Anthony Butcher

This is a poll on what you think the political impact will be for UKIP.

Will it put a lot of the more moderate voters and activists off the party?

Will it just be used by the media to reinforce the BNP-lite image?

Will it attract the right kind of new members?

Is it enough to challenge the BNP?

Is it just a gimmick?

Is it properly costed in terms of the financial impact?

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Tom Collier

Probably it will be negative on balance, though it depends on the literature. Though I personally favour less immigration (see other thread) and the taboo on the subject has gone, it is still not a major voting determinant and where it is the BNP tend to pick up the protest vote.

As to what you said Anthony about the embarrassment of activists at the last election I think that was as often down to the p*** poor literature as the policy of net zero immigration. Any pictures or references to swamping or the fearful mass of aliens insults the intelligence of the electorate. We all know there has been heavy immigration in recent years. The point should be that there are major minuses (in terms of housing particularly) and immigration does not produce the panecea of good for the economy and your conscience, that proponents argue for. In this regard migration watch I think have done a sterling job at putting the case against mass-immigration in a non-emotive way that puts the UKIP leadership and its material in the last election to shame.

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Tom Collier

Raymond Finch

Where I have been canvassing (Portsmouth and Havant) Immigration has been the number one (to the exclusion of almost everything else) issue on the doorstep. People you would normally expect not to be anti-immigration (Women, Teachers, public sector workers etc.) have been quite vehement. My impression is these people will find our new policy too soft. I have reservations on it but it seems to be addressing the thoughts of the electorate in my area at least.

Anthony Butcher

I am also wondering how this fits in with UKIP's very visible attempts to be more Tory than the Tories. This is a far riskier strategy that may just push the party too far off to the right. People generally don't like extremes and those Tory voters thinking of UKIP would, I imagine, be looking for a credible Thatcherite-style right-of-centre party. Does this policy put UKIP too far beyond "right-of-centre"?

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John in Scotland

Risky.

If UKIP had never, ever, been lumped together with the BNP, then fine. But when you are still trying to throw off the BNP-lite image, very risky.

Millennium3

If UKIP want to succeed in getting popular opinion behind them they must take on board the issue of immigration from the EU in an objective fashion.

On the 'abolution of the legal system thread' [EU section] Micheal Shrimpton argues that 4m Brits are unable to work because of the fierce competition from the EU immigrants. Apart from the welfare costs this also results in so many unfulfilled lives, pressure on housing and health services etc.

Raymond Finch

I think the secret of making a success of this policy is to make sure it is portrayed as non-discriminatory. If it becomes a "White Britain" policy in the eyes of the potential UKIP electorate then we are in trouble. If it is portrayed instead as a way of getting our house in order, possibly by stressing that those who would qualify under the new rules would be high value people from anywhere not just the "White Commonwealth" as it was previously known then it could be a winner.

Millennium3

If UKIP had a policy of, although eventually wishing to leave the EU, as a first stage would renegotiating the treaty so that EU citizens did not have the automatic right to live and work here and if the EU were not prepared to agree would hold a referendum on whether we should stay in at all - the electorate might be interested.

With the EU white/black is not an issue.

Anthony Butcher

So far UKIP seems to be doing OK in the media. I haven't seen anything particularly critical of this policy.

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If you care about what's in your food and where it comes from, then get it labelled!
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Petrina

In the present climate this policy change can only do UKIP some good .
We weren`t going to get the Lib Dim vote anyway in view of NF`s pronouncements of late ,it has been clear that UKIP has been targetting disgruntled Tories .

Even Cameron has changed tack on immigration .

I think that those of us in the party who have been pushing for a harder line on immigration can feel pleased about this .One of our belly-aches up till now has been the fact that UKIP had a policy of stop EU immigration but continue wiht Commonwealth immigration ,that now appears to have gone which is far more logical as all immigration is now putting a strain on our hospitals ,schools etc etc .