Ukip voices people's anger
From John Hargreaves Sir: Oh dead Ukip has really disturbed Matthew Parris's normal affability and also, it would seem, his judgment (Another voice, 9 October). I usually enjoy his witty and intelligent comments, but in describing Ukip as 'mad, bad and nasty' he is so far from the truth as to be risible. He really ought to get out of the metropolis more, perhaps take a vacation in Middle England.
The Ukip members I know are predominantly middle class and also middle-aged, although we do have members in their twenties. What they all have in common is a concern for what is happening to their country as the EU juggernaut grinds on. Unfortunately for Parris, Ukip crystallises the views of an increasing number of the electorate as the Hartlepool by-election result shows only too clearly.
In the run-up to the European elections, helped to man a party stand in the main shopping precinct of Bath. Among other things we were seeking signatures demanding that a date should be announced for a referendum on the EU constitution. What was increasingly noticeable was how very angry many of the general public have become. Their anger was directed at politicians of all parties who they believe ignore their concerns and wishes completely. Yes, certainly, immigration came up time after time, as did the state of local hospitals, schools, transport and lack of affordable housing. In the middle of these complaints we detected wholesale suspicion of the EU voiced very strongly by farmers and growers from the surrounding rural areas.
Ukip is doing nothing more than articulating the views of a very disaffected section of the electorate. A pre-election rally in north Wiltshire attracted an audience of some 300, most of whom were again, I suspect, middle-class voters who are determined to make their voices heard one way or another.
John Hargreaves
Bath, Somerset
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