Who we are.....and
are not!
The UK Independence Party was founded in 1993 by Dr.
Alan Sked, a lecturer at the London School of Economics, along with
other members of the Anti-Federalist League.
Witnessing an increasingly powerful and stifling
European Union, the aims of the party were simple; to leave the European
Union and regain our independence as a sovereign state, while
maintaining strong diplomatic and trade relations with its member
states.
This has evolved into the party we have now with a
broad range of policies, under the leadership of Nigel Farage, the
Member of the European Parliament for South East England. We have become
a party of the centre-right on the political spectrum, and intend to
become a credible party of opposition by offering the British electorate
a set of planned and costed policies, some of which are now available on
the party's main website (http://www.ukip.org). This will allow us to break the
cycle of Labour / Conservative election victories (since 1922!) that has
led our country to its current status. 80% of laws implemented in this
country originate within the E.U!
Our relationship with the European Union is a thorny
issue for the Labour and Conservative parties alike (not so the Liberal
Democrats; they are pro-complete integration). This often results in
damaging internal strife (e.g. Margaret Thatcher's famous exit from
Downing Street, John Major's "bastards" quote about his cabinet, etc.),
which does not serve our country or its people.
More and more treaties and agreements are being signed
by the mainstream parties in government without an explicit mandate from
the British electorate. The mainstream parties never campaign on
European issues, because of low interest and turnouts at elections, and
generally negative results. If we join the single currency (party policy of the Liberal
Democrats), we will never be able to leave the E.U., as much of
our economy- and our currency - would be controlled by the European
Central Bank in Frankfurt! As Thomas
Jefferson, third President of the United States wrote :- “A nation which
seeks to trade it's political independence for economic advantage,
deserves to lose both.”
Please don't confuse us with other
parties! We are not a party of hate; we are strongly and actively
opposed to all forms of discrimination and anti-democratic behaviour. Ours
is an inclusive party - anyone is welcome to join as long as they
share our views. We are not trying to turn back the clock - merely
regain control of our country and repair catastrophic damage to our
institutions!
Can you
help us?
We need to regain the public’s trust in politicians
(ours!) and the electoral system, which have been so badly damaged by
recent Labour and Conservative governments. We believe that once we do
that, we will be in a better position to ask for the trust of the
British electorate to empower us with office, and take us out of the
European Union. (Also, this is the only way in which we will be given
equitable access to mainstream media). Many of our Constituency Association members had
loyalties to other political parties, and felt not only badly betrayed
by out-of-touch spin doctors and focus groups, but disconnected from the
electoral system.
So who are we? Please click
here
to find out, and then consider joining us.
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The people of Bromsgrove enjoy a
French market day in the town centre.
St. Michael's Church in Stoke Prior, which
dates back to
the 12th century
Narrowboats on the canal at Stoke Prior |
