It was largely a foregone conclusion that Farage would be selected at last night's hustings in Ramsgate but there have been upsets of this sort in the past with candidate selection which, unlike other parties, is a matter for local branches to decide. ITV News was certainly spinning that it was a done deal last night because of the amount of press at the hustings not realising that even if Farage hadn't been selected it would be a positive media story for UKIP - there would have been ten times as much coverage and it would have proven that UKIP is a party so committed to democracy that its leader can be rejected for a target seat by ordinary members. Farage's selection in South Thanet was a foregone conclusion because he is the candidate most likely to secure a victory by a country mile and because the members want him, not because it was engineered by head office.
South Thanet experienced a purple revolution at the local elections this year and that electoral success was followed with a by-election victory for the district council. People in Thanet are on the frontier of the battle against unfettered immigration and are fed up of the waste and incompetence of their Labour and Tory councillors. Only UKIP can beat Labour in Thanet.
wonkotsane is an author at Bloggers4UKIP.
Posts
