Ukip vote
Same old tune In the 1980s, we were told a Green vote was a wasted opposition-splitting vote – shortly before the Greens started taking council seats and politicians then started caring about sustainable societies.
In the 1990s, we were told a Raving Loony vote made a mockery of democracy – shortly before they started taking seats on parish and town councils, mocking democracy for decades as hobby bureaucrats’ personal feifdoms. In the 2000s, we were told a BNP vote would let Labour take Tory council seats on a split vote – shortly before they started taking swathes of Labour seats. Ergo, forgive me if I yawn at “a vote for Ukip will let Labour in” as a different lyric to the same old boring tune.
Mark Boyle
Johnstone