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By Sanwar Ali
Nigel Farage the former leader of UKIP the UK Independence Party is now founder and leader of the Brexit Party. The Brexit Party which was launched little more than a month ago, is doing astonishingly well with thirty-four percent of the vote according to a recent opinion poll. The European Elections occur in a few day’s time on 23 May 2019. It is expected that the Conservative Party, especially, will do very badly.
Brexit Party seems to have no policies apart from supporting Brexit
Nigel Farage is a great orator and has achieved a great deal in such a short time. In the past he has had substantial financial backing from Arron Banks, who is under investigation by the National Crime Agency over how he funded the Leave.eu campaign during the European Referendum. Nigel Farage is under investigation by the EU over funding he received from Arron Banks, apparently of about £450,000. On top of all this the Electoral Commission is set to visit the Brexit Party to look into how they receive funding.
Speaking to the Guardian recently he said “I see the whole of western world politics utterly dominated by a handful of giant multinationals and a career political class. I’ve felt that for a very long time. I was miles ahead of the game with some of this stuff.”
Nigel Farage wrote the foreword to Enoch Was Right: 'Rivers of Blood' book
Nigel Farage the founder of the Brexit Party must surely still have hard-line views on immigration. He wrote the foreword to the 2018 book “Enoch Was Right: 'Rivers of Blood' 50 Years On” written by Raheem Kassam. Enoch Powell was a Politician who was known for having extreme views on immigration and some would say racist views on immigration. Raheem Kassam is the former Editor of the far right Breitbart news site for the UK and is of Indian Gujarat Muslim ancestry. Both Farage and Kassam went to visit Trump at the Trump Tower in New York in 2016. Nigel Farage had the following to say about the book:
…Fifty years on from the most dramatic post-war speech in Britain, this updated view is a VERY important part of the continuing debate. Enoch never goes away."
Biggest Parties Conservatives and Labour losing out
The Conservative Party seems to be suffering the most. This is perhaps not surprising as the Conservative Party has historically had the greatest percentage of Brexiteers. Many Tory Brexiteers furious with the Conservative Party over the delay in Brexit have decided to vote for the Brexit Party.
How long will Brexit Party last?
After the EU Referendum result that saw a very small majority of voters deciding to leave the EU, UKIP started to go downhill and is currently at about three percent in the opinion polls. It’s charismatic leader Nigel Farage eventually left after more than two years. Nigel Farage has actually criticised UKIP for being “extremist” under the current leadership. If Brexit does eventually happen then perhaps the Brexit Party will also become insignificant and unimportant. If Brexit does not happen perhaps the Brexit Party will remain reasonably popular.
UK Visa Policy in Future
In the past when it seems that another political party would gain a similar level of representation in the UK Parliament as the Conservative or Labour Party it has not happened. The Brexit Party may end up with more seats than any other UK Party in the European Elections. However, it remains uncertain as to how long the current level of support for the Brexit Party will last. Doing well in the European Elections will not necessarily lead to the Brexit Party becoming the biggest party at a UK General Election. The first past the post electoral system for the UK national Parliament makes it difficult for smaller Parties.
It seems that on the right there are mixed messages on immigration anyway. Many in the Leave Campaign during the EU Referendum had previously said that immigration policy would be relaxed for non-EU migrants after Brexit. However, it appears that Nigel Farage has tougher views on immigration.
If Britain does not leave the EU then newly arriving EU/EEA migrants will be able to work freely in the UK. If Britain leaves the EU then will it mean that it will be easier for non-EU migrants? Seems uncertain.
