The post you are reporting:
Sid
I take your criticisms on board, but tbh I don't see UKIP candidates as fighting this election over local issues. For me, one of the main reasons for thinking of voting UKIP at the forthcoming election is that both Labour and Conservative have pledged a national referendum over continued British membership of the EU, and both parties have reneged over their pledges. When Great Britain entered the Common Market in the early 70s, there was no mention of a federal European superpower, and I view our membership of the EU as highly questionable. The two main parties, by their refusal to hold a referendum, seem to be denying the British people to express a democratic right to express their views on the single most important issue affecting the nation as a whole.
People will criticise, and say that voting UKIP will be a wasted vote. Nonsense. Protest votes are at the very heart of a democracy. I think that the best UKIP can hope for at the forthcoming election is to split the Tory vote; with the latest polls showing that the Tories lead over Labour is slipping, perhaps Tory party managers will begin to realise that regular Tory voters considering voting UKIP may become more significant that was once the case and start to address concerns among their followers who question the direction Britain is taking in the direction of Europe. A significant UKIP vote could affect the entire election in marginal seats and cost the Tories dearly.
For me, therefore, whether Vic focuses on Dover alone or embraces Deal, Sandwich and the outlying villages is beside the point. I want to see British membership of the EU reviewed by the entire nation, and for that reason am thinking of voting UKIP despite having voted Tory all my adult life.
As for some of the posts on here and elsewhere belittling Vic for a chequered political background and for not being as literate as others, I know Vic well enough to know that it will all be water off a duck's back to him. I just wonder why it's necessary for the whole elction to be about personal sniping - and that in turn leads me to believe that Vic's opponents are not as confident in the political beliefs they're about to do battle with their opponents over as they perhaps might be. Whether you go along with my reasons for considering voting UKIP or not, there is absolutely no need to snipe at a man for wanting to be elected to Parliament. Largely, Barry's posts are about politics and that earns respect because he's clearly committed to the ideologies of his party. Simply putting a man down because he's an easy target doesn't command respect at all.
