UKIP

Sorry JessM I meant we have more room for immigrants, and here they create a small percentage more jobs than they take, and generally speaking they don't seem to worry us. It is just the politicians who think immigrants/refugees/ so-called illegals are a good subject to attack the other side with.

Immigrants, or at least their numbers, appear to upset more people in the UK, hence UKIP.

Oh yes quite Joan a soft target. Twas ever thus - in past centuries too.
Of course the Uk issues go back to the commonwealth and trying to establish the rights (or not) of commonwealth citizens to live in UK. Getting the balance right was not easy and there are some continued problems with this - e.g. marrying of cousins from the subcontinent, who speak no English.

Here in WA (4 more days here) there are pretty bad problems with accommodation for immigrants. My DS is working as a plumber and says he has been in many houses in the Uk in poor areas and never seen the degree of squalor that he has seen in the private rental sector here. My DIL has been working with lovely Indian nurses, recruited via UK and Ireland whose husbands (engineers etc) cannot get any work that uses their skills.

The more floating voters there are the more politicians will listen and act on the mood of the people.
We need people to say they will not keep on voting for the same old same old because they have always done so.
Politicans may need to wake up to this fact - people are living longer! This means the grey-vote will eventually have seen more broken promises, more scandals, more elections, more everything.Which may mean voters becoming cynical enough to move from their `comfort` zone voting. Maybe the fact of living longer will finally break the mould of the big politicial parties.
If we slavishly vote for a party without any real though about their policies we will keep on getting the same political colours playing musical chairs at Westminster.

I'd like to ask a UKIP voter why? And then listen to their answer. (I might hit them with a few stats about benefits and net migration, as well.)

I an on the email list of 'Hope not Hate'. Quite an interesting movement - currently they are wondering how best to counter UKIP. I have suggested a softly softly approach when talking to their supporters, as many of them are good people with little political background, but full of fear and alienation by the changes going on around them. It is better to get UKIP supporters talking, and then slowly get them to separate facts from fear-mongering.

I think I know why UKIP did well in Norfolk. It's all down to having complacent, overbearing Conservative councillors with too big a majority for too long. They'd come to think that instead of representing the wishes and needs of the people they owned the county and could ride roughshod and do as they wished. They'd stopped listening a long time ago and the opposition, such as it was, had stopped trying.

Like wanting Boris for mayor, perhaps people are voting UKIP to try to stir up the complacency of politics and protest against the sameness of the parties. I suppose the Greens are taking over the role previously held by the old Labour party. Perhaps it'll end up with UKIP against Greens as it used to be Conservatives against Labour and the three present main parties merging into one (they're nearly there now).

I think you're right NfkDumpling. Complacency of the incumbent councils is leading to constituents turning to UKIP. Or are they turning to Farage? He's the only UKIP member I've heard speak - and to his credit he doesn't shy away from answering questions unlike politicians who have to be hammered into the floor before giving a cogent answer - and I admit to not knowing any other UKIP names! If they want to move forward then they will have to consider policies re: NHS, Police, Education etc as well as immigration and the EU so they've got their work cut out.

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Bags that was ridiculous cant they do sort of pump storage schemes like they did in Wales (De Norwick?)

I wonder if those that support UKIP are aware of all their policies.