So why not UKIP?

It is a question that has been bothering me ever since Cameron’s lurch to the left brought about my hasty and undignified departure from the Conservative party.

On the face of it, UKIP should be the natural home to someone like me. I am against the European Union - I see it as monolithic, undemocratic, grossly corrupt and of no tangible benefit to our country. The concept of a European Common Market is one thing, the concept of a European Union is completely different. I can support the former, but I cannot see anything good emerging from the latter. And UKIP are the only party to take a clear stance against Europe.

And, as the UKIP manifesto shows, they are now more than just a single issue party. If you don’t fancy trawling through the manifesto, then take a look at Nigel Farage’s online conversation on Manifesto UK. As far as I can see, he speaks lot of sense and is arguably more conservative that the Conservative party these days.

So why not join? Why not transfer the energies and efforts I put into campaigning for the Tories to UKIP?

The answer is not so much what UKIP stand for, but rather what they are perceived to stand for. A lot of people still see UKIP as a single issue party, something they do not help by maintaining the pound sign as their symbol. And because that issue involves moving away from Europe, it is easy to tarnish UKIP as Little-Englanders or even racists*. What really bothers me is the popular perception of UKIP as simply an anti-European party. I think this perception is false, but as a friend said to me just before Christmas “don’t join them - not because of what UKIP are, but rather what they are perceived to be.”

I also accept the point that if I really wanted to change the way UKIP are perceived then it would be far easier to do so from within the party than from the outside. But as it stands, I cannot bring myself to join UKIP. Whether that changes in the future depends on both the Tories and UKIP – if the Tories ditched Cameron and overcome their current identity crisis, then I would probably rejoin them. But if UKIP manage to build themselves up as a credible Libertarian party, then I would probably join them.

But for the meantime, I am in the political wilderness. Which is not ideal but has its’ upside as well – I don’t have to pay any party membership fees and I don’t have to get up early on Saturday mornings to go tramping the streets handing out leaflets and banging on people’s doors.

*Not that I am claiming that the people in UKIP are racists. I am sure there are a few, but the same is true of the Tories and Labour. Hell, the Lib Dems even have their own pet anti-Semite.