Ashley Fox, a Conservative candidate in the South West European Elections, looks at the challenge UKIP poses in the region.
In the South West our main opponents at the European elections in June 2009 will be UKIP.
In 1999 the Conservatives had a good result in the South West, taking 41.7% of the vote and 4 of the 7 MEPs. This fell to 31.6% in 2004, when we elected only 3 MEPs. Over the same period, UKIP's vote rose 12%, from 10.6% in 1999 to 22.6% in 2004.
For a detailed analysis of the figures you can visit Wikipedia. However, you don't have to be a genius to work out that most of UKIP's gains came at our expense.
In 2009 the South West will elect only 6 MEPs, so were we to repeat our poor 2004 performance we would end up with only 2 MEPs. UKIP would also take 2, with Labour and the LibDems having 1 each.
Continue reading "Ashley Fox: UKIP will be muzzled by a commitment to renegotiation" »
Recent Comments