Sebastian Payne

Brothers in arms — Ukip and the SNP are singing the same song

You don’t mean a thing if your seat ain’t a swing. As this saying goes, political campaigning in safe seats is usually a thankless task — unless you are Nigel Farage. Last week, he managed to pack out The Sage concert hall in ultra-safe Labour Gateshead for Ukip’s biggest ever-public meeting. By going back to the simple idea of touring the country (even the sceptical parts) and giving speeches, Farage is appealing directly to the voters left behind by the other parties. He told the 1,200-odd assembled crowd of my fellow Geordies:

‘We are here to say that Labour used to stand up for the people in this region, but they have turned their backs on you in favour of the European project. Well, UKIP will stand up for you now.’

BuzzFeed also went along and asked 18 people why they support Ukip. Aside from a few Farage fans, the political class has left them all disgruntled. Yet Labour has not quite grasped why Ukip’s back-to-basics approach and policies are appealing to voters. In response to the Ukip gathering, Gateshead MP Ian Mearns spoke of trade unions, not dealing with concerns over immigration:

‘Apart from opposition to the EU UKIP are clearly and simply a party wedded to opposition to workers’ rights and protective legislation. They have nothing to offer working-class voters but a deterioration of their rights at work and a return to individuals being expendable.’

Compare Ukip’s approach to the ever-improving prospects of the SNP and it’s clear that the two parties are now deploying the same tactics. Xenophobic, making coded jibes against our near-neighbours? Check. Small-minded, and seeking to build a greater wall around your country? Check. Some members with crackpot views? Check. Denouncing the ‘Westminster elite’? Check.

And campaigning using old school political hustings? Check.

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