Is the party ceasing to be a serious threat?

While all the focus has been on the Labour succession we have ignored the extraordinary goings on at UKIP – the party which only a few weeks ago looked as though it might pose a threat to Cameron’s Conservatives.

Hardly a day goes by without some fresh headlines – the latest being from the Times this morning as reproduced above. The combination of financial issues and the robust response to the council candidate in Weymouth who has been banned because he is disabled create an image of confusion and of a party that cannot be taken seriously.

Yet all this comes after one pollster, at least, has started to find significant support. The last two polls by YouGov have recorded figures of 5% and then 4% for the anti-EU party – shares, it should be said, which have not been detected by the other firms.

All this does have a political impact – for one major threat to the Tories is if they start to lose their core support from elements disgruntled at the direction that David Cameron is taking them.

But if UKIP is seen to be a shambles and a joke then the threat to the Tory leadership diminishes and the discontented right-wingers have nowhere really where they can go.

Meanwhile in the Labour leadership the Brown betting price has started to tighten again and it is now at 0.28/1.

PBC Party Details. Those wanting to join the PBC party in London on April 17th 2007 should contact Peter Smith by emailing him at arklebar@talktalk.net. If you are going then please let him know as soon as possible.

Mike Smithson