As is often the case Michael Ashcroft has done the Conservative Party a great service. His alarming opinion poll published in the Sunday Telegraph this morning that there is a UKIP surge in those marginal seats where the Tories have the smallest majorities has led to the usual crowing by labour and the Kippers. And no doubt there will be the usual jittery calls from the headless chicken brigade for an accommodation with the Faragistas.
This should be avoided like the bubonic plague.
But let’s pause for breath and think about what this poll means. That a vote for UKIP will propel Ed Miliband into Downing Street. And if that that doesn’t send a shiver down the spine of those who have sacrificed their standards of living to turn this economy around and the others who have worked their guts out to keep their small businesses afloat I don’t know what will.
So what is the clear message that the Tories should be shouting from the roof tops? That a vote for UKIP is a vote for all those policies that brought this country to its knees. That a vote for UKIP is a stealth vote for Labour. That a vote for UKIP will put back in charge those who robbed the sweet shop and then burnt it down for the insurance money. Only that they forgot to pay their premiums.
That a vote for UKIP is not just a wasted vote but a dangerous one.
The stupidity of it all is that the main thrust of UKIP popularity is immigration. And who opened the flood gates?
Their other attraction is a vote on an EU referendum. But that fox was shot long ago. So far only the Tories offer one. It won’t be long before the Lib Dems follow. And as for Labour? If they do an about turn on this one any smidgen of credibility that Miliband has left will be blown to the wind and Labour voters will stay at home.
I genuinely don’t believe that the electorate are as stupid as some commentators make out. But it does mean the Tory party machine in the marginals has to be stepped up a couple of gears and the message on UKIP crystal clear. Obviously the run up to the European elections will give the party plenty of opportunity for the latter. The danger is as that most people won’t bother to vote in the Euros because they don’t see them affecting their lives. Why would any individual want to contact their MEP? And where would they get in touch with them?
I haven’t a clue. I don’t even know who mine is let alone out to get in contact with him or her. And why would I want to? What could he or she do for me?
But this a problem for all parties except for the KIPPERS who are not really a party at all just an eccentric alliance of unpleasant prejudices.
So the Ashcroft poll may put a spring in the step of Miliband, but only temporarily. Does he really want to be propelled into office by this rag tag deserter army of racists, homophobes and isolationists who want to hurtle Britain back to the nineteen fifties?
I suspect that he doesn’t give a toss.
But this could be a gift to the Tories.
