UK Independence Party

UK Independence Party
File:UKIP logo.png
Leader	Nigel Farage MEP
Secretary-General	Jonathan Arnott
Deputy Leader	Paul Nuttall MEP
Executive Chairman	Steve Crowther
President	Jeffrey Titford
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Newton Abbot, Devon
Youth wing	Young Independence
Ideology	Euroscepticism Right-wing populism Racism
Political position	Right-wing
European affiliation	None
International affiliation	None
European Parliament group	Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Colours	Purple and Yellow
House of Commons	0 / 650
House of Lords	2 / 724
European Parliament	11 / 73
Local government	29 / 21,259
Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections

The UK Independence Party (UKIP, /ˈjuːkɪp/ YEW-kip) is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.

UKIP holds 11 seats in the European Parliament (down from 13 won due to defections) and two in the House of Lords (both due to defections from Conservative peers). UKIP has never won a seat in the House of Commons.

The leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage, was re-elected on 5 November 2010, having previously served as leader from 2006 to 2009. Nigel Farage has been a UKIP MEP since 1999 and is also one of the founding members of the party after leaving the Conservative Party in 1992.

In the 2009 election to the European Parliament, UKIP attained 13 seats with 16.5% of the vote, coming second behind the Conservative Party, and over-taking the Labour Party in terms of votes, drawing in terms of seats. In the 2010 general election, the party polled 3.1% of the vote, an increase of 0.9% from the 2005 general election. In the 2011 local elections, UKIP took control of Ramsey town council, as well as maintaining its seven councillors across England, and one in Northern Ireland.

History and the present day

Founding and early years

UKIP was founded in 1993 by former Liberal Party candidate Alan Sked and other members of the all-party Anti-Federalist League - a political party set up in November 1991 with the aim of fielding candidates opposed to the Maastricht Treaty.

Its primary objective was withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The new party attracted some members of the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party, which was split on the European question after the pound was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 and the struggle over ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. UKIP candidates stood in the 1997 general election, but were overshadowed by James Goldsmith's Referendum Party.

After the election, Sked resigned the leadership and left the party because he felt "they are racist and have been infected by the far-right" and "doomed to remain on the political fringes". However, Goldsmith died soon after the election and the Referendum Party was dissolved, with a resulting influx of new UKIP supporters. The leadership election was won by millionaire businessman Michael Holmes, and in the 1999 elections to the European Parliament UKIP gained three seats and 7% of the vote. In that election, Nigel Farage (South East England), Jeffrey Titford (East of England), and Michael Holmes (South West England) were elected.

Over the following months there was a power struggle between the leader, Michael Holmes, and the party's National Executive Committee (NEC). This was partly due to Holmes making a speech perceived as calling for greater powers for the European Parliament against the European Commission. Ordinary party members forced the resignation of both Holmes and the entire NEC and Jeffrey Titford was subsequently elected leader. Holmes resigned from the party itself in March 2000. There was a legal battle when he tried to continue as an independent MEP until resigning from the European Parliament in December 2002, when he was replaced by Graham Booth, the second candidate on the UKIP list in South West England.

UKIP put up candidates in more than 420 seats in the 2001 general election, attaining 1.5% of the vote and failing to win any representation at Westminster. It also failed to break through in the elections to the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly, despite those elections being held under proportional representation. In 2002 Titford stood down as party leader, but continued to sit as a UKIP MEP. He was replaced as leader by Roger Knapman.

Kilroy Silk & UKIP under Knapman

The European Elections of 2004 proved to be UKIP's first major electoral victory, coming third place and winning 12 MEPs. The London Assembly elections of the same year also showed that UKIP had won two London Assembly Members. In late 2004, reports in the mainstream UK press speculated on if or when former Labour Party MP and chat-show host Robert Kilroy-Silk would take control of the party. These reports were heightened by Kilroy-Silk's speech at the UKIP party conference in Bristol on 2 October 2004, in which he called for the Conservative Party to be "killed off" (following UKIP's forcing the Conservatives into fourth place in Hartlepool).

Interviewed by Channel 4 television, Kilroy-Silk did not deny having ambitions to lead the party, but stressed that Roger Knapman would lead it into the next general election. However, the next day, on Breakfast with Frost, he criticised Knapman's leadership. After further disagreement with the leadership Kilroy-Silk resigned the UKIP whip in the European Parliament on 27 October 2004. Initially he remained a member, while seeking a bid for the party leadership. However, this was not successful, and Kilroy-Silk resigned completely from UKIP on 20 January 2005, calling it a "joke". Two weeks later, he founded his own party, Veritas, taking several UKIP members, including both London Assembly members, with him.

UKIP had hoped to sustain its momentum in the 2005 General Election, but despite fielding 495 candidates, the party failed to achieve a breakthrough as they had in the European elections a year before. UKIP gained 618,000 votes, or 2.3% of the total votes cast in the election (an increase of 220,000 votes / 0.8% from their result in the 2001 general election). This placed them fourth in terms of total votes cast, behind the Liberal Democrats and ahead of the Scottish National Party. However the party again failed to win any seats at Westminster. 45 UKIP candidates saved their deposits, up from only six in 2001. Their best performance was in Boston & Skegness, where their candidate Richard Horsnell came 3rd with 9.6% of the vote. [4]

Following the 2005 general election, Kilroy-Silk subsequently resigned from Veritas after its terrible performance in the election, harnessing only 40,000 votes.

2009 European Elections

On 28 March 2009, the Conservative Party's biggest-ever donor Stuart Wheeler donated £100,000 to UKIP after criticising David Cameron's stance towards the Lisbon treaty and the European Union. He said, "if they kick me out I will understand. I will be very sorry about it, but it won't alter my stance." The following day, 29 March, he was expelled from the Conservative Party.

On 15 May 2009, a YouGov poll conducted for The Sun newspaper showed UKIP as having 15% of the vote for the impending European Elections, only 5% behind the Labour Party. The surge in support was accredited by The Sun to public despair stemming from the MPs' expenses crisis.

Although the current make-up of UKIP MEPs is different due to the defection of David Campbell-Bannerman and Nikki Sinclaire's departure from the party, the regional breakdown of the vote was as follows:

Constituency	Candidates	Votes	%	±%
East Midlands	Derek Clark,Christopher Pain, Stephen Allison, Deva Kumarasiri, Irena Marriott	201,184	16.4	-9.6
East of England	David Campbell Bannerman, Stuart Agnew, Andrew Smith, Stuart Gulleford, Amy O'Boyle, Mick McGough, Michael Baker, Marion Mason	313,921	19.6	0.0
London	Gerard Batten, Ralph Atkinson, Michael Zuckerman, Tim Worstall, Sunita Webb, Victor Webb, Strachan McDonald, Geoff Howard, Marcus Watney	188,440	10.8	-1.6
North East England	Gordon Parkin, Sandra Allison, John Tennant	90,700	15.4	+3.2
North West England	Paul Nuttall, Michael McManus, Graham Cannon, Nigel Brown, Hilary Jones, Philip Griffiths, Fred McGlade, Terry Durrance	261,740	15.8	+3.7
South East England	Nigel Farage, Marta Andreasen, Steve Harris, Phillip Van der Elst, Harry Aldridge, Victor Webb, Christopher Browne, Andrew Moncreiff, Mark Stroud, Rob Burberry, Mahzar Manzoor, Ray Finch	434,827	18.8	-0.7
South West England	Trevor Colman, Earl of Dartmouth, Gawain Towler, Julia Reid, Alan Wood, Stephanie McWilliam	341,845	22.1	-0.5
West Midlands	Mike Nattrass, Nikki Sinclaire, Jill Seymour, Rustie Lee, Malcolm Hurst, Jonathan Oakton	300,471	21.3	+3.8
Yorkshire and the Humber	Godfrey Bloom, Jonathan Arnott, Jason Smith, Toby Horton, David Daniel, Lynette Afshar	213,750	17.4	+2.9
Wales	John Bufton, David Bevan, Kevin Mahoney, David Rowlands	87,585	12.8	+2.3

The path to the 2010 general election

Main article: United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election, 2009

In September 2009, Nigel Farage announced that he would be resigning as Leader of the party in order to stand against Speaker John Bercow — an imperfectly observed convention states that the main parties do not normally nominate candidates against an incumbent Speaker. Malcolm Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch, Gerard Batten, Nikki Sinclaire, Mike Nattrass and Alan Wood stood for election, with Pearson winning.

Main article: United Kingdom Independence Party election results

UKIP fielded 572 candidates in the 2010 general election, with their main target being Buckingham. UKIP aimed for a hung parliament in which they hoped the Liberal Democrats would drive through proportional representation as a key demand to form a coalition government. Lord Pearson demanded that some candidates stand down in favour of eurosceptic Conservatives and Labour MPs, however, some refused to do so. This did not stop Lord Pearson from campaigning on behalf of the Conservative candidates citing that he was 'putting country before party'. These decisions drew some criticism from within the party from the likes of Michael Heaver of Young Independence, among others.

On the morning of polling day, Nigel Farage was injured when a light aircraft he was a passenger in crashed near Brackley, Northamptonshire.

In the election itself the party polled 3.1% of the vote (919,471 votes), but took no seats. This made it the party with the largest percentage of the popular vote to win no seats in the election (In a fully proportional system, 3.1% of 649 seats would be just over 20 seats).

In UKIP's key target, despite Lord Tebbit and numerous senior Conservatives voicing support for Farage and a Conservative Home online survey put Farage on 64% and Bercow on 25%, Nigel Farage obtained just 17.4% of the vote in Buckingham - placing him third behind Bercow and independent John Stevens (Buckinghamshire Campaign for Democracy)- who had previously resigned from the Conservatives to found the Pro-Euro Conservative Party. UKIP also achieved third place in three other constituencies: North Cornwall, North Devon and Torridge and West Devon. Farage's result was the best in all constituencies contested in that election. The constituency of Boston and Skegness also achieved a large percentage of vote, being the second best by terms of percentage.

UKIP lost five sitting councillors in the UK local elections in May 2010. The only one of those to have been previously elected as a UKIP councillor was Steve Allison in Hartlepool.

Re-election of Nigel Farage

Main article: United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election, 2010

Lord Pearson resigned as leader in August 2010, and Nigel Farage was re-elected against Professor Tim Congdon, David Bannerman, and Winston McKenzie with more than 60% of the vote. During his acceptance speech, he spoke out against the Coalition government, saying that the Conservative Party's policy on Europe can be summed up as: "Surrender, surrender, surrender." Lord Pearson welcomed Nigel Farage's re-election, saying: "The UKIP crown returns to it rightful owner."

Since the 2010 general election

Since the 2010 general election, UKIP have gained a councillor on Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council. Stuart Wheeler, who once gave £5 million to the Conservatives, has also joined as the Party Treasurer. In two by-elections in early 2011, UKIP fared better than predicted, with candidate Jane Collins coming second in a by-election for Barnsley Central. Nigel Farage welcomed Jane Collins' success and said that UKIP should now aim to replace the Liberal Democrats as the third largest party, saying: "The Lib Dems are no longer the voice of opposition in British Politics - we are. Between now and the next general election our aim is to replace them as the third party in British politics."

UKIP fielded 1,217 candidates for the local council elections, a major increase since its previous campaigns but not enough to be able to have a party election broadcast on television. UKIP said that the party is well-organised in the South East, South West and Eastern regions but there are still places across the country where there are no UKIP candidates standing at all. There were many candidates from Young Independence, the Youth wing of UKIP such as the Young Independence former and current chairmen, Michael Heaver and Harry Aldridge.

Although no Young Independence candidates were elected, many significantly increases their vote totals. For example, a candidate in Thurrock came within 98 votes of winning the council seat and making a gain from the Conservative party. Across the country, many UKIP candidates, whether from Young Independence or not either came second or third place, candidate Nathan Brittain of Newcastle-Under-Lyme came second place with 31% of the vote. UKIP had done very well in Newcastle-under-Lyme gaining a total of five seats on Newcastle Borough Council in 2007 and 2008 and three seats on Staffordshire County Council in 2009. UKIP were defending three seats at the 2011 local elections and lost all of them to Labour, by mediocre majorities. Although UKIP did not poll well, it made gains across many parts of England, gaining two new councillors in Aylesbury Vale, one councillor in Tunbridge Wells and another in Wycombe as well as taking control of Ramsey town council with nine UKIP councillors out of the 17. The Chairman of Young Independence, Harry Aldridge, was enthusiastic about the results, saying: “What we have seen in these elections is a raft of enthusiastic first time candidates from YI, from whom we have got some very encouraging results.” Whilst UKIP made gains and losses, the party fell short of Farage's predictions of major gains. However, UKIP candidates came second in many wards. The UKIP MEP Marta Andreasen called for Farage's resignation as leader of the party.

In the Welsh, Scottish Northern Irish elections, UKIP increased its share of the vote in all areas, retaining its sole Northern Irish councillor but failed to gain Welsh Assembly members which the media had speculated UKIP and the Green Party could have achieved. The party earned 4.6% (an increase of 0.7%) of the vote on the regional list, more than half of the Liberal Democrats share and comfortably higher than the Greens. In Northern Ireland, UKIP more than doubled its share of the vote but did not gain any seats. The same occurred in Scotland with UKIP more than doubling its share of the vote but failing to gain any seats.

On July 7, UKIP came in front of the Liberal Democrats in two local government by-elections, both in wards in which UKIP had never contested before. Farage used these results to reaffirm his commitment to replacing the Liberal Democrats.

On 5 September, a few days before UKIP's annual conference, the party chose Lawrence Webb as its mayoral candidate for the 2012 London mayoral election with a 42% share of the vote. The other candidates were David Coburn, Paul Oakly, Winston McKenzie (who had previously stood for the leadership of UKIP), Michael McGough and Michael Corby. On the day before UKIP's annual conference, the party came second in an Essex County Council by-election, beating the Labour and Liberal Democrat share of the vote put together, reducing the Conservative's majority substantially.

A day after UKIP's September conference in Eastbourne, Nigel Farage (on Twitter) reported that two Conservative councillors from Rushmoor Borough Council who had attended the conference had defected to UKIP over the government's actions on the Armed Forces and the refusal for a referendum on the European Union. On 10 October, Lord Hesketh defected from the Conservatives to UKIP, something that Nigel Farage and the UKIP leadership welcomed with open-arms and called the most high-profile Conservative defection to date. In an article by the Daily Mail, he says that he believes that the EU has 'betrayed the country's working people' and that he will be an active member of UKIP. In a Meopham North by-election, UKIP came off second, tallying more than 34 per cent of the overall vote.. In early November, UKIP regained principal authority representation in the North East of England due to the defection of a South Tyneside councillor.

Coverage of UKIP's activities in the mainstream media in 2011 was comparatively small, with the exception of the Daily Express newspaper which has had several spokesmen from the party quoted in its pages.

During 2011, UKIP spokespeople had some success in appearing in other media channels including television channel Russia Today and on the Alex Jones show.

Party leaders

• Dr. Alan Sked - 1993–1997
• Craig Mackinlay - 1997 (acting leader)
• Michael Holmes MEP - 1997–2000 (not an MEP until 1999)
• Jeffrey Titford MEP - 2000–2002
• Roger Knapman MEP - 2002–2006 (not an MEP until 2004)
• Nigel Farage MEP - 2006–2009
• Lord Pearson of Rannoch - 2009-2010
• Jeffrey Titford - 2010 (acting leader)
• Nigel Farage MEP - 2010 -

Policies

Although UKIP's original raison d'être was withdrawal from the European Union it was felt that the public perception of the party as a single-issue party – despite issuing a full manifesto – was damaging electoral progress and Nigel Farage, on becoming leader, started a wide-ranging policy review, his stated aim being 'the development of the party into broadly standing for traditional conservative and libertarian values'. Malcolm Pearson, on becoming leader, built upon Farage's policy review, his fundamental propositions being the introduction of Swiss style referendums and direct democracy at local and national levels, and the opposition to Islamic fundamentalism.

UKIP has subsequently produced detailed policy documents on taxation and education.

Economic policies

UKIP's economic stance is based on what it claims to be the need for much lower taxation in order to compete internationally. It proposes combining income tax and national insurance into a single flat tax at 31 per cent, which it claims would take 4.5 million lower-paid workers out of the income tax system completely. UKIP also proposes cuts in corporation taxes and the abolition of inheritance taxes. On the subject of business and enterprise, UKIP proposes to establish 'Production Enterprise Centres' to assist companies in research, design, prototyping and marketing. This would mean that small and medium-sized enterprises would be provided with skills to enter into markets without being shunned, and thus businesses failing to survive.

On the issue of the national debt, UKIP admits that there should be cuts in government services but ones of front line status should still thrive and be able. UKIP also believes that things such as administration and politicians salaries should be at the top of the list for government cuts instead of services. The party also believes that there is substantial waste and inefficiency that can be eliminated while vital front-line services remain fully protected. UKIP also aims to reduce the public sector size to what it was in 1997, making cuts into unnecessary and taxpayer-costly jobs and to also create one million skilled jobs in manufacturing in exchange for public sector jobs. Finally, the party believes profligate government spending is killing off the productive activity that provides tax funds, and that easing the burden will be the route to revitalising the economy.

The party also advocates closer economic ties with the Commonwealth of Nations.

Education policy

UKIP's policy paper on education says it regards the aim of education as being to bring out the talents and abilities of every child. The party wants to give schools more freedom to determine their own direction so parents can have a more meaningful choice. It supports education vouchers for parents; would reform the national curriculum to give schools a greater say over subjects taught; and would abolish nationwide testing of children before the age of 11. UKIP supports grammar schools equally with the other kinds of state-funded schools. Lord Pearson, on becoming leader, would go onto propose the introduction of a school voucher system. UKIP also plans to re-introduce the three Rs into schools and to introduce simple reading tests to students at the age of 7. UKIP also aims to allow teachers to do their jobs with minimal government interference. It plans to abolish Ofsted with its powers to be transferred to school governing bodies with a new independent Educational Inspectorate made up of experienced teachers. Another education policy is to allow schools a greater say over what they can teach although key subjects will be retained.

UKIP has condemned the Badman Review, which recommends greater regulation of home educators in England, and it supports home education as a parental choice.

Defence

The UK Independence Party claims that the Armed Forces are 'starved' of money, insufficient resources, equipment and expensive, wasteful military operations. On the War in Afghanistan, UKIP aims to create a single, clear objective or look to negotiate a withdrawal from the area. The party is also committed to NATO and is fully against the creation of a European Army: Eurocorps. UKIP also agrees that defence spending should be increased; the party believes that the structure of the Ministry of Defence is bureaucratic and wasteful. UKIP plans to cut bureaucracy and waste but increase spending in the Armed Forces and improve equipment. UKIP also pledges to:

• Spend an extra 40% on defence annually, another 1% of GDP.
• Expand the Army by 25% to 125,000 personnel and double the size of the Territorial Army.
• On naval affairs; UKIP wishes to restore the Royal Navy to its 2001 strength with three new aircraft carriers and nearly 70 other ships, at the same time guaranteeing the future of the Plymouth, Portsmouth and Rosyth naval bases.
• On air force affairs; UKIP plans on increasing the Royal Air Force's capability by buying more essential helicopters, transport aircraft and 50 extra Joint Strike Fighter Lightning aircraft.
• Cut the bureaucracy of the Ministry of Defence, which has one civil servant for every two military personnel.
• UKIP aims to introduce better pay, conditions and medical care for the British Armed Forces personnel and their families.

British nationality

The UK Independence Party states that Britain and Britishness have been "betrayed by misguided politically correct ideology, extremist Islam and errant nationalism from within", that "Britain is a proud nation state, which does not wish its identity to be diluted or trivialised... and feel it is time to assert our independence, identity and traditions." UKIP asserts that it believes in civic nationalism. UKIP "opposes multiculturalism and political correctness but rejects "blood and soil" ethnic nationalism. UKIP promotes uni-culturalism, a single British culture embracing all races, religions and colours". It states that Britishness can be defined in terms of belief in democracy, fair play and freedom.

UKIP would replace the May Day bank holiday in England with a St George's Day bank holiday. It would introduce an English Parliament and end the Barnett formula.

UKIP has stated that it will "enthusiastically support teaching Gaelic languages and histories in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Cornwall, and support local and area heritage across the UK."

UKIP opposes the takeover of major British companies, such as the takeover of Cadbury's by Kraft Foods in 2010, and would create a new parliamentary committee that would be given powers to block the sale or merger of companies and to attach conditions, including requiring a UK Government “Golden Share”.

All media, businesses, schools and colleges would be required to use imperial measurements alongside metric measurements.

Immigration and asylum

UKIP states that some 2.5 million immigrants have arrived since 1997 and up to one million economic migrants live in the UK illegally. UKIP asserts that "former New Labour staff maintain that this policy has been a deliberate attempt to water down the British identity and buy votes. EU and human rights legislation means we cannot even expel foreign criminals if they come from another EU country. This is why immigration control is so essential and overdue." UKIP will:

• Call for an immediate five-year freeze on immigration for permanent settlement will insure that any future immigration does not exceed 50,000 people per year.
• Ensure that after the five-year freeze, any future immigration for permanent settlement will be on a strictly controlled, points-based system similar to Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
• Regain control of the UK's borders. Entry for work will be on a time-limited work permit only while entry for non-work related purposes (e.g., holiday or study) will be on a temporary visa. Overstaying a visa will be treated as a criminal offence.
• Triple UK Borders Agency staff engaged in controlling immigration up to 30,000.
• Return people found to be living illegally in the UK to their country of origin. No amnesty for illegal immigrants as it encourages illegal immigration.
• Require those living in the UK under ‘Permanent Leave to Remain’ to abide by a legally binding ‘Undertaking of Residence’ ensuring they respect our laws or face deportation. Such citizens will not be eligible for benefits. People applying for British citizenship will have to have completed a period of not less than five years as a resident on ‘Permanent Leave to Remain’. New citizens should pass a citizenship test and sign a ‘Declaration of British Citizenship’ promising to uphold Britain’s democratic and tolerant way of life.
• Enforce the existing terms of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees until Britain replaces it with an Asylum Act. To avoid disappearances, asylum seekers will be held in secure and humane centres until applications are processed, with limited right to appeal. Those seeking asylum must do so in the first ‘designated safe country’ they enter. Existing asylum seekers who have had their application refused will be required to leave the country, along with any dependants.
• Certain visas, such as student visas, will require face-to-face interviews, and UKIP will crack down on bogus educational establishments
• Repeal the 1998 Human Rights Act and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In future the British courts will not be allowed to appeal to any international treaty or convention that overrides or sets aside the provisions of any statue passed by the UK Parliament.
• Reintroduce The ‘Primary Purpose Rule’ (abolished by the Labour Government), whereby those marrying or seeking to marry a British citizen will have to convince the admitting officer that marriage, not residence, is their primary purpose in seeking to enter the UK.
• End the active promotion of the doctrine of multiculturalism by local and national government and all publicly funded bodies

In 2011, British academics Matthew Goodwin, Robert Ford and David Cutts published a study revealing significant xenophobic and increasing Islamophobic elements in UKIP's strategy. They showed that the discourse of the Independence Party on immigration and national identity is similar to the one of British National Party (BNP), with the former's being gradually more moderate.

Direct democracy and referendums

UKIP would introduce direct democracy whereby if a fixed proportion of the electorate depending on each constituency (normally 5 per cent) signs a petition demanding a referendum on any major issue which is of concern to them, it shall be granted a referendum within three months for local petitions and six months for national petitions.

Energy and environmental policies

UKIP favours an expansion of nuclear power for reasons of energy security. UKIP is sceptical of anthropogenic global warming, and suggests instead that the current warming is similar to that of previous geological cycles, and calls for further evidence provided by a Royal Commission before it will accept that it is manmade. It does not believe large-scale cuts of carbon emissions are necessary, arguing that technological innovation is already moving towards decarbonisation, and also argues that plans to invest in wind power are uneconomic.

Animal welfare

UKIP would introduce labelling schemes to imports indicating the methods of production, e.g., battery cages, sow tethers, veal crates, whilst maintaining current levels of British animal welfare. They would use advertising campaigns to educate the consumer about the labelling schemes.

UKIP would look at the present system of import control to find out how it can be strengthened using expert opinion. UKIP state that they will rely on British veterinary and scientific advice in the event of any disease outbreaks including Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Bovine TB.

GM foods

UKIP is opposed to the production of GM crops in Britain, yet open to scientific research, advice and consumer demand. UKIP would also require that all imported GM produce be labelled as 'genetically modified'.

Identity cards and civil liberties

UKIP are against the Identity Cards Act 2006. In December 2004, UKIP affiliated to the anti-ID card campaign, No2ID. Concern for civil liberties also led UKIP to oppose the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which gives additional powers to the UK Home Secretary in broadly defined "emergency situations". UKIP's Jeffrey Titford MEP condemned the bill as "totalitarian".

Local government

UKIP seeks to give more powers to local authorities.

They would restore the county as a key government with unitaries only where local people prefer them.

UKIP would use city-wide authorities to provide continuity and strategic direction, with counties cooperating on area-wide strategies, where necessary. However, area-wide co-operation across large scale planning, transport and development will be encouraged.

Representatives

Grouping in the European Parliament

In 1999, three UKIP members were elected to the European Parliament. Together with eurosceptics from other countries, they formed a grouping called Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD).

In 2004, 37 MEPs from the UK, Poland, Denmark and Sweden founded a new European Parliamentary group called Independence and Democracy from the old Europe of Democracies and Diversities group. However, following the European Parliament election, 2009, where Eurosceptic parties from Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere lost all representation, the ID group was dissolved.

UKIP has since formed a new right-wing grouping called Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) comprising nationalist, Eurosceptic, conservative, and other political factions. This group is more right wing than the older Independence and Democracy grouping.

Current representatives

UKIP now has 11 MEPs in European Parliament. Mike Nattrass and Trevor Colman have left the EFD grouping but still stand for UKIP.

East Midlands	Derek Clark
East of England	Stuart Agnew
London	Gerard Batten
North West England	Paul Nuttall
South East England	Nigel Farage, Marta Andreasen
South West England	Trevor Colman, Earl of Dartmouth
Wales	John Bufton
Yorkshire and the Humber	Godfrey Bloom
West Midlands	Mike Nattrass

Ramsey Town Council

On 6 May 2011, the party won nine out of the seventeen seats for Ramsey Town Council in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Before the election of 2011, the party only had one seat in the town council. On 12 May, UKIP councillor Lisa Duffy was elected as Mayor. The UKIP group leader for Huntingdonshire District Council said that the town council under UKIP will "be standing up for volunteers and the third sector and will be making grants to them to help the big society develop." The Daily Mail has claimed that UKIP "has made political history after taking control of its first council in the UK".

Relationship with other parties

Party		Name	Office held	Year elected/took seat	Year retired/defeated etc	Defection	Other
rowspan=30 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Conservative
Jonathan Aitken		MP for South Thanet - Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1994–1995)	1983	1997 - Defeated	2004
Sir Richard Body		MP for Boston and Skegness	1966	2001 - Retired	2005
Sir Nicholas Bonsor, 4th Baronet		MP for Upminster - Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (1995-1997)	1979	1997 - Defeated	2010	During the 2010 pledged his support for Nigel Farage.
Timothy Brinton		MP for Gravesham	1979	1987 - Retired	2003
Michael Brotherton		MP for Louth	October 1974	1983 - Retired	2007
John Browne		MP for Winchester	1979	1992 - Defeated	2000
Christopher Gill		MP for Ludlow	1987	2001 - Retired	2006
Neil Hamilton		MP for Tatton	1983	1997 - Defeated	2011
Roger Knapman		MP for Stroud - Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury (1995-1997)	1987	1997 - Defeated	1999	Leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (2002-2006) and Member of the European Parliament for the South West England (2004-2009) - Retired
Piers Merchant		MP for Beckenham	1992	1997 - Resigned	2003
Dr Bob Spink		MP for Castle Point	2001	2010 - Defeated	2008	First UKIP MP in the House of Commons, joined after being expelled from the Conservatives.
Walter Sweeney		MP for Vale of Glamorgan	1992	1997 - Defeated	2004
Charles Wardle		MP for Bexhill and Battle	1983	2001 - Retired	2001	Didn't "join" but announced that he would be supporting Nigel Farage's attempt to succeed him as MP at the 2001 General Election
Sir John Wells		MP for Maidstone	1959	1983 - Retired	2010	During the 2010 General Election walked unannounced into Farage's campaign office saying to UKIP staff "Not sure what I can do for you, but I am all yours for the day."
Lord Grantley		Member of the House of Lords	1995	1999	1993	Leader of UKIP in the House of Lords
The 10th Viscount Exmouth		Member of the House of Lords	1970	1999	2000
The Earl of Bradford		Member of the House of Lords	1981	1999	1999
The Duke of Rutland		Member of the House of Lords	1999	1999	1999
The Duke of Somerset		Member of the House of Lords	1984	1999	2004
The Duke of Devonshire		Member of the House of Lords	1950	1999	2001
The Earl of Wemyss and March					2003
The Earl of Dartmouth		Member of the House of Lords	1997	1999	2007	MEP for South West England (2009 - )
The Lord Pearson		Member of the House of Lords	1990		2007	Leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (2009-2010)
The Lord Willoughby de Broke		Member of the House of Lords	1986		2007
The Viscount Monckton					2009	Head of the Policy Unit United Kingdom Independence Party
The Lord Hesketh		Member of the House of Lords - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms	1955	1999	2011
Damian Hockney		Member of the London Assembly	2004	2008 - Defeated	1999	Defected to Veritas in 2005
Peter Hulme-Cross		Member of the London Assembly	2004	2008 - Defeated	1994	Defected to Veritas in 2005
Stuart Wheeler					2011	2011 created UKIP Party Treasurer
rowspan=4 style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Labour Party
The Lord Stoddart of Swindon		MP for Swindon and Member of the House of Lords	1970 & 1983	1983 - Defeated	2009	Created a life peer in 1983 and 2009 told voters to vote UKIP as he would be
John Bufton		Councillor for Rhayader Town Council and Powys County Council	1987	2000 - Defeated	2000	MEP for Wales (2009 - )
Robert Kilroy-Silk		MP for Knowsley North	Feb 1974	1986 - Resigned	2004	Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands (2004-2009) - Retired and created Veritas in 2005

• A recent ConservativeHome survey revealed that 43% of surveyed members of the Conservative Party felt that UKIP was the closest party to their views (apart from the Conservative Party itself), with 66% either supporting or sympathising with the Better Off Out campaign. 12 Conservative, 8 DUP and 1 Labour MPs have signed the Better Off Out petition.

Patrons and supporters

The following are either well known supporters or patrons of UKIP:

• Sir Ranulph Fiennes, 3rd Baronet
• Sir Patrick Moore
• Sir Stirling Moss
• Joan Collins
• Edward Fox
• Simon Heffer
• Frank Maloney
• Lord Tebbit (officially a member of the Conservative Party, has backed UKIP in some elections).
• Geoffrey Boycott
• David Prowse
• Frank Carson
• Rustie Lee
• Pat Condell
• Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsk
• Vladimir Bukovsky
• Paul Sykes
• The late Sir Dai Llewellyn, 4th Baronet
• The late Vice Admiral Sir Louis Le Bailly
• Garry Bushell

See also

• Bruges Group

External links

• Official website
• UKIP in the European Parliament - UKIP MEPs' website
• Official UKIP Local Councillors
• UKIP's MEPs explain their aims