FARAGE CLOBBERS CLEGG ; WHAT DOES IT MEAN ?

Pro-European Union Nick Clegg must be rueing his decision to enter into a debate with Anti-EU Nigel Farage after his mauling in the second meeting of the two last night.

After the first debate, opinion polls gave Farage a win on the night by around 55% to 35%; the second debate saw Farage increase his vote to close to 70% while Clegg's sank to around 30%.  Obviously, such polls are largely self-selecting and their accuracy can be debateable but the message does seem clear - Farage won by a margin.

Whether the result of this will affect anything in the world inhabited by those who actually decide things on our behalf is questionable. Sadly, Farage is the only even remotely serious political leader in this country who is in favour of a withdrawal from the EU. Clegg is 100% committed to the EU come what may, Cameron has no real intention of doing anything that would lead to us withdrawing and Miliband will do whatever he believes will get him into 10 Downing Street. While Farage may reflect the views of the a majority of the people of this country, our relationship with the EU will be decided by one or more of the other three.

The only hope is that Farage's showing in these debates will encourage many more people to vote for Ukip in the European and Council elections in May. There seems to be a good chance that Ukip will come top in the European polls and this is what is needed; last time, in 2009, Ukip came a good second in the polls with 16.5% but were still a long way behind the Conservatives with 27.7%. If Ukip can reverse these positions it would send a strong message to the main parties and leave Labour and the Liberal Democrats well behind.

In the council elections we can expect the three main parties to dominate but if Ukip can improve from their performance of last year when they gained 23% of the vote they could start to make a real impact in domestic politics by winning a significant number of seats and, even, one or two councils. Such a performance would certainly improve their chances of doing well in next year's General Election.

Nigel Farage is the only serious political figure in this country who is making progress. If the people give him the chance, he may be able to help the whole country to progress. VOTE Ukip !