Sunday, September 28, 2014

Politics

  I do not understand politics, I have never understood politics, and I shall never understand politics. When the referendum on Scotland's future was being held someone on my Twitter timeline suggested that if Scotland voted 'yes', David Cameron should resign. I failed to understand this since the referendum was not his idea, and was not involving anyone not resident in Scotland. When I protested I was told that it is the honourable thing to do since dissolution of the Union would happen on his watch. 

No one, so far as I saw, suggested that Mr Salmond should resign if the vote was 'no'. In the event he did, but as the referendum was his idea and he is the First Minister of Scotland should not his resignation have been mooted in the event that he lost? This seems to me to be manifestly unfair.

One of the founding principles of UKIP was the UK leaving membership of the EU. Of course they were, and are, unable to make good on their principle, but the Tories, currently in government, have promised a national referendum in 2017 if returned to power. To me the natural course for UKIP would be to align themselves with this promise, thus being in with a chance of extricating Britain from the clutches of Brussels. Even without themselves having power after 2015 (the mountain is simply too high and too steep for them at this time) UKIP voters, by ensuring a Tory majority could achieve at least one of their fundamental aims. But no, UKIP leaders have decided to align themselves more with the left of British politics, where no national referendum is in prospect (indeed Mr Milliband has explicitly ruled it out) thus falling at the first fence!

To me this has the effect of weakening not just UKIP's argument on Europe, but by extension it must surely call into question every other "principle" for which they campaign. Added to this is their reversal, within 48 hours, of their proposal for a "luxury tax", and their public embracing of the Tory defector Mark Reckless. Mr Reckless apparently lied to his erstwhile Association Chairman only two days before defecting about being solidly Conservative and willing to campaign for them in the coming General Election. By openly welcoming Mr Reckless UKIP have, to me, lost any remaining credibility as a political party. They now appear as a shiftless bunch of egotistical opportunists who no longer know what they want, but are prepared to say anything, do anything and sacrifice completely integrity of their party, their leaders and their voters for the temporary glare of the limelight. 

But, as I say, I do not understand politics.