UKIP

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

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

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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.

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 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'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.)

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.

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.

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.

Worse than what or when joan?

Can't say I blame the anti-wind farm lobby when I hear about this kind of stuff

So agree about Hydro - DH is always on about it especially in the Welsh valleys where there are so many tumbling streams and rivers. He says it would be easy to do localised hydros. Isn't it funny how some things are almost ignored but others which are also controversial just get the go ahead. Vested interests maybe?

Don't worry too much about UKIP - the proof of the pudding....ie when it comes to doing the work for which they were elected, many of them will be lacking.

We had the same with our anti-immigration federal MP Pauline Hanson back in the 1990s here in Australia. She was MP for my area, but no-one could get any help with federal matters because she and her staff were equal parts incompetent and unwilling. They were severely useless! And the woman never got elected again. Mind you, 11 of her lot got elected to State parliament. That didn't last either - a right useless bunch of thick bigots.

I do believe the immigration problem is much worse in the UK though. I guess the main parties will have to address the question.

Solar panels are fine on the roofs of factories etc. but round here they are trying to plant fields of them covering acres of good agricultural land.

i think more should be made of hydro.

I think the wind turbines can be very noisy - humming sort of thing - if you live near them and people find it impacts on their life not being able to get away from the noise. There is a minimum distance they are supposed to be from housing but the plans which look like going through in S wAles have some turbine much closer than this distance.
Solar panels are my favourite for Eco energy.

Something else the EU does - animal welfare. Docks here in Australia stink of sheep urine on days when they are loading up thousands of sheep for export to Indonesia.
And then there are the bees - our esteemed government swaying to pressure to support the pesticide manufacturers last week. But the EU passed a temporary ban at least. Less vulnerable to party donations and local lobbying.

Just in case you were in any doubt ....

Neil & Christine Hamilton

Bags no I know you didn't but UKIP do. They are on the bandwagon.

ariadne Oh FFS! The mobile phone masts old chestnut next week? Oh no sorry everyone loves their phone coverage these days.

Ana - efficiency yes, but health effects is really out there in the silliness zone. We are surrounded in our lives by machines that rotate and make noises along with electricity and radio waves. No reason at all to suppose that turbines would be any different to all the other stuff.

Hmm...I don't think wind turbines are quite in the same league as ley lines and coffee enemas, feetlebaum. A lot of people have serious concerns about the efficiency of wind farms.

Well - that'll keep them out of everybody's way, at least. Next they can look at ley lines and coffee enemas...

Heard on the news just now that UKIP are going to look at the health effects of wind turbines...talk about knowing which buttons to press in their target market!

Yes, jess, it does. But I have never complained about EU workers coming to Britain.

I'm glad you reminded me about the forceful removal of Aboriginal children from their families. I hope and presume the present Australian government (and several previous) has apologised and is trying to make amends.

This was a local council election dealing with local issues I don't think our County Council has ever had much of an input into Government immigration policy, much as they'd like to.

There's more to UKIP than just immigration -and even then they don't want to stop it completely, just put the brakes on and be a bit more picky - just like Canada, Australia, USA and most other countries outside the EU.

In Norfolk the UKIP success was a protest against Conservatives riding roughshod over public opinion ans wasting enormous amounts of money.

Thank you, Petallus, and I agree that the media has managed to present a very unfair pictures of most British workers. My grandson is waiting for the final written and physical tests to get into the Royal Navy, for specialist diver training. His older brother, who has an MSc, is currently his mother's carer, as she is very ill, mentally and physically.
Not much of a life for a 29-year old man but she won't accept help from me.