Sunni Bean

AP Comparative Government
Small
20 March 2015
Current Events summary
The United Kingdom Independence party, or more popularly known as the UKIP, has
been a growing fringe party throughout Great Britain. This party is known to be a progressive,
patriotic party in support of ridding the country of elitists and non-delivering parties. However,
they are more widely seen as overtly racist, and are known to focus all blame onto groups such
as the immigrants and religious groups through their platforms. The party is increasingly vague
when addressing major political issues like health care and economic inequality, and tend to
solely focus on what can often be seen as more trivial issues in politics.
The party has unquestionably had major scandals ripple through the media over the past
couple of years. This week, public figure Janice Atkinson, member of the European parliament
and second highest member of the party, has brought plain embarrassment to the party. She was
found on record to have claimed extra money during her campaigning and to have been stealing
money throughout. What was more surprising was the number of incidents she had already been
in, in which her behavior showed disrespect and lack of self-control. For instance, she had
referred to a Thai woman as a ting tong, had pictures flicking off the cameras and cussing at
protestors, and had accused poor families as being f**kless families while continuing on to not
pay her own child support. Her embezzlement however, was the ultimate reason her party had to
forfeit the election rather than her behavior. After that resume of issues in just one candidate, it

would seem the independent party would be a joke party, one that might run elections, but
without any substantial support.
Instead, what began as a fringe party is not considered so fringe anymore. Recognized
by the media as one of the four major parties, the UKIPs popularity has begun to spread, with
ten new candidates just introduced to Northern Ireland. The increased popularity can be largely
attributed to both the medias publicity and the charismatic leader, Nigel Farage. Farage
introduced the UKIP with an edgy campaign, and the media attention has grown by 425% from
the 2010 to 2014 elections. Farage can be given a lot of credit for getting the party on its feet,
with his persona of normalcy that enticed a lot of support from the common voter.
Today though, the partys actual influence in politics largely stems from its push on the
other parties. Notably, the Tories have been pushed further and further right. The UKIPs
platforms are not that attainable, with goals of cutting off all immigration and all elites entirely.
However, they can put pressure on the Tories to merge to similar beliefs, after already assuming
an alliance. By pushing policy slowly in through their more powerful ally, the party gains
legitimacy.
The UKIP is still teetering in and out of the relevant political sphere; with little
knowledge currently whether any policy they push for will ever get through, let alone last.
Regardless, they have grown stronger by the year, and have gained power despite the reckless
behavior of the top ends of the party. Whether that recent scandal says novels about the party,
only time will tell.

Works Cited
Moore, Suzanne. "Ukip Has Peaked, but No One Wants to Admit It Nigel Farage Now
Resembles Every Other Politician." The Guardian. N.p., 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
<http.theguardian.com >.
"UKIP Launches 10 Candidates in Northern Ireland." UKIP. Steve Crowther, 2014. Web. 19 Mar.
2015. <http://www.ukip.org/
"UKIP Denies Candidate's Suspension." BBC News. N.p., 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.bbc.com/ >.
Deacon, David, and Dominic Wring. "Pints and Pratfalls: For UKIP, All Publicity Is Good
Publicity." The Conversation. N.p., 19 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
<http://theconversation.com/ >.