As America slides into international influence and economic oblivion, it seems that those who went before us just may be coming out. Often viewed as stale, the British political system is being rocked by its very own version of the Tea Party.
The UK Independence Party (UKIP), formed in 1993 by opposing Britain’s entry into the European Union but unfortunately, failed to make an electoral dent for a long time. However, UKIP has built up steam in recent years and is spearheading a seismic shift in the British political spectrum. In this year’s local elections, which is the British version of our midterm elections, UKIP took a stunning 23 percent of the vote, up from the 3.1 percent they won in the 2010 national election. Their leader, Nigel Farage is excited by their recent success.
“We want to take back our country, we want to take back our government, and we want to take back our birthright,” Farage said in forthright language rarely seen in British politics. “The sense of frustration the Tea Party feels about the remoteness about the bureaucratic class of the Washington beltway is similar to our frustration with we’re being dealt with by Brussels.” he added.
Farage has good reason to be confident of UKIP’s potential. Since he took the party’s helm for a second term in 2010, the party has been revitalized, capitalizing on dissatisfaction with the Conservative Party’s shift to the center under current Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron has radically overhauled the “Tories,” embracing nationalized health care, fighting for gay marriage, and changing the party logo from the flame of liberty to an environmentally conscious tree. This, UKIP argues, makes them indistinguishable from the left-wing Labour Party and Liberal Democrats.
This is where the UKIP spied an opportunity, adopting an anti-establishment, populist platform that argues for lower taxation, privatization, smaller government and getting Britain out of the European Union.
The message seems to be proving effective. UKIP looks likely to make significant inroads in the next general election in 2015, possibly taking seats away from the main parties.
Farage is not getting ahead of himself however, instead focusing on the European elections in May 2014 where Europe is the determining factor. Britain has been turning decidedly away from Europe in recent years, with a September opinion poll finding that 53 percent of British voters wanted to leave the E.U. with only 32 percent wanting to stay.
Many experts agree. Andrew Russell, Head of Politics at the University of Manchester said that the comparison between the Tea Party and the UKIP is an accurate one and that he believes that UKIP could take the 2014 elections by storm, “UKIP will do well in the 2014 European elections. They may even win them in terms of the popular vote. This will increase the pressure on the Conservatives.”
As a right-wing libertarian populist movement, there are many comparisons to be drawn with the Tea Party, yet Farage argues that there are differences too, particularly that UKIP wants to take votes away from the Tories, not to reform them. It is here that they could make themselves bigger in Britain than the Tea Party in America; UKIP is making inroads as a party, not just through individual candidates.
In my opinion, maybe it’s time for some rethought about a third-party right here at home in the United States! It seems to taking effect across the great pond.