A number of points that I think we should remember following the big UKIP gains in the European elections. Firstly, the turnout at the polls was pretty rubbish – some 33%. If we had some sort of secure internet or text voting then I’m sure a lot more people would have turned up.
Let’s not forget..
1 – If people actually WANT something, they’ll go and get it. Those who WANTED to vote UKIP went and did it.
2 – Those who assumed UKIP wouldn’t get anywhere didn’t bother voting, and their choice wasn’t heard.
That second point is important, because for the past few weeks Nigel Farage has been regularly ridiculed in the media. He’s been caught off-guard, saying things before actually engaging the traditional “political brain to mouth filter”. It feels at times that there’s a lack of polish and style in his campaign. He gets pushed easily into making mistakes by presenters, interviewers and reporters. At times it was uncomfortable, and I can bet that most of the press wrote him off. If you supported Labour, Conservative or anyone else, it’s reasonable to think that you’d written off UKIP too.
However, this is perhaps a brilliant example of no publicity being bad publicity. UKIP and Farage have been all over the TV in recent weeks while every other party has pretty much didn’t exist in the media.