Sunday, January 25, 2015
UKIP show their true colours
Considering that they are an anti-politics party, the cynicism of UKIP is quite breath-taking. According to today's Sunday Times, one of Nigel Farage's senior aides has said that Britain has “hundreds of thousands of bigots” and Ukip is proud to stand up for them.
The paper's political editor says that the outburst by Matthew Richardson, the party’s secretary will lay Ukip open to the charge that senior figures see themselves and their own supporters as bigots, a stance that is liable to alienate more moderate voters:
Richardson was appointed last year to put an end to the party’s series of public- relations gaffes and to prevent “bad stuff” about Ukip from making it into the media.
But last night he was at the centre of new storm after a source revealed comments he made in mid-December.
Asked about the racist outbursts of some Ukip candidates, Richardson replied: “I’ve said before, people talk about Ukip being bigots. There are hundreds of thousands of bigots in the United Kingdom and they too deserve representation.”
The outburst will remind voters of former prime minister Gordon Brown branding pensioner Gillian Duffy a “bigoted woman” after she raised the issue of immigration with him during the 2010 election.
Richardson also insulted Farage, declaring: “He’s a Kent man. Well, sounds like Kent anyway.” And he said the Ukip leader “would have to be a moron” to put the party’s turnover tax in its manifesto.
Richardson also came under fire on a second front when it emerged that he has compared NHS spending to the activities of Nazi Germany.
Labour released videos of Richardson calling for a “hearts and minds” campaign to back NHS privatisation and branded health spending a waste of money.
In a speech to a Conservative political conference in Washington in 2010 Richardson declared: “The biggest waste of money of course in the United Kingdom is the NHS, the National Health Service.”
At a Young America’s Foundation meeting the same year he denounced “wasteful socialist programmes” and said: “At the heart of this, the Reichstag bunker of socialism is the National Health Service.”
Richardson added: “People as a result of privatisation . . . of the NHS will do better. That’s a battle that we have to win the hearts and minds of people.”
This contempt for the health service apparently matches that of his party leader who has publicly admitted that he believes a health insurance scheme would be better than the current levels of state NHS spending.
So much for UKIP being the people's party.
The paper's political editor says that the outburst by Matthew Richardson, the party’s secretary will lay Ukip open to the charge that senior figures see themselves and their own supporters as bigots, a stance that is liable to alienate more moderate voters:
Richardson was appointed last year to put an end to the party’s series of public- relations gaffes and to prevent “bad stuff” about Ukip from making it into the media.
But last night he was at the centre of new storm after a source revealed comments he made in mid-December.
Asked about the racist outbursts of some Ukip candidates, Richardson replied: “I’ve said before, people talk about Ukip being bigots. There are hundreds of thousands of bigots in the United Kingdom and they too deserve representation.”
The outburst will remind voters of former prime minister Gordon Brown branding pensioner Gillian Duffy a “bigoted woman” after she raised the issue of immigration with him during the 2010 election.
Richardson also insulted Farage, declaring: “He’s a Kent man. Well, sounds like Kent anyway.” And he said the Ukip leader “would have to be a moron” to put the party’s turnover tax in its manifesto.
Richardson also came under fire on a second front when it emerged that he has compared NHS spending to the activities of Nazi Germany.
Labour released videos of Richardson calling for a “hearts and minds” campaign to back NHS privatisation and branded health spending a waste of money.
In a speech to a Conservative political conference in Washington in 2010 Richardson declared: “The biggest waste of money of course in the United Kingdom is the NHS, the National Health Service.”
At a Young America’s Foundation meeting the same year he denounced “wasteful socialist programmes” and said: “At the heart of this, the Reichstag bunker of socialism is the National Health Service.”
Richardson added: “People as a result of privatisation . . . of the NHS will do better. That’s a battle that we have to win the hearts and minds of people.”
This contempt for the health service apparently matches that of his party leader who has publicly admitted that he believes a health insurance scheme would be better than the current levels of state NHS spending.
So much for UKIP being the people's party.
