The face of British politics has changed

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/european-elections-results-2014-sweeping-gains-for-nigel-farages-ukip-deal-further-body-blow-to-main-parties-9434042.html

Ukip Wins European Elections

 

UKIP top the European Election poll

 

 

Whichever way you look at it, whatever your own personal preferences may be, no matter what spin Danny Alexander, or Nick Robinson, or Sadiq Khan or Chris Grayling or any of the others may vainly attempt to put on it, the results of the local elections, now compounded by the results of the European elections, clearly demonstrate that the face of British politics has changed. With UKIP topping the election close to 4% ahead of Labour, who emerged less than 1% ahead of the

Conservatives, the months between now and the next general election will be frantically

with the two (formally main) parties seeking to claw back the voters who deserted them in significant numbers last Thursday (22nd May 2014).

As for the Liberal Democrats, their share of the poll fell by over 7% losing all but 1 of their European Parliament seats, consigning them to 5th place in the party rankings with only 6.9% of votes cast and behind the Green Party with their 7.9%. The Liberal Democrats are now consigned to the political wilderness no doubt due in part at least to their complicity in the ConDem coalition. A coalition which had no mandate from the British people, and which has imposed a regime of austerity causing financial a social hardship on thousands of families around the country.

The traditional Westminster parties have been dealt a substantial rebuff by those voting in the local and European elections of last week.

The reasons for this are many, but without doubt one factor stands out above all others. For decades past, the two main political parties have assumed that they have an automatic right to be the alternative government of the United Kingdom and that sooner or later the pendulum of voting patterns would return them to Westminster with a majority for the next 5 years. This has resulted in a growing alienation amongst the people of this country who, quite rightly in my opinion, have felt take for granted by the politicians in Parliament who have essentially pursued their own personal ambitions and self interests to the detriment of the country and its people.

The instances of scandal, malpractices and sleaze emanating from Westminster are well documented elsewhere and bear witness to how over a period of time, complacency with position breeds contempt for the reasons for holding such positions. This alienation by the voting public was clearly a factor in the way in which votes were cast on the 22nd May.

The traditional parties face the next 12 months trying to recover from this “earthquake”, but from the evidence thus far their prospects do not look good. The Conservatives seem to be concentrating (and repeating ad nauseam ) that they are the "only party offering the British people an In/Out referendum”, the Labour party continue, their now discredited, attacks on UKIP and Nigel Farage, but are silent on policy and the Liberal Democrats are moving towards replacing their leader, in the hope that this will, in itself, cure their electoral woes.

These three political entities have not and perhaps will not, grasp the essential truth. The British people will no longer tolerate the political status quo, where a policy from one party sounds very much like a policy from another party (perhaps with some minor variation at the margin), where the excesses of banks and private industries are frowned upon but remain unchecked, where cuts to public finances and services, particularly in the NHS effect peoples lives on a daily basis and where the dictates of Europe on immigration, working practices, cross border controls, even closer integration and one thousand and one other measures are accepted without challenge or protest.

In the event that Labour or Conservative or both recognise what has and is happening in this country, they may well be destined to suffer the same fate as the Liberal Democrats have encountered over the past weeks.