Every time you hear the words “seriously considering” from UKIP, you know the party has found itself in a bit of a tricky position. On one hand, something’s happened that’s generating news coverage, and…
One month to go until the 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections. The candidates have been chosen, the posters printed and the media interpretation of the results (probably) decided. “A wake-up call for…
“Great Britain vs Little England” was the stark choice posed by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in his debates with UKIP leader Nigel Farage. This pitch follows hard on the heels of former prime minister…
Of all the party conference speeches SNP leader Alex Salmond has made over the years, Saturday’s in Aberdeen was probably the biggest. As the last conference speech before referendum day on 18 September…
The second Nick vs Nigel matchup was entertaining viewing for the political obsessives likely to make up most of its audience – both sides made their cases with clarity and passion. After an hour of detailed…
Most commentators agreed that Nigel Farage won round one of the Clegg vs Farage debates – if only on points. The UKIP leader was able to convey a clear message that the UK is marginalised in the EU and…
Ed Miliband has announced, in a well-trailed and extensively publicised speech, that Labour favours an in/out referendum on EU membership but only in the specific circumstance of a fresh transfer of powers…
UKIP has helped to put religion higher up the political agenda than usual in recent weeks – but not for reasons that will have pleased the party leadership. The now former UKIP councillor David Silvester’s…
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, veteran Conservative minister Ken Clarke argued that immigration has contributed positively and significantly to the economy, and that EU free movement is…
The election to the EU Parliament in May looks likely to be nothing short of a car-crash for Britain’s main political parties. The most recent poll by YouGov suggests UKIP is well-placed to poll in second…
Immigration is seldom out of the news, but the past month has seen attention spike to new highs as the removal of transitional controls on migration from Romania and Bulgaria has sparked furious debate…
I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire. So Winston Churchill declared in 1942. Seventy years on, David Cameron no doubt feels something…
Brace yourself for more dire warnings about how Britain will be flooded next year by hordes of migrants from Bulgaria and Romania. This week’s story in The Times quotes figures from the Office for National…
This weekend’s UKIP party conference – its 20th – was phenomenal and fantastic. Obviously, I’m using those words in their original senses of “it happened” and “it resembled something from a child’s story…
It is less than two months since UKIP’s remarkable breakthrough in May’s local elections, yet as pictures of triumphant British sportsman have replaced those of a grinning, pint-wielding Nigel Farage on…
There has been in a shift in the way the Conservative party leadership has talked about the European Union over the past fortnight. No longer is the talk of “giving the people a choice” about membership…
Foundation essay: Welcome to the first in a series of articles marking the launch of The Conversation in the UK. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis articles and take a…
If you listen to UKIP, you could be forgiven for thinking migrants are coming to Britain to access our foolishly generous welfare benefits and care nothing for integration. But that’s simply not true…
On the surface, the recent surge in support for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) suggests an urgent need to reform Britain’s relations with the European Union. But polls tell a different story. The best…
In the recent United Kingdom local council elections, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) won 147 seats, an increase of 139 seats, garnering more than one million votes (around 23%) across 35 local governments…