UKIP could topple Brown - Farage
into fourth place in next month's Euro elections, says leader Nigel
Farage.
Launching the party's election campaign, Mr Farage said the
"humiliation" of being beaten by UKIP would force Mr Brown to quit.
Mr Farage also claimed the best way to defeat the BNP was to vote UKIP.
And he hit back at claims that the party, which came third in 2004's
euro poll, would lose many seats this time.
UKIP, which campaigns for Britain's exit from the European Union,
achieved a breakthrough in 2004, winning 16% of the vote and beating the
Liberal Democrats into fourth place.
It has performed less well in elections since then and has lost three of
its 12 MEPs, including television celebrity Robert Kilroy-Silk, who left
to form his own party.
'Bad apples'
It also faces competition from new Eurosceptic parties such as the trade
union-backed NO2EU and the pan-European Libertas, which wants wholesale
reform of the EU rather than withdrawal.
But Mr Farage - who has said he will quit as leader if the party returns
fewer than 10 MEPs - was bullish about its prospects at its campaign
launch in central London.
“ The only people who will stop the BNP from making an electoral
breakthrough in the North of England are the UK Independence Party and
we intend to do that ”
Nigel Farage
He said that if there were a proper national debate about Europe in the
run up to polling day UKIP, which is fielding 69 candidates for the 72
seats up for grabs, would experience another "surge" in public support.
"I think our potential in this election isn't just that we could beat
the Liberal Democrats again. I think our potential in this particular
election is that we could beat Gordon Brown's Labour Party.
"I am sure that the humiliation of being beaten into fourth place by
UKIP would bring down the prime minister and given that he turned his
back on us, having made a solemn pledge to give us a referendum, that is
something I personally would not lose any sleep over."
He also addressed concerns about former UKIP MEPs Tom Wise, who was
suspended after being investigated by EU anti-fraud watchdogs, and
Ashley Mote, who was jailed for housing benefit fraud.
Mr Farage told reporters: "We have had our fair share of bad apples but
I would point out that where we have had elected MEPs that have behaved
badly and broken trust with us we have dealt with it absolutely
ruthlessly by getting rid of them immediately.
Younger candidates
He said this contrasted with the major parties who he said "do
everything they can to protect those who have not behaved well."
He said UKIP, which sits with other Eurosceptic parties as part of the
Independence and Democracy group, had provided a voice of opposition to
the EU within the European Parliament for the first time.
Because of that, the party had "held true" to the 2.7 million people who
voted for it in 2004, he said, and it had played a "key role" in the
successful campaign against the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland.
Mr Farage claims to have transformed the party, with much younger
candidates, including five black or Asian people. Marta Andreasen, who
was sacked as the EU's chief accountant after exposing suspect
practices, is standing for the party in the South East of England and
London.
Council by-election
He also made a direct appeal to disaffected voters considering
supporting the British National Party, which Labour fears is poised to
make a breakthrough in the North of England.
"There have been people in local council by-elections who have been
going out and voting BNP, holding their nose because they want to send a
message that they are not happy with what is happening.
"And we are going to say very loudly and very clearly to those people -
we are a patriotic party, we believe in proper immigration controls in
this country but we do so from a non-racist and non-sectarian
perspective.
"In fact the only people who will stop the BNP from making an electoral
breakthrough in the North of England are the UK Independence Party and
we intend to do that."
He also criticised Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman's suggestion in
an interview with the Financial Times that mainstream parties should not
share a platform with the BNP and should avoid campaigning on issues
that stoke sentiment against foreigners.
He said: "This is a ludicrous suggestion. This is a European election
for goodness sake and it is Europe which determines most of our
immigration and asylum policy. If we can't talk about these policies
when we're about to elect those who represent us in Europe when on earth
can we?"
Mr Farage pointed to a council by-election result on Thursday in
Hartlepool, which is a stronghold for UKIP, where it came second to
Labour.
He added: "Our message is not negative. Our message is we want
friendship and free trade. We want to be good neighbours but we do not
want is to be part of this political union."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2009/05/08 14:51:14 GMT
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