Farage Loses: UKIP Westminster Bid Fails (UK Election)

[Bosonic]

Source: Sky News

Nigel Farage has failed to win Thanet South which he has previously promised would see him quit as UKIP leader.

Mr Farage has said he would step down within 10 minutes if he lost - but he failed to do so in his speech.

He congratulated the Prime Minister for securing a majority and said there had been "an earthquake" in Scotland with the SNP victory.

Mr Farage argued it was time to change the voting system pointing out his party had won a significant share of the vote but only secured one seat.

Read more: http://news.sky.com/story/1480147/farage-loses-ukip-westminster-bid-fails

[T_i_B]

1. Let's see...

...how all the people who fell for Farage's "blokey" charms find Douglas Carswell as UKIP leader.

[freshwest]

2. So lose an election, change the voting system? Do they gerrymander there? Sounds so... GOP. n/t

[T_i_B]

3. Electoral reform is a major issue over here

Usually it's left wing parties calling for it. it was a raison d'etre of the Lib Dems for many years.

There was a referendum on moving to the alternate vote in 2011 and it was rejected by a large margin.

As to gerrymandering, expect the Tories to bring in the constituency boundaries that they wanted in the last parliament (they were rejected owing to a falling out with their coalition partners the Lib Dems)

[freshwest]

4. Thanks for the info on the districting. Hoped they didn't do that over there!

I would think they'd call it Jabberwocking as they create districts that make no sense to anyone but the legislators.

What is this alternate voting? Is it like direct elections?

TIA.

[T_i_B]

5. Some info on the Alternative Vote

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/alternative-vote

[Joe Chi Minh]

6. There will be no invasion of Poland. That is official.

Last edited Fri May 8, 2015, 08:54 AM - Edit history (3)

Sky News are trying to break it softly to viewers.

In truth, however, that plank of UKIP's policies, if it had been sincere about wanting to protect British jobs from a kind of 'domestic globalisation', reflected a very significant truth for the working people (whose wages are undercut) of the country as well as the unemployed. But I believe Farrage is a City type, and most if not all his other policies would be right-wing, not left.

However, immigration is the least significant of the factors that have seen successive right-wing Governments of right and putative left siphon of more and more of the nation's wealth into the coffers of the already rich; in fact, a negligible factor, imo, and what they bring to the country is a more pristine, less degenerate character, the Poles and Czechs in particular; a work ethic that is not idolatrous, but rather, is founded on the dignity of labour, manual, no less than white-collar.

[Helen Borg]

7. Glad this nut is gone.

[roamer65]

8. I wouldn't be so sure on that...n/t

[roamer65]

9. The amount of constituencies that UKIP finished second was very large.

That does not bode well for the UK.

[HEyHEY]

11. Protests

Hopefully Labour and the Lib Dems can get their shit together.

[HEyHEY]

10. Great, can the UK press stop giving them so much attention now?

Back in the 90s in Canada a right wing party out of the west had about 2 members in the House Of Commons, but was given entirely too much attention and they even let their leader in the leaders' debate. That election they got something like 50 seats.

In Ukip's case they have been given plenty of attention FOR A LONG TIME and got no attention. The UK press should no longer return their calls.