Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

LOL....poor old Hays in denial mode again.

At some point the penny will have to drop.

UKIP got all the votes they are going to get. Even with a further increase in their vote they are unlikely to get even one MP. They are in the position that the Libs have been in living memory. They aren't going to get a critical mass. They have no experience of government and none of even opposition. They have no candidates who have ever even been MPs. The bulk of voters are just not going to trust them with even a sniff of power as they don't have the necessary skills to put a sensible maifesto together. UKIP are appealing to the lowest common denominator of voters. The intended ones who vote for stupid policies without any thought of the real consequences.

hays - sorry m8, but that is no answer at all .... as your schoolmaster undoubtedly told you, "answer the question asked"

sticky - apart from pouring scorn, do you actually have an intelligent response the question i raised?

hays - again! ... please answer the question!

Cyners,

Does it really matter how far right UKIP are? The fact is that a significant element of the public voted for them in the council elections. They can afford to spout unworkable rhetoric because they aren't in office, and they are being egged on by the popular London press who are more than happy to lead with headlines about kicking out Qatada and with calls for an EU referendum because they are the sort of stories that sell rags and stir up a bit of good ol' patriotism.

Seriously, Cameron should have strolled into #10 on a landslide 3 years ago. He didn't, because he couldn't demonstrate the necessary leadership qualities.

He is in danger now of not being able to capture a majority two years out, unless he starts appealing more to the masses. The public simply don't understand why they have to wait until 2017 to have an EU referendum. They don't understand why they can't just stick Qatada on a plane tomorrow. And to say they're p!ssed off when they read about having to pay for Qatada's legal aid when their own housing benefit has just been cut is an understatement!

Cameron might be doing a good job on the economy, but the public can't see any tangible reward from that yet. If he doesn't sit up and take notice of the local election results, he will be the master of his own downfall. The public don't care about his 'Call me Dave' approach - the UK is shifting increasingly to the right at the moment, primarily because Cameron was unable to take control of the centre ground at a time when the centre ground needed someone with the necessary leadership qualities to take control of it. Right now, the country needs someone with a bit of spunk who isn't afraid to mince his words.

to me, on a personal level, it matters ..... though i am not a practicing jew by any stretch of the imagination, it is impossible for me to ignore the history and thus my heritage stretching back over the centuries ..... political parties with extreme leanings and appeal therefore give me cause for concern, especially in times of economic hardship .... i assume no further explanation required

Hilary
Qatada is also getting all the available benefits.

Well QED then, Haystack!

cynic
I did answer the question. I don't think that UKIP is neither left nor right leaning. They would have to have the full range of policies to really judge. I would say they are probably somewhat to right of centre but certainly not extreme right. That's not to say they are not attracting supporters from the far right. The polls showed that at least a third of BNP voters voted for UKIP. That could cause a problem for Farage at some stage. He doesn't appear to like racists voting for his party, but they are doing so already.

Hilary
According to Conservative politician Boris Johnson, Abu Qatada's residence in Britain is estimated to have cost the British taxpayer at least £500,000 in benefit payments to his family and other expenses by early 2012. The Daily Telegraph claimed the cost to be as high as £3 million by May 2012, a figure that could not be confirmed by the British Home Office.
(probably correct or even more allowing for police guards and surveillance)

In 1995 Qatada issued a fatwa justifying the killing of Muslims who renounce their faith, and of their families. In 1999 he advocated the killing of Jews and praised attacks on Americans.

The former chancellor of the exchequer, Lord Lawson, has called for the UK to leave the European Union.

Writing in the Times, he said British economic gains from an exit "would substantially outweigh the costs".

He describes the EU as "a bureaucratic monstrosity" and added that after an association with Brussels of 40 years "the case for exit is clear".

Cynic what question?. Youve asked so many lately Ive lost count.

Hays you say that UKIP have got all the votes they are going to get!!!!.

Dont know about that, Im thinking of voting for them.

Common sense politics.

i assume you are implying you concur .... what would have been your view if he had come to the opposite conclusion?

here you are sticky .....

just how right wing is ukip?
all parties have their loony fringe, and assuredly ukip is no exception ....... for all that, there is a definite impression, that populist policies (wishlist) apart, ukip would place its innate character in the pretty far right spectrum of the conservative party

is this a fair assessment?
sensible comment would be appreciated

NO. Not going on past Tory Historical records.

It all depends whose leading the Tory party if you think about it.

i don't think "historical record" is very relevant, but that aside as well as ukip's loony fringe, i certainly have concerns over ukip's positioning in the spectrum .... nationalistic (introspective) politics are always a concern as we now see in hungary, and have also seen elsewhere even after the last war

Cyners, Nigel Lawson..........who I rated very highly as chancelor, says we should come out of the EU. !!!!!

Not sure myself now, cant make my mind up. If we got a better deal in, id think id be for staying put.

Problem is Cyners as usual the press/media zoom in and magnify singular cases re- loony fringe.

Same with benefits, should be same with tax cheats.

Normaly find no problem with the majority.

It sells newspapers and promotes progs on TV.

A lot of the electorate are fooled. Nobody plays this better than the cheat Cameron himself. Just look at how he fooled the electorate in a party political broadcast 6 months ago when he claimed debt was coming down. Hes the master at manipulating statistics.

i was thinking of loony fringe closer to home!

Always thinking about yourself cyners.