Douglas Carswell: Ukip must show it has inclusive agenda

[Mr Angry]

"The Ukip MP Douglas Carswell has told the party it must show it is inclusive and not blame immigrants for Britain’s woes if it is to become a serious force.

The former Tory, whose byelection victory in October has made him one of Ukip’s highest-profile faces, said a dislike of foreigners was “not merely offensive but absurd”.

Efforts by Nigel Farage’s party to shake off claims of unpalatable views in its ranks have been made harder by a string of offensive comments by candidates and other figures."

I think the party will face something of an uphill struggle trying to address this mindset of some within its ranks and support base.


Cardigan.

Im curious - do you have some particular fascination with UKIP atm ?
This is about the 3rd or 4th thread Ive seen you create on them in the last few days.

[Mr Angry]

Worthy news, Paul. Nothing more than the interest currently being shown by the mainstream media and major political parties.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Mr Angry

Worthy news,.

Questionable.

I would have thought it worthy that the mainstream media focused on a positive statement by a UKIP MP, when so many on this forum protest that only the faux pas and failings seem to be reported.

[Mr Angry]

Originally Posted by Hugh

I would have thought it worthy that the mainstream media focused on a positive statement by a UKIP MP, when so many on this forum protest that only the faux pas and failings seem to be reported.

Exactly.

Originally Posted by Mr Angry

Worthy news, Paul. Nothing more than the interest currently being shown by the mainstream media and major political parties.

Fair enough.

[Stop It]

So, in order to be accepted by the mainstream, UKIP will have to become er...typical Eurosceptic Tories? Well we already have those and they're the source of much joy and infighting within that lot so maybe they should jump ship to UKIP too? Maybe that's the end game for people like Carswell.

From the article: “Angry nativism must have no part in it. No Ukip candidate should ever make the mistake of blaming outsiders for the failings of political insiders in Westminster.”

Why is this guy even in UKIP again? He's a good guy, even if I disagree with his politics and Farage would do well to listen to him, even if it dilutes the entire point of the party as a whole to some.

At the end of the day, UKIP can be a far bigger threat to the Tories if they can show that they aren't a bunch of xenophobic whiners, there are legitimate reasons why our continued relationship with the EU can be questioned (And I say this as a committed supporter of the EU and the European project) and there is room for a party who would take us off our current path.

That said, UKIP current policy is to shout loudly and say nothing, and blame everyone externally for the issue we face as a country as if closing our borders and leaving the EU will magic a fix for everything. It wont and once UKIP sees past that and gets policymakers with the capability to present a viable future for the UK post EU then they can be taken seriously as a political party.