UKIP now stand before two paths - and we must choose wisely

The drawbridge for a progressive Ukip is being lifted - so run for a leap

It has become clear to me that there is a silent battle taking ground in Ukip, between those who look to the past and those who look to the future. It’s now that the Party must decide its destiny – and I must say; only one option will provide Ukip a longstanding future. Party membership may have risen steadily over the years, but as days pass we lose excellent contributions because they believe that the party is not going the right way – and it rightly isn’t, with a group of boring old-Tories possessing greater influence in Ukip.

The fact is, no one joined Ukip to comply with the establishment; actually the complete opposite. Many of us are proud anti-establishment folk, seeing our leaders as relatively unaccountable, ineffective and inward looking spineless men who believe they can tamper with the country’s traditions and culture however they wish. The main reason I, like many, are in Ukip is because of the “I will not support the LibLabCon - I will not obey” mentality, which is a fair enough mentality. Like when an establishment politician explains that we should not support Ukip because they are a ‘smaller party’ and consequently has no future in British politics, it’s like a slave, who wants nothing more but freedom, to be told that he or she will never get hold of that freedom. Thankfully, we are getting strong determinism to see change; and many of the determined are currently being accommodated by Ukip, but the Party leadership must ensure that they are stuffing the pillows sufficiently.

Many activists are not finding comfort on the pillow, like I’ve heard from many in Young Independence. This is ultimately because the Party is currently taking the ‘love it or hate it’ approach, and as much as this may secure ground among boring Tories and some Old Labour, it’s not enough to secure the electoral success we hope for in the 2015 General Election. The 'bunker reality' is that only a Ukip talking about development, expansion, curry and the Commonwealth can really pierce into unknown territory. Moreover, it would prove significant to steal the far-left’s mantra  that the EU robs workers of their rights and centralises businesses with the multi-national cooperations, with their full-hearted dedication to this project going way back – because it does. And the fact is many joined the Ukip of the small man, the small business, the pub and so on. There are some overly nationalistic forces in the party which project mixed messages to the wider population, and could even come out as some dodgy Isolationism.

But we should be the party of the Global Britain – that’s where the money is. Goodbye to the shackles of EU laws and regulation and hello to a Britain freely trading with the world and establishing special ties with the Commonwealth, perhaps even establishing closer economic and military relationships in the long run. What the people of Britain really want to hear is that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the party of the world and everyone is invited*. The three main parties have ruined the party and British want a fresh alternative to be the DJ – a DJ that will probably play Rule Britannia and the James Bond theme tune quite often.

If Ukip manifest itself as the true progressive party of British politics, like the SDP-Liberal Alliance did in the 80s, anything is possible. But the difference is This is a party which has grown from the people and have a natural instinct to provide what the people want – and that’s a Britain men and women of all backgrounds can call home. So fix up Ukip. In 10 years we don’t want Ukip to be added to the list of grassroots political movements that eventually slipped over their own oil. In one sense, we are a party of proud opportunists, because we were blessed with an opportunity we should never neglect: to make a change for the future, not the past.

*very strict terms and conditions apply

Liz Denton to stand for UKIP over EU ban

Honiton hardware shop owner Liz Denton is pictured with Brian Russell as she collects signatures for the petition.

“I‘m not a political person at all, I haven‘t got time,” says campaigning hardware shop owner Liz Denton from Honiton. Yet she is so fired up by the support her petition to save the traditional 100 watt lightbulb has generated that she has recently joined and is now standing as the UKIPs Honiton candidate in St Paul’s ward, for the forthcoming Devon County Council elections.

After manning her Bridport shop on Thursday she was off to The Knowle, Sidmouth, to collect a pack of information on standing as a candidate, and has the backing of UKIP’s Tiverton and Honiton branch chairman, Tony McIntyre. “Things have snowballed quite a bit. I want to get to the bottom of it,” said Liz, 47, of RKL Tools, High Street Honiton.

“I’ve done nothing political at all,” she says, but describes herself as “gobby” and well able to put across her views. She claims, during a recent radio interview, she got Plymouth MP Alison Seabeck to admit energy saving lightbulbs cost more to run than 100 watt bulbs.

Her lightbulb campaign began after an elderly customer complained she needed three energy saving bulbs on in place of one 100 watt one, to see her way to the bathroom at night. “That seems wrong in this day and age that an 80-year-old can’t switch a light on and get instant light. Are we saving the planet?

As a retailer she has seen many EU regulations come in relating to what people can and cannot buy, including creosote. “It is health and safety gone crazy. I can’t even put a plug on an appliance for people, and it all stems back to Europe.“It is ridiculous and the public just roll their eyes at you, they know it is because of the EU and they are fed up with it.”

Having voted for the Green Party in the past, Liz says many people say they don’t bother to vote “because they [parties] are all as bad as each other”. Now that she is standing for election, Liz hopes customers will support her.

Mr McIntyre said: “She is deeply upset by the EU legislation which is going through. ” He confirmed suggesting she stand as a county councillor “to make the issue public” and said UKIP was fed up with EU regulations being “foisted on us” in Britain.

A decade of EU regulations has cost the UK £107 billion

It is ten years since the UK Government introduced a system of regulatory Impact Assessments, in an effort to get a grip on the flow of new regulations. Analysing more than 2,000 of these Impact Assessments, Open Europe found that regulations introduced between 1998 and 2008 have cost the UK economy £148.2 billion.

Of the cumulative cost of regulations introduced over the past decade, £106.6 billion, or nearly 72%, had its origin in EU legislation.

EU regulations introduced since 1998 have therefore cost the UK economy almost £107 billion - far more than the UK's total gross contributions to the EU budget over the same period.

Moreover, the study finds that the cost of regulation is going up all the time. Since the UK Government launched its 'Regulatory Reform Agenda' in 2005, the annual cost of regulation in Britain has gone from £16.5 billion in 2005 to £28.7 billion in 2008 - an enormous increase of 74%.

The report argues that despite some genuine attempts at reform, the Government has simply lost control. With 72% of the cost of regulation stemming from laws negotiated in Brussels, efforts to cut red tape are doomed to fail unless they target EU regulations.

Open Europe argues that the UK Government needs a tough new approach to negotiations in the EU. A good place to start would be refusing to accept an end to the UK's opt-out from the 48-hour week, currently under negotiation. To read the full report, please click here.

If you wanted any more reasons to leave the EU visit Britain Not Brussels