Is Douglas Carswell happily at home in Ukip? The Clacton MP’s latest policy intervention, this time on immigration, adds to the sense that his beliefs differ somewhat from his party and its leader. His op-ed in the Times today for example stated that Enoch Powell was wrong about the dangers of immigration:
‘Immigration has not been without its challenges. Yet it has been, overwhelmingly, a story of success. Britain today is more at ease with the multi-ethnic society that we have become than once seemed imaginable — and not just to Enoch Powell. Like many before and since, Powell underestimated the ability of a free society to adapt.’
Nigel Farage on the other hand has backed the ‘basic principle’ of what Powell said in his 1968 ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech So what’s going on here: real policy tensions or licensed differences? At a British Future event in Westminster this evening on immigration, Carswell had to continually defend his ideas as representative of more people in Ukip than just himself.
He discussed the commitments that Ukip would make on immigration in their manifesto, saying they will be ‘fair and ethical’ and represents the whole party.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in