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BBC NEWS | Politics | UKIP must change message - Farage

UKIP must change message - Farage

Mr Farage believes UKIP can build on its 2004 Euro election result
The UK Independence Party (UKIP) must be more positive in its message on Europe, leader Nigel Farage has said.

In a speech at the party's conference in Bournemouth, he said next May's Euro elections should be a referendum on Britain's relationship with the EU.

And his party would be the "only opposition" voice on the Lisbon Treaty.

But it had to shift its reputation as a party that only "knocks".

UKIP campaigns for Britain's exit from the European Union but that did not mean it had to be relentlessly negative, argued Mr Farage.

''I think we have got to change some of the things that we have been saying and some of the things that we have been doing.

'Positive alternatives'

"Because I think too often it's been easy to characterise UKIP as people who just knock and knock and knock and knock - we say this is wrong, we say that's wrong.

We are the party that says we want to trade with Europe, we want to be friendly with Europe, but we insist that we should make our own laws in this country

Nigel Farage

"We have not been offering good positive alternatives and what I want us to do is to paint a vision of a 21st Century relationship between Britain and our European neighbours.''

The UKIP leader has attempted to broaden the party's appeal from that of a single issue group.

But he is still expected to focus on its opposition to the Lisbon Treaty in next May's polls - contrasting his party's position with that of David Cameron's Conservatives.

In his keynote speech, Mr Farage said: "David Cameron could kill the Lisbon Treaty stone dead.

"All he has to do is say that there will be a referendum on the treaty after the next election when - and let's not kid ourselves on this - he will be prime minister.

"This would strengthen the arms of the Polish and Czech presidents in their refusals to ratify Lisbon and make any attempt at a second referendum in Ireland impossible."

Retrospective referendum

Mr Farage added: "Everyone knows that the Constitution - sorry, the Lisbon Treaty - will never be approved by the British people, which is why we've not been asked about it.

"So if Cameron were as Eurosceptic as he claims, he would do this. He could stand up this afternoon and announce a retrospective referendum.

"So the question has to be, why doesn't he do this? Is he not as Eurosceptic as he claims?"

The Tories pledged in January to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if they won power before it was ratified by all 27 EU states.

But they did not explain whether they would attempt to reopen negotiations on the Treaty if it had been ratified by every state.

'Friendly with Europe'

Gordon Brown said last year that a referendum on the treaty was not necessary because most changes were minor or procedural.

UKIP achieved a breakthrough at the most recent European elections, in 2004, when it gained 2.7 million votes, or 16% of the vote, pushing the Liberal Democrats into fourth place.

It has fared poorly in subsequent polls, gaining just 4.6% of the vote in the recent London mayoral elections.

But Mr Farage believes the proportional representation system used in the European elections gave it a good chance of building on its 2004 success.

He told delegates: ''In the European elections of 2009, we are going to be on every single ballot paper in the United Kingdom, and we are the party of opposition.

"We are the party that says we want to trade with Europe, we want to be friendly with Europe, but we insist that we should make our own laws in this country because the best people to govern Britain are the British people themselves.''

SponPlague

As usual, a good speech from Nigel...

Millennium3

Yes, but almost always focussing on the EU. The reason that the Greens and BNP are ahead of UKIP is, although the majority of voters are against our current relationship with the EU, they are far more worried about climate change and the number of immigrants already in the country.

Petrina

I wasn`t aware of Cameron putting himself forward as a eurosceptic as such ,he has never pretended that he wants to rock the boat .

Hence the stupidity (in my view ) of NF openly stating earlier in the year that he was leaving the opposition to the Lisbon Treaty to the Tories ,not much point banging on about it all now .It`s all too little too late ,which is a terrible pity because if UKIP had fought the good fight it could hold its head high now and make a genuine stab at gaining the real eurosceptic vote .

I wont be giving my vote to such a bunch of pussycats and neither will lots of other genuine eurosceptics .
I agree that UKIP must change ,it must pull its finger out and do something .

Earthling

If you are Eurosceptic, and UKIP are the only opposition to the EU, who on Earth are you going to vote for? I'm sorry but it is people like you who are the reason we are still in this mess. If you want out of the EU, spread the word and vote UKIP!!

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Earthling's Blog

Don't let EU rule Britannia! Vote UKIP and say NO to Brussels Bureaucracy.

Petrina

Why should I vote for UKIP if I feel that it has let the eurosceptic voters down ? That would just be stupid .

If it stopped simply mouthing all this stuff about professionalism and actually got its act together and went on the attack then it would be worth voting for .
I hope that it can be turned around but ......


As to who to vote for instead I don`t know to be honest ,one can only wait and see what is happening nearer the time .

Millennium3

Can I take it from this that, since UKIP are not cutting the mustard, you would fully support a initiative to start a new eurosceptic party which may have some hope of success?

kernow

I agree 100%! Who else is there for the "Lechlade Group" to vote for?

Baron von Lotsov

Yes, I thought it was good as well. He's right, the UKIP needs to get into the minds of ordinary people more and to be less gun ho about the EU. People tend to switch off the moment they conclude something along the lines that 'well he would say that because he is UKIP' as in thinking of them as extremist. All the Nu Labour Marxist propaganda has been directed at building the extremist image, and it has taken its toll. The positive does sell and often the best way to fight evil is to offer a better alternative. Rather than saying the EU are crooks and steel all your taxes give the housewives a vision of prosperity that would come about once free trade is restored.

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douglas denny

What a daft statement from someone who purports to be anti-EU!
How weak.

You will in all probability vote for the duplicitous Conservative liars, cheats and con-artists that they are ... as I suspect you have mostly done all your life ...

You are not so unintelligent to not know that there is only one party which has a serious policy of getting out of the EU ... you were even the chairman of that party for a while!... so what is your problem...??

DED.
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