14% is a real achievement for UKIP

UKIP seem to have achieved another growth in our voting base with media reports giving a 14% support where candidates stood.

The first past the post system means a lot of the progress is below the surface of numbers of elected representatives. But UKIP will now be changing the results of elections and the agenda set by UKIP must surely be addressed by the other parties.

Though early signs from the unelected Baroness Warsi suggest the Gadfly approach and insult are still the knee jerk response. ( That's the sort of attitude to Conservative core supporters that has helped UKIP to where it is today of course ).

From my personal perspective I'm committed to ideals, ideas and morals mostly found on the right of centre. I'm not married to the idea of any political party existing for ever. As Daniel Hannan has suggested the route for success for the right should be via  a merger between UKIP & The Conservative party, but that will mean the modernisers and wets will need to find a new home ( I hear the Lib Dems are short of self serving europhile hand ringers these days. ). But it won't happen any time soon as my guess is CCHQ will respond with bile.

My guess is we'll get a few more half baked Euro-Sausages from Cameron ( all approved as worthless scraps by Clegg et al ). They may even stall UKIP's advance for a while, but life long Conservatives like myself are getting into the habit of voting for UKIP - and a new reality will emerge from this over time.

See also Paul Nutall and the panel discussion about the rise of UKIP below and below that the ever reasonable Tim Montgomerie pointing out the danger of the short changing of the right that has lead people like me to leave the Conservatives for UKIP.






Even Guido is arguing for UKIP's agenda to be listened to and acted upon, though you need to be careful when Peter Mandelson starts suggesting a referendum on Europe as things are never straight forward with him.