Ist UKIP MP

It would take an earthquake to dislodge our MP. Liam Fox.

Not sure what to think if I'm honest. I like the idea of something new to shake up the 'old guard' but I'm not sure UKIP is it, Nigel Farage makes me cringe every time I see his silly grinning face..

I too live in a Tory stronghold - local Tories admit that a monkey wearing a blue rosette would get voted in - so I can't see anyone else making a significant difference yet. It might be different in the long term though as the Green Party are beginning to be seen as a viable alternative to the traditional opposition parties and may even steal a (very) few votes from disaffected conservatives.

I thought the Clacton mp sounded really good. If they ousted Farage and made this one party leader, it could make a big difference to ther fortunes. He actually sounded like a decent member of Parliament.

tanith NF is usually portrayed by the (hostile) media looking his worst. He was taking a bite of a messy sandwich with huge facial contortions to match in one of today's papers.

On the other hand, I notice the Guardian always manages to portray Nick Clegg looking like a noble, honourable politician.

It's 1984 all over again!

Farage is portrayed by the media exactly how he wants to be portrayed. He plays they and the eloctorate like a fiddle. The man is very very [scarily] clever.

Well said Tegan!

I'm in the north west, not far from Heywood, where Labour managed to win, but only by around 650 votes, with Ukip an uncomfortably close 2nd.

I agree with Tanith, that the old guard need a good shake up. Ukip seems to be doing the trick. I just hope we don't end up with untested, unknown Ukip policies being imposed on the country - that would be scary

....he uses his buffoon like persona to make racist comments that no other politician dares utter. The man is despicable .

No surprise in Clacton other than the margin Douglas Carswell won by.

Similar in Heywood and Middleton.

I have a doubt that Mark Reckless will match the Carswell vote but it will be interesting.

UKIP are going to have to have some more scrutiny by the media and I would like Nigel Farage to be included in any Leaders Debate . Whether you like UKIP or Farage that's not a reason to exclude them sharing the debating stage now.

I wouldn't vote UKIP but diss them at your peril, they are undoubtedly tapping into the voter mind set and the political status quo is looking like a thing of the past.

It will be interesting to see if UKIP attract any more defectors now the voters seem to be taking them seriously.

Agree with Tegan.

Carswell is a very experienced politician and sounds very caring. Why then does he have the most deprived ward in the country in his patch? I was surprised to hear this statistic. What has he been doing for those people in Jaywick for the last 10 years as a Tory MP?

The tactics of the right wing and UKIP is to divide and rule. Set groups of people against each other, keep resources such as housing, jobs and wealth scarce and let the have-nots fight amongst themselves.

How did the poor of the world cause the financial melt-down? How is it that those same traders and speculators are back at the same game with apparent impunity?

Blame incomers when, actually, it is the accumulation of wealth in fewer and fewer pockets that is the cause of disaffection.

What happens in by-elections isn't usually carried through to general elections.
That's what I'm hoping, anyway.

How is it shaking things up by electing the same MP that has been failing you (I.e. Clacton) for the past x number of years?

Farage is even more of a media manipulator than the rest of them, and is prepared to say whatever populist thing it takes to get people to vote for him. He is just as bad, if not worse, than all the rest - in my humble opinion .

I bow to the greater wisdom of those posters who obviously know NF much better than do I

It certainly makes politics interesting!

My feeling is that Carswell saw which way the wind was blowing and realised he had a better chance of keeping his job by moving to UKIP. As Mogette1 says, he had been the ConservatoveMP in Clacton for a considerable time so I don't understand why the people there have such faith in him. On Question Time last night, from Clacton, a man in the audience pointed this out and said that, as far as he could see, Carswell had not made any forceful representations on behalf of the very deprived area of Jaywick.

It's good to see so many spot on posts about NF. A friend commented recently, he's relieved we don't have PR, because Ukip may benefit. He muttered darkly that's how Hitler began his rise to power, without PR it could have been different.
I'm not suggesting NF is a closet Nazi, but he's certainly pally with a lot of them in the European parliament. I hope Ukip is now put under the same pressure as other political parties to be clear what it's policies are, and how they'll be funded.

NF- you know what it is short for !

I'm sad about Clacton, I also used to live there, and have very fond memories. I don't live in the UK any more, I'm in the US, in a Republican stronghold, where I think if we were transplanted into the UK, would give you your first BNP seat.

lam64 I'm worried about the growing right in Europe, and the growth of extremism. Some of my relatives from Hungary have moved to the UK, partly influenced by the growing anti semitism they've experienced. And National Front, Golden Dawn etc doesn't make the future look that cheerful.

I think the more exposure Nigel Farage gets at present, the sooner the electorate will see through him and his empty promises. If all he can attract is Tory defectors, bring it on! Ed Milliband is starting to look more like the next PM than I had imagined.

Headlines in the Telegraph today about how many suspected terrorists there are under surveillance in London- that will stoke UKIP's boilers.

I am wondering what the Clacton-ers will do when they realise they have voted in somebody who will decimate the NHS and many of the support systems that keep this town going.

Carswell claimed 'not to be familiar' with the 'case' of Malala when asked if he agreed that she should not have received free NHS care in the UK after her shooting (in line with UKIP's own policies). Interesting amount of dissonance in his head I imagine....