and every organisation. Ukip isn't unique.

[naomi24]

sp, //36%//

I suspect that's your answer.

[naomi24]

Mikey, //You talk as if I was the only one who holds these views, when they are widely held by many people.//

I'd say the same to anyone who spouted the deliberate propaganda you spout - but no one else does.

[mikey4444]

DrF...you know that it is true, so I am not sure why you are asking. The smallest moment on Wiki will confirm that his wife is a lady called Kirsten Mehr. But that will not preclude him from being xenophobic ! I don't like snakes but I did manage to hold a small corn snake a couple of years ago, without freaking out ( just )

[naomi24]

//But that will not preclude him from being xenophobic !//

Or you from accusing him.

[mikey4444]

Naomi... I was answering sp's question about why UKIP did so badly in London. I can't see the point of arguing with you about UKIP...the die is already cast. As I said naomi, we will just have to agree to disagree on this subject.

[Gromit]

Naomi
In 2009, a year before the general election the Conservatives won 242 seats in the local elections. The headlines were 'A triumph for the Conservatives' and 'Labour in meltdown'
2014, a year before the general election, Labour have won 292 seats (50 seats more). Yet the right wing press and its adherents are insisting it is a bad result for Labour.

It isn't a bad result it is a good result. Not spectacularly good, but heading in the right direction. When the analysis is in, it will be interesting to see where demographically UKiP got its votes. In the Labour held Cities, UKiP does not seem to have faired well. In the Shires they have taken from the Conservatives.

To me, it is clear who is spinning out of control, and it isn't Mikey.

[mikey4444]

Gromit...the voice of common sense, as usual !

The arithmetic doesn't lie. Thursday was a dreadful day for dave, and yet the media is full of condemnation for Labour, for not achieving more gains than the 292 that it did. How many more seats would Labour have had to gain, in order to be awarded the praise that is due them ?

Actually, if you look at the coalition parties as a whole, they lost 485 council seats between them, in an Election that didn't included Labour strongholds like Wales and Scotland ! What would the Tories defeat have looked like if every Council seat was up for renewal ?

I challenge all Conservative supporters on here to spin that, if they can !

[Zacs-Master]

Surely a 36% turnout is not indicative of anything, No matter how much spin you put on it?

[mikey4444]

Actually zacs...that is true and a fact that is easily forgotten. In small turnouts, its mostly the more active and thinking voter that gets out of the armchair and strolls down to the Polling Booth. But it is still a measure of how the wind is blowing, small turnout or not.

[Zacs-Master]

So why are you all debating that it does?

[mikey4444]

Because we like to Zacs !

[Zacs-Master]

It would be a brave company who trusted a 36% opinion in market research on a new product. Gromits post proves that.

[mikey4444]

Which is why Zacs, I can quite see UKIP's bubble bursting before next May.

[Zacs-Master]

We're agreed on that then.

[naomi24]

Gromit, I haven’t argued the results. Maybe it’s you who is spinning out of control.

[THECORBYLOON]

ZACS-MASTER, if a business were able to poll 36% of all prospective customers they would be more than happy to base their future on the results. If you think about it, many polling companies speak usually to only a couple of thousand or so folk but if a business has a couple of million customers, 36% would be 720,000.

[Gromit]

The local elections compared to the general election.

A strange stat, but in 2010 when they two elections took place at the same time, the Conservatives got the key to 10 Downing Street, but in the local elections they lost 121 seats, and Labour won 417.