It seems that for UKIP policy is very much a moveable feast. They adopt a policy such as the one they fought the last General Election on of privatising the NHS and then summarily drop it when it starts to get embarrassing. There does not appear to be any democratic context to this process.
This is especially so as their custom and practice appears to involve giving the leader a veto over all and any policy measure he feels might prove to be inconvenient at any one time. The question is how they can sustain that position now they have two MPs and are seeking to position themselves as possible coalition partners in a UK Government?
This article in today's Independent is no surprise therefore.
The paper reports that during a Leaders Live event broadcast on Youtube and ITV, Nigel Farage told an audience of young people that he supports sex and relationship education for children younger than 11. In doing so he argued against the policy of Ukip deputy leader and education spokesman Paul Nuttall that sex education should be scrapped for under 11s:
Farage said: "I've never advocated that policy. If somebody in Ukip in the past did, well, so be it, but I think that people need to have a rounded education and sex education is part of that."
When it was pointed out that Nuttall's policy is written on Ukip's website, Farage said: "I know there was a debate about sex education for four-year-olds, and whether that was appropriate but I don't think the age 11 was ever mentioned."
On the party's website, the policy reads: "Scrap sex and relationship education for children under the age of 11."
Farage later admitted that Nuttall had laid out the policy at this autumn's party conference.
He tweeted: "Sorry, I missed the beginning of Mr Nuttall's conference speech. He did indeed lay out policy on sex education".
So there wasn't an actual vote then.
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