May 4, 2012 12.12 pm This story is over 141 months old

Elections 2012: UKIP beat Lib Dems by almost double votes

Comment: UKIP leader happy his party beat the Liberal Democrats by almost double votes in all wards except one.

— Nick Smith, the UKIP Lincoln and Gainsborough branch chairman, commenting on the Lincoln local elections results.


UKIP has proved without doubt that it is now the third force in local politics as it beat the Liberal Democrats by almost double votes in all wards except one.

UKIP has attracted new support and members from the Lib Dems, the Tories, Labour, and even the Green party, and we take votes from all of those parties as former traditional voters look for a real alternative to the consensus politics of the LibLabCon – three parties so similar you can’t put a cigarette paper between their policies.

Claims by the Conservatives that votes for UKIP are protest votes that lost them seats show the party has its head in the sand.

The Tories are to blame for their own poor result because they are just not listening to what ordinary people want and that is not privatisation of the NHS, or the enforcement of unpopular healthist ideology against lifestyles, or ignoring the issues of the EU and uncontrolled immigration, or its attacks on the poor working class.

The rise of UKIP is evidence that something new is happening in British politics as we enter the age of conviction and voting based on belief, sound policies of common sense, and not tactics aimed at voting for parties you don’t want to keep out the one you want even less.

People are voting FOR UKIP because they want UKIP representatives. If anything, the Labour vote is the protest vote as the votes won by the Tories from Labour at the last general election have gone back to Labour as the floating voter realises that there is nothing new, visionary or progressive about David Cameron’s Conservatives.

UKIP will be back next year, bigger, stronger and more determined to give the people of the great city and county a voice but they must help us to help them and go out and vote.

With a turn out of just over 26%, it appears the non-voter and apathy are the real winners of this election tonight and that is what is really responsible for taking votes from all parties – UKIP included.

Nick Smith is the UKIP candidate for Lincoln MP and the Chairman of UKIP Lincoln Constituency Association.