What is the United Kingdom Independence Party?
The rise of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in the recent European elections in Britain must serve as a serious warning. In the absence of an independent socialist perspective for unifying the European continent, it has been possible for UKIP to channel anger and hostility at the European Union and its bureaucratic, pro-big business policies in a right-wing direction. UKIP doubled its vote in 1999, coming third in the national poll. Its success has seen it hailed as a major new force in British politics, even a potential “king maker”. The Telegraph described UKIP’s result as potentially Britain’s “Pim Fortuyn moment”—a reference to the success in May 2002 of the right-wing, anti-immigrant party List Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands following the assassination of its leader, which took second place in the country’s general election. The bubble burst very rapidly for the List Pim Fortuyn. Within a year it had lost two-thirds of its support at the polls. But its primary achievement was to