Earlier today the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) launched their London Assembly election campaign. Party leader Nigel Farage joined the London candidates at the Porters English Restaurant next to Covent Garden.
Fresh voice for London
Farage said that looking at the polls “the party is very much on the up” going into this election and that UKIP was offering a “fresh choice for London” but it was frustrating that so little discussion focused on the Assembly elections (rather than the Mayor).
While other parties were fielding candidates who are “a career class of college kids” who’ve never had a proper job, UKIP candidates came from a broad range of backgrounds “the city, law firms, brokers”, he said.
This “is your chance to elect your champions”.
UKIP’s lead list candidate, Stephen Woolfe, who would be the first to be elected if UKIP break the 5% barrier, works in the City and was keen to tell that he “is not part of political elite”.
He focused his section on defending the banking and financial sector. “We’re not flavour of the month at the moment… people want to give bankers a kicking.” However, Woolfe thought this would “kill the golden goose” because they contributed such a large amount in tax (when they pay it).
Naturally enough for a UKIP candidate, he was concerned about a “huge amount of regulation from Europe” include the “financial transaction tax” (or Tobin tax) which he claimed would put around 500,000 people out of work.
Lawrence Webb
Lawrence Webb, UKIP’s Mayoral candidate, apparently told the Metro that he couldn’t deliver his promises but there was no such admission from him today. Controversially he said that “the single largest group of commuters is the motorist and it is not possible to have an integrated transport policy without the needs of the motorist.” He must be quite happy living in London then as there is little chance of motorists being cut out of transport policy any time soon.
Webb’s two key policies were on London’s parking, which he thought should be brought under direct control of the Mayor, and airport capacity. UKIP is opposed to a third runway for Heathrow but for expanding the little known Manston airport in order to protect jobs and international links. Certainly the parking policy will have more clout in outer London and places like Barnet or Westminster where the local Conservative councils have so resolutely misjudged their parking policies.
Comedy turn of the morning came from UKIP’s Westmminster council by-election candidate, who was so proud of the support from Peter Stringfellow he had the man’s face on his election posters, something others might have chosen to hide, and when summing up he described his speech as “flying by the seat of my pants, something Nigel will know all about.” A chilly wave rippled its way across the room as Farage’s face was a study in immobility.
David Coburn
We spoke to David Coburn (number two on the list and the Bexley and Bromley constituency candidate) after the event. He explained that UKIP’s tactics were to target the outer rim of London, and especially those places like Barnet where they detected disaffected small business people who were railing against “red tape”.
While candidates like Lawrence Webb seem to have quite a nuanced, intelligent approach to politics, Coburn’s approach is probably best described as bluff honesty. Neither Farage nor Webb spoke about Europe at any length, trying to take the party into more rounded political territory. Coburn had quite a bit to say about the Tories being soft on immigration and Europe.
Describing the Greens as living on another planet advocating “clockwork cars” (which doesn’t appear to be in their manifesto, I checked), he was most concerned that we should abolish any measures that tackle air pollution. Rules and regulations controlling pollution levels were damaging business and had to be scrapped in his view.
He cheerfully told me that his aim was to be “the biggest pain on the London Assembly”. If elected I think he might well achieve just that.
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