Talk:UK Independence Party/Archive 3

Party Logo
It is a known fact by party members that the website has rarely been updated regarding its general look, albeit always updated to change news stories. This may be a poor attempt at backing up my point, but I can assure you it is true. Here is however some sources to show the logo has changed:

Party Logo on recent media magazine.

New Party logo in late October, only a week or so after the party changed the colours.

Party branch website one of the first to be updated with party colours. Hope these links are of help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by IndependentThinkerUK (talk • contribs) 07:27, 14 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I think the logo on their offocoal website is the one that should be used. There is also a promlem with the image used in this article as it's been nominated for delition (I think because of a lack of liciencing detail). I've updated the logo now, with one taken from their website, and dealt with the copyright issue properly - so I don't think it will be a problem now. Obscurasky (talk) 14:51, 25 November 2011 (UTC).

Council seats
The article states that UKIP has around 100 councillors and the info box says 93. However, I can find only 23 seats on this website: http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/uklocalgov/makeup.htm Could someone clarify? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.29.122.82 (talk) 11:13, 26 February 2010 (UTC)


 * There's a difference between Principal Authority Councillors on one hand (County, Borough, District and Unitary Authority councillors), and Town and Parish Councillors on the other. Town and Parish Councillors have little power and are often elected unopposed; I would imagine that our numbers are including these councillors, which is a mistake. We should only list the number of Principal Authority councillors. Fences  &amp;  Windows  15:41, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
 * The BBC lists results every year, but they don't include the uncontested seats that year, so I'm not sure what the total is, and where you'd be able to find a reliable source to give the figure not including Parish councils. -- Eraserhead1 &lt;talk&gt; 11:57, 5 March 2010 (UTC)
 * It's 23: Cambridgeshire (1), Dudley (1), Hartlepool (2), Mansfield (1), Merthyr Tydfil (2), Newcastle-under-Lyme (5), Norfolk (1), Nottinghamshire (1), South Ribble (1), Staffordshire (4), Staffordshire Moorlands (1), Stevenage (1), Suffolk (1), Sutton (1). This can be verified on the local council websites. Fences  &amp;  Windows  02:53, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

After doing a count up of all their councillors on their website( http://www.ukip.org/content/councillors/1732-find-your-ukip-councilllor ) I have found that they have 66 councillors all together and not the 21 which is currently being claimed. Do I have permission to make the change using this information which is from their official site? Furthermore, why don't Parish council seats count?

I updated the councillors count using information from the UKIP members' forum which is not visible to the public and therefore can't be cited. wonko (talk) 19:03, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

The problem is that many UKIP Councillors describe themselves as independent. Indeed indeed some Councils do not recognise UKIP as a group if their is only one councillor. Also parish councils tends to be apolitical. Therefore, it is not easy to provide a definitive figure. I have a list with 54 Parish and Town UKIP Councillors but due to the difficulties and to avoid argument I said around 50. Pstaveley (talk) 14:01, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

A little heads up; the official UKIP page has not even been updated regarding councillors. There are no new councillors that the Party won in the 2011 local elections. I have emailed the webmaster regarding this; but as per usual - they are not doing a thing. Take note that the UKIP page for local government is out of date. (talk) 7:39, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

UKIP is a Libertarian Party not right wing
There seems to be various reversions about the nature of UKIP. I am a member of UKIP and I feel that it is a libertarian party, it is definitely not right wing, even if the media say it is. For example, UKIP's policy is to remove tuition fees and reinstate full grants and free further and higher education. Surely you are not saying that is a normal right wing.

Similarly, UKIP policy is to build 3 High Speed rail lines using public money. A right wing policy would be to let the market decide and pay for that investment itself.

What evidence is required in order to permit the status of the party to be changed to libertarian and not be reverted?

Pstaveley (talk) 11:51, 20 December 2010 (UTC)


 * If the media (broadsheets) say it is right wing then for WIkipedia that is enough. If you want to make the case of libertarian then you have to find reliable third party sources which say it is.  Not your opinion.  -- Snowded  TALK  12:12, 20 December 2010 (UTC)


 * There are some basic fallacies in Pstaveley's arguments. 1 It's "not right wing, even if the media say it is". Well, actually, if the media collectively say it is right wing then by Wikipedia rules guess what - it's right wing! 2 But it's not just the media; countless academic sources also label it as such so, once again, under Wikipedia rules, it is right wing. 3 Pstaveley declares that less than a handful of policies are not right wing, which is, of course, original research. 4 But cherry picking a small number of policies is hardly a rigourous examination in any case.
 * In fact, the policies Pstaveley has chosen have support beyond the left wing (though the Lib Dems are currently embarrassed on tuition fees etc). The High Speed Rail Link is a clasic case - proposed by Labour and accepted by the Con-Lib coalition (i.e. with all party support) you could argue that it has ceased to be an issue that could be located on a left-right scale, rather like the NHS. It would considerably help Pstaveley's case that UKIP is not right wing if (s)he could identify some unquestionably left wing proposals in UKIP's philosophy, such as nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy, workers' control of industry, international worker solidarity, abolition of the monarchy, banning fee-paying schools......
 * (S)he asks: "What evidence is required in order to permit the status of the party to be changed to libertarian?" Snowded has answered that above, but asserting that UKIP is not right wing and therefore it has to be libertarian will certainly not do it. Emeraude (talk) 14:46, 21 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Of course the reason the High Speed Rail Link is popular in political circles is that we don't have to start paying for it for a number of years. One would ask "have they learned nothing" if not for WP:SOAP. Rich Farmbrough, 21:25, 21 December 2010 (UTC).


 * I would have said that UKIP is primarily a one issue party, the reason for having a full manifesto is to avoid the drawbacks of one-issue-parties, which is fair enough. But in the issue of "winged-ness" there are no cites to support the claim that it is right wing, and indeed the body of the article makes no such claim. While the claim that the European group they formed is "more right wing" than the previous grouping is supported by the BBC cite, it does not actually address the issue of UKIP's position (or even of the grouping), merely a relative change in their grouping.  Therefore there is nothing to support "Right wing" in the infobox.  Since "Right wing" is used as a hate term, using it unattributed seems poor, and since political position is complex, having it in an infobox at all is probably not  good idea. If it were to be used the position as in the BBC cite "Eurosceptic" might be a better choice. Rich Farmbrough, 21:25, 21 December 2010 (UTC).


 * "Right wing" is used as a hate term. That's just your opinion and says more about your own political position than anything else. Right and left wing (and "fascism", "socialism", "communism", "capiralism") are clearly understood concepts in political science and are used accurately and sensibly in informed discussion of political issues. This is an encyclopaedia, and we expect that editors (and readers) are intelligent enough to use words and phrases with their generally accepted meanings. To suggest otherwise is disingenuous at best. Emeraude (talk) 09:22, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for the comments made so far. You have said that UKIP is primarily a one issue party. If you believe this to be so that surely it cannot be left, right or centre wing. Withdrawal from the EU is actually a trait shared by both Labour and Conservative politicians. I grant you that fewer Labour politicians are so open about their status on the EU compared to the Conservatives. However, a typical person who is openly wanting the UK to withdraw from the EU is Baron Stoddart of Swindon who is an independent Labour Peer. If anything Conservative politicians tend to be more Euro-sceptic rather than simply wanting the UK to leave the EU. Just to clarify it would be totally wrong to state that UKIP is Euro-sceptic. Pstaveley (talk) 22:27, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Look, its very simple. Your opinions, or mine or those of any other editor here are simply not relevant.  You have to find reliable sources that support your position.  Until you do that you are wasting your time and that of everyone who has to respond to you.  -- Snowded  TALK  07:27, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * A relevant point on the subject of opinion, I think, is that Snowded is a Plaid Cymru activist - a left wing Welsh nationalist party in direct competition with UKIP in the 2011 Senedd elections. wonko (talk) 19:17, 5 January 2011 (UTC) (A UKIP member) Moved this comment. Keep comments in time order please. Emeraude (talk) 13:21, 6 January 2011 (UTC)


 * It would be a relevant point if, and only if, 1 You could show that Snowded's edits were based solely on his admitted political position (i.e. you accuse him of blatant POV pushing) and 2 UKIP wasn't also competing against the whole range of other parties! Emeraude (talk) 13:24, 6 January 2011 (UTC)
 * You all push your POV on all pages to do with politics right of centre. It's getting hugely irritating. I see the same names on every talk page, acting as if they're the source of authority. Give it a break, and utilise some good faith edits for once. Alexandre8 (talk) 20:20, 6 June 2011 (UTC)

Problems with this page
This article's set up looks like it was written by a left wing author who wants to emphasise dubious events over information and fact, could we please have a big re-edit? Having people like "Snowded" trolling these pages is a hindrance as well, as he is a Plaid Cymru supporter who wants the UK to adopt the Euro - possibly the least qualified person for a unbiased piece on here.

Also, Steve Crowther is now the Chairman of UKIP, and Paul Nuttall is the Deputy Leader. http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/1972-nec-unanimous-on-new-ukip-team

--Dunenewt (talk) 23:18, 13 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Making political attacks on other editors is no way to support your case. Are you happy for members of the Labout Party, Conservatives, Lib-Dems, Scots Nats, etc, to edit, or is it only UKIP supporters who would meet with your approval? Emeraude (talk) 12:04, 14 January 2011 (UTC)

No, but someone who is so overtly political should perhaps not be editing the pages of those whose views he obviously disapproves of. --Dunenewt (talk) 19:21, 15 January 2011 (UTC)
 * So you are happy to accuse someone of biased editing simply because they support a party and you do not believe that a member of a party can be unbiased in their edits. This is not the way to approach things. Which articles on parties do you think Snowded could edit? And who are you to say? The question of whether or not an edit is neutral can be judged only by the edit itself, not by the editor who makes it, and to suggest otherwise is to make a totally unwarranted attack on the integrity of the editor. Emeraude (talk) 15:05, 16 January 2011 (UTC) Yes because when the integrity of the editor sucks, he should bugger off. Alexandre8 (talk) 20:30, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Calling people a troll without providing some supporting evidence Dunenewt is not acceptable. Read up on WP:AGF and either provide evidence or stop throwing accusations.  That sort of thing can get you blocked.  -- Snowded  TALK  18:45, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

Could everyone please calm down. Dunenewt, I have to agree with Snowded there is not point in throwing accusations around. What detailed changes are you asking to be made? Pstaveley (talk) 20:21, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

I am just saying that as this person has their colours firmly nailed to the mast, and they are clearly contrary to the views of the party this article portrays, he makes a less than ideal candidate to go round editing it. The History page needs massive re-editing to make it NPOV. Whilst the stuff on racism may deserve a place in the article, it certainly does not merit a place in the History section. Perhaps we could re-edit it with a much better and chronological information. Then, there could be a separate section at the bottom for controversy in which we could put in racism (combine the section on ethnic minority members) and expenses. We need information on Nigel Farage being re-elected as leader, Stuart Wheeler joining. Dunenewt (talk) 22:25, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

I am happy with that general propoed structure including combining. There needs to be an update on policies. For example the regional assemblies have now been scrapped. UKIP has produced far more policies than just taxation and education. Obviously there should be a section on the re-election of Nigel (perhaps mentioning the other candidates). I think some of the earlier history, say pre 2005 needs to be condensed a bit. I am not happy that they are called right wing in the summary box. I think that their policies stretch right across the political spectrum. The problem is that the media label UKIP as right wing, but should Wikipedia follow what the media assert or should Wikipedia decide on the relative merits of their policies? Perhaps some pictures would be helpful of, say, Farage and perhaps the group of MEPs or Councillors. What do other people think? Pstaveley (talk) 13:08, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

A stack of mug shots is not useful, unless you want an advert for UKIP! Can we nail this once and for all: the media does not "label UKIP as right wing" any more than they label Conservative as right or centre or left. Wikiedia labels it right wing, because it is and the evidence is supported by sufficient independent sources in academic journals. Just about any party will have policies that "stretch right across the political spectrum", but that's in the nature of parties - there are very few thoroughbreds. What counts is where the bulk of its most important ideas are located, and for UKIP this is on the right. You might not be happy with it, but that's the way it works. And by the way, in order to avoid accusations of hero worship/partisanship, in Wikipedia we normally refer to people by their surnames (i.e. Farage, not Nigel). Emeraude (talk) 16:18, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Regarding the pictures I was only comparing the UKIP page with the Labour or Conservative pages. They have a couple of pictures, that is all I was suggesting. Regarding right wing, could you please add references to a few of those "sufficient independent sources in academic journals". For those that see the party as Libertarian it has been asked to provide references, so to be even-handed we must have references to show that the party is right wing. Pstaveley (talk) 12:30, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

I've reorganised it and added little about the latest leadership election. Dunenewt (talk) 14:56, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Bad references
There are a couple of issues with the way this article is referenced. First there are too many UKIP references from their own website and press releases - secondary sources are preferred. Second the use of bare URLs is ugly and lazy - it is much better if all references added use the same cite web, cite news, cite book, etc. template to ensure consistent formatting. Please encourage editors who add bare URLs to use the citation templates by posting on their talk pages, although some users simply don't listen. --Simple Boba.k.a. The Spaminator (Talk) 09:38, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Centre-right or right-wing?
I would like to see evidence that UKIP is centre-right as opposed to right-wing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Matt Downey (talk • contribs) 20:58, 25 May 2011 (UTC)


 * According to The New Statesman, Ekklesia think tank, Parliamentary Researchers Dods, The Telegraph, and The Belfast Telegraph, they're "right wing". According to research on the views of their own supporters, they're "centre-right".  I haven't checked the page revs, but the talk page above indicates it was stable on the far more common "right wing" at the end of last year, when a couple of insistent editors (and party members) made it "centre right". (Frankly, there are more results describing them as "far right" than "centre right") --Saalstin (talk) 21:20, 25 May 2011 (UTC)


 * UKIP is consistently described by outside observers as right wing, not centre right, and a knowledgeable examination of its policies in comparison with other UK parties will show this quite clearly. The only source that appears to suggest UKIP is centre right is the Leicester University study referred to by the previous editor, but note that this nowhere actually says that UKIP is centre right, merely that its members tend to see it as such: not the same thing at all. In the absence of reliable sources saying that UKIP is centre right, and in view of the fact that all sources say it is right wing, I am editing accordingly. Emeraude (talk) 11:10, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Agree with both of the above, may I suggest that we now revert it to the far more sensible and well sourced right-wing?--Matt Downey (talk) 15:19, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

I disagree. The page has shown UKIP as being centre-right for at least 6 weeks. There are conflicting sources. Therefore, we need to have a proper debate here and a concensus reached before the page is changed. Pstaveley (talk) 21:00, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Then please display these sources for centre-right, you are currently showing none. As stated above there are many more stating that the party is right-wing. Not to mention that most editors appear to believe, due to the sources, that it is a right-wing party.--Matt Downey (talk) 21:09, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

There is no good reason why Right wing should be used as the terminology. Look at the dates of the articles as well, right wing tags are older! Centre right tags are newer. Opinion is shifting and this should be reflected in the article. I also think socialists ought to stay clear of this article as I can't think they really would want to add any thing constructive. You don't see me stalking the labour pages. Alexandre8 (talk) 20:23, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
 * going to be scouting sources over the next few days to put this to rest. Alexandre8 (talk) 20:34, 6 June 2011 (UTC)

We don't need any more sources. As mentioned above there are many and the only ones which support centre-right are one from the times as you mentioned and one from Leicester Uni and all the Leicester one says is that UKIP members describe themselves as centre-right. I can describe myself as the king of Mars, doesn't mean I am.--Matt Downey (talk) 21:11, 6 June 2011 (UTC)

Yes we do. As an editor with numerous warnings you will be aware that consensus should be reached when clear disputes arise.Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 00:20, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

If you can present more sources for the centre-right than for right-wing, then I'll be happy to accept it being centre-right. Not including that one for Leicester Uni, as that is a survey of how UKIP supporters see themselves. Until you commented, Gaius, there were more editors for right-wing, hence why I defended the page as it stood. The fact that is may have been centre-right for a while doesn't establish a reason for it being centre-right if the argument for right-wing hugely outweighs it in terms of reliable sources. Oh, and I wasn't the one to change it to right-wing originally, I was just defending it being like that. I'm going to change it to "centre-right to right-wing", until you can present more sources for it being considered solely centre-right, if not, then it should go back to being only right-wing. Compromise. My previous warnings for previous edits have nothing to do with the matter.--Matt Downey (talk) 06:42, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Matt is right, the Leicester source is not valid as it simply describes a survey of members it does not evaluate those views. The other sources are clear.   Without reliable sources that say centre-right then it needs to go back to right wing.  If Alexandre8 can produce any then we can look at -- Snowded  TALK  06:45, 7 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Right wing is clearly referenced, centre-right has one dubious reference. For the moment lets leave them both up.  However the correct position is probably to delete centre-right pending those references -- Snowded  TALK  08:19, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

One day later and now new sources for centre-right. How much longer shall this take?--Matt Downey (talk) 06:03, 8 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Three editors wanting to work with the referenced "right wing". two editors wanting to change that but to date not providing any supporting material.  Given that I have removed centre-right.  When and if reliable third party material is produced we can use it.  However Alexandre8, please remember that has to be third part, nor reports on what the party or its supporters say.  We've been there before on the BNP & EDL articles so you know the rules.  -- Snowded  TALK  07:24, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I've been out of town for over a week, and I got back today, I'm also suffering from a grand old temperature. Shall be back on the case when I'm better. cya all soon. Alexandre8 (talk) 18:37, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

The sources for Right Wing, are purely personal opinion not actual proof of being right wing http://www.newstatesman.com/200406140013 purely opinion http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/11808 mostly opinion http://www.dodonline.co.uk/?showPage=article&ID=4166 talks only about UKIPs EP grouping not UKIP - UKIP may have right wing allies, doesnt make them right wing, Labour are with Far left people in the EP, Tories with far Right, doesnt make them Far left or Far right http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8513978/Pro-cuts-demonstration-held-outside-Houses-of-Parliament.html still pretty much opinion, not proven UKIP are right wing wheras, the University of Leicster source asks actual UKIP candidates, showing that UKIP is a party of the centre right, read the reserach http://www.le.ac.uk/po/documents/UKIPCandidatesandSupportersworkingpaper.pdf it quite clearly analyses UKIP candidates not just asking their opinion but testing their views and coming out centre right, further sources for Centre right http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-uk/2011/03/08/ukip-replacing-the-lib-dems-or-taking-on-the-tories/ http://www.le.ac.uk/politics/centreright.html http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2011/march/ukip-poses-challenge-to-traditional-triumvirate-new-study are people even reading the sources, reading the comments there are misplaced views that this analyses supporters only, when actually it talks about the very core of the party, the candidates and senior members  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.86.152.198 (talk) 12:44, 18 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I agree with you that the inclusion of 'far-right' seems to be very badly referenced: by opinion articles, non-reliable outlets, and reference to their allies or some of their voters, not to the party itself. I think the vast majority of newspapers will say - in their news reporting - that UKIP are 'right-wing'.  A few reliable sources have said 'centre-right', but they are disproportionately outnumbered by those that say 'right-wing' (and, again, that Leicester study seems to be of the party's voters, not the party itself).  So it may be worth a mention in an 'Ideology' or 'Political support' section, but I think any inclusion in the infobox would be giving undue prominence to a minority opinion.  For that reason, the infobox and the introduction must say 'right-wing': not centre-right and definitely not far-right. Bastin 12:57, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

But the sources for 'right wing' are only opinion as well, the Study focussed on Candidates - a core part of the party, and shows that UKIP presents itself as Centre Right, has Centre right policies, and stands Centre Right Candidates. To claim right wing, is to give prominance to a position that is only opinion (read the sources used for Right Wing, they are only opinion and mostly from people who are hostile to UKIP) the study is an objective study of the parties Candidates, not just voters, the candidates - a key senior part of the party. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.86.152.198 (talk) 15:45, 18 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Not true. As I stated above (11:10, 26 May 2011), that study nowhere actually says that UKIP is centre right; it merely says that its members tend to see it as such: not the same thing at all. The study does NOT say anywhere that Ukip "has Centre right policies, and stands Centre Right Candidates" and, indeed, would have no grounds for doing so since it only looked at surveys of members views and opinions and not at actual policies/principles in relation to other parties. Emeraude (talk) 11:59, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

Smear in opening
A openly hostile article written 6 years ago selectively quoting "far-right" is a smear. The founding of UKIP is covered in its own section, putting "they are racist and have been infected by the far-right" in the opening paragraph is indefensible and hostile and will need a lot more than an old guardian rant.Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 20:14, 16 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Well obviously I agree. Alexandre8 (talk) 20:29, 16 July 2011 (UTC)
 * The Guardian is a reliable source as you both know. The fact that the founder left on those grounds is notable  -- Snowded  TALK  20:35, 16 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes but it's the fact that it's in the opening that is the issue I beleive. Alexandre8 (talk) 20:38, 16 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Maybe it should be in both, but its clearly notable, the founder for God's sake.  -- Snowded  TALK  20:40, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

He left UKIP "in a high fit of pique because people wouldn't support him. "He was going to stand against us but couldn't find any money or backers to support him."http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/euros_99/news/359700.stm He has ever since ranted against them. Typical that the guardian should see his absurd 'racist far right' claim as worthy of print. Nonetheless, I agree this should be covered in the relevant sections, however having this man's anti-UKIP rant in the opening paragraph with its sole source being a bitterly hostile guardian opinion piece is not on.Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 20:58, 16 July 2011 (UTC)
 * The Guardian is considered a reliable source for news reporting but this does not cover opinion pieces. As such it should be excluded from the entire article. Hope this helps. Coldnorthwind (talk) 21:23, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Direct quotes from the party's founder published in a reliable source such as the Guardian are notable and should be included. --Simple Boba.k.a. The Spaminator (Talk) 08:13, 17 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, but since it is a smear from the man himself, it should not be in the lead. It gives far too much weight to his opinion. We have no idea why he left really, when people storm out of a party, it's very rarely because of the reason they actually give to the media. Alexandre8 (talk) 11:48, 17 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Then find a source which says that is not the reason he left. For the moment we have a reliable source that gives his reason as the right wing shift.  Gaius calls it a rant, you call it a smear, the source calls it a reason.  The source wins.  In fact the other BBC source confirms the Guardian source as the former leaders reason.  Guardian opinion is not a source, a opinion piece reporting a statement that is backed up by another source is.    The BBC source then reports the counter from Michael Holmes the new leader but makes no comment on it.  I can't see any dispute that this was the former leaders stated reason for leaving, its clearly notable.  We also have the material sourced in Sked's "Reflections of a Eurosceptic" -- Snowded  TALK  08:12, 20 July 2011 (UTC)

"the source calls it a reason". No it does not, the source quotes an embittered former member who left because he had no support. Whatever spin you put on this, putting "they are racist and have been infected by the far-right" in the opening paragraph with its sole source being a bitterly hostile six year old guardian opinion piece (have you read it?) quoting a former member is simply giving undue weight to one article added with malice and on the sly by an anon IP. Whoever added that should have gotten a consensus in talk first, no reason has been given for the allegation to be included in the opening paragraph.Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 09:06, 20 July 2011 (UTC)
 * That is your opinion, and the opinion of current members of UKIP. However it is a simple fact that the man, a leading academic, stated this as his reason for leaving.  Its not our place to make assumptions about what his "real" motive was.  If there is a third party source (not UKIP) that supports your "embittered" point of view then we can include that as well.   There may be an argument to move it to the main body or history section, but there is no argument to remove it.   Oh please AGF on the IP,  the edit was open and clear -- Snowded  TALK  09:10, 20 July 2011 (UTC)

You concede that "there may be an argument to move it to the main body or history section". I agree that this would be appropriate. The fact it was unchallenged does not mean it was accepted "for over a week without challenge" as you imply, it simply means it slipped past quality control. The edit was by an anon who promptly fell off the face of the earth, 'User:78.144.77.54'. The anon should have gotten a consensus in talk first for such a obviously contentious addition. Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 09:29, 20 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I can't see how it could be considered contentious, its referenced and its a clear position of the founder. It hardly subject to quality control, when the quality of the material is fine and matches up with other wikipedia articles.    We probably need to take a look at the lede anyway however as its over long -- Snowded  TALK  10:27, 20 July 2011 (UTC)

"contentious: 1. Causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial." It is certainly that.

"quality of the material is fine and matches up with other wikipedia articles" that is your opinion, one I and others do not share. Are we moving this from the opening as agreed? Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 18:53, 20 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I think so! Alexandre8 (talk) 16:32, 21 July 2011 (UTC)

libertarian
The official UKIP describes the party as "libertarian" so shouldn't that be listed as one of it's ideologies?--24.171.6.27 (talk) 22:36, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

See "Classical Liberalism" in ideology box? Alexandre8 (talk) 23:50, 3 October 2011 (UTC)

"allegations of racism"
I've renamed the section and removed badly sourced material. It's a complete mess there, hardly any of the content had anything to do with racism, and more of representation within ukip of ethnic minorities. Can we go through and amend useless info please? Alexandre8 (talk) 23:58, 3 October 2011 (UTC)

Lord Hesketh
Lord Hesketh may be a significant defector worth mentioning in the text, but he is not a member of the House of Lords. As a hereditary peer he was excluded from membership in November 1999 under the House of Lords Act 1999 (he did not stand as a candidate in the elections for the 90 Peers allowed to remain under that Act). Sam Blacketer (talk) 23:07, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

Opinion polls
Recentism explains that encyclopedic articles cannot focus on relatively unimportant developments, just because they are recent (as opposed to news platforms). A change in opinion poll performance belongs to this category of "recentism". On the other hand, an increase or drop in election results would be relevant. This article has to describe the whole history of UKIP since 1993, and there are opinion polls every week. I am sure that you can see, why we cannot include poll ratings here. Kind regards--RJFF (talk) 16:30, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

UKIP is Populist not Right Wing Populist.
UKIP is not that Right Wing. ( E.P. Davies (talk) 00:35, 10 November 2011 (UTC) )

Do you have any sources as to why you think UKIP is not right wing?

I happen to agree with you that UKIP is a Centre-Right party, certainly not right wing. However, most people on here disagree with us. We need evidence. Pstaveley (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 18:28, 10 November 2011 (UTC).

Why UKIP is Center-Right not Right-Wing.
UKIP is a Libertarian party. If UKIP was Right-Wing UKIP would not have Libertarianism only Nationalism.

UKIP's Economic Policy proposes Lower Taxes and a Freer Economy. If UKIP was Right-Wing UKIP's Economic Policy would be far more Socialist like the BNP's Economic Policy. (E.P. Davies (talk) 22:56, 11 November 2011 (UTC))
 * UKIP is both a libertarian and nationalist party. You are right that, as it does not have a socialist economic party, it could not be accurately described as fascist or nazi. However, most political commmentators agree that UKIP is on the right of the political spectrum - more conservative than the Tories and less right-wing than far-right organisations such as the national front and the BNP. --Xijky (talk) 10:39, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

I agree that UKIP is unarguably on the right and (civic) nationalist, but conservative is the wrong word in this case. Best description for UKIP would be right-wing liberals I'd say. conservative liberalism sums them up quite well. --Dunenewt (talk) 17:24, 14 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia relies on sources, not on the personal perception of individual users. Please do not use this talk page as a forum to exchange your "original research". Thank you for your understanding --RJFF (talk) 18:56, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

Logo
I cannot find any uses of a logo similar to File:UKIP Logo - New Purple.png anywhere. I would be surprised if UKIP had a logo which is split into two pieces and doesn't use the traditional yellow/purple. Can anyone provide a reliable source confirming that it is indeed the new logo ? An explanation as to why the UKIP website itself doesn't use it would be warranted. --Xijky (talk) 16:26, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

File's appearance


— Preceding unsigned comment added by Xijky (talk • contribs) 22:33, 14 November 2011‎ (UTC)


 * Well, obviously it appears only on your screen this way, and everywhere else normal. But this seems not to be a problem of the article, or the file (and absolutely no reason for edit war!), but only of the rendering at your place. For everyone else it is perfectly round and yellow and purple. Kind regards --RJFF (talk) 21:46, 14 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Actually, it doesn't just "appear on my screen" this way. I've reloaded the page several times, I've purged my cache. I've used a different computer, different browsers, and different network connections. It looks the same on my computer at work. I've downloaded the file and changed the file formatting, and it still doesn't render properly. Please revert to the old logo, because the current one simply doesn't display properly to me, and presumably a lot of other people as well. --Xijky (talk) 21:49, 14 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Glad that it's in place now. Alexandre8 (talk) 19:35, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

Racism/xenophobia
Some academics consider UKIP to be racist or xenophobic. This is a fairly widely held position and should be reflected in the article. --Xijky (talk) 07:59, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry to say but the greatest minds once believed that the world was flat, and that was a widely held position. So just because one academic believes something to be so, does not necessarily mean that it is Daily Blue91 (talk) 15:48, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Well, it's not surprising that some people think UKIP is racist seeing that its current leader referred to black British people as "nig-nogs". I'm not suggesting that we should take it as a massive POV slant, but there are individuals within the party who are racist, and the article should reflect that. It's not true that the greatest minds once thought the world was flat. You should read List of common misconceptions. --Xijky (talk) 16:16, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I know Nigel Farage, you're telling one user about common misconceptions, while spewing your own. The accusation comes from Dr. Alan Sked, a founder member of UKIP, who later fell out with members of the party.  Dr. Sked is a former Liberal Democrat, who wanted UKIP to take a social-democratic path, other members, such as Farage wanted to take a Conservative/Libertarian approch, Sked lost, left the party and got rather bitter.  So if we're placing the accusation with someone with a bee in their bonnet, then its like asking me to say something nice about Arsenal F.C..  Then again, without getting too personal, people like you Xijky are like sheep, in that you're easily lead.  The nice man in the suite in front of the camera says something, you're inclined to believe him because he's a nice man in a suite.  If people are "racists", "extremists" or "xenophobes" because the nice man in the suite says so, then they must be: afterall, he's a nice man in a suite, the shepherd if you like.  All reminds me of those who opposed the USSR (including my friend Vladimir Bukovsky), who were termed "extremists", "reactionaries", "mentally ill" ect.  For one to oppose the wrongs imposed by the nice man in the suite, then well we must be mentally ill, because how dare people question their design... only "racists", "xenophobes" and "extremists" oppose such wrongs.  I wonder if the nephew of the former Prime Minister of Guyana would join a "racist" organisation?  Xijki, I've come across many like you on this Wiki in my 2 years and nearly 22,000 edits on here, who should just give up, retire, find something else to do.  Frankly yourself and so many others with editing agendas damage the integrity of Wikipedia with your biased, agenda based edits. AssociateAffiliate (talk) 17:26, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Your own ideas about the "niggers won't vote for us" quote are irrelevant as it's easily verified through reliable sources (just try google books). I'm making the article better by adding reliably sourced information. If you don't like it, I would support a party with less issues. --Xijky (talk) 17:42, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * What you are doing is making the article not better, but worse. Go wonder off to to "middle class champagne socialist land" and leave the editing to people who know what they're doing.  Anything which preaches the goodness of socialism, the goodness of the left and damn right evil, racist, xenophobic, racist, fascism of the right is a reliable source.  Baaaaa the sheep are calling. AssociateAffiliate (talk) 18:53, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * The Mail is not a reliable source for that serious an accusation, but it was in one of the broadsheets or book from a serious academic or the like then it would be valid regardless of your opinions as to the motivations of Alan Sked or any personal knowledge you claim of Farage. Your own comments here go way beyond discussing content issues a fail to follow WP:AGF.  -- Snowded  TALK  20:26, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * If the Mail isn't considered reliable for this topic, there's very little way of confirming it, as it was not reported in other media at the time. --Xijky (talk) 22:38, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Then it can't go in, tabloids are not reliable enough for a serious allegation of that nature.  -- Snowded  TALK  00:47, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

The source provided for UKIP being anti-Islam is rather unreliable. I am referring to this source.. If one was to live by that book, then if one councillor of any political party was rather vocal about something therefore represents the entire political party? If you are going to agree with that, then I suggest you brand the modern Conservative party as homophobic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by IndependentThinkerUK (talk • contribs) 17:45, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * It's all about weight. Wikipedia has policies on this. WP:FRINGE material is generally not welcome in articles. Really we need well sourced widespread sources from proper papers to get this stuff in the article. I really can't see any of it as particularily relevent at the moment. There was one quote which xijky made which I didn't revert as it was well sourced. But the rest is simply over the top and pov pushing. Alexandre8 (talk) 17:49, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

lock the page
Please just block editing for a day. This is absolutely ludicrous. Alexandre8 (talk) 19:56, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Local Councils
I was the one who added the section in the article about which council's UKIP had councillors in and how many, but now I think its make the article look untidy and its pretty pintless information, especially since most of the councils are only parish or town ones. So I was wondering can I please delete it?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Daily Blue91 (talk • contribs) 20:12, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I would say yes. It does not really seem like encyclopedic content. Go ahead. --RJFF (talk) 23:50, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree that it does take up a lot of space. As long as it's listed how many they have and in which general regions there is no need to list them all. Alexandre8 (talk) 17:06, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

Economic Liberalism
Recently the tag Economic Liberalism was removed form the ideologies box. Can we find some sources to back it up because it's obviously true, but we just don't have a source. Alexandre8 (talk) 17:08, 27 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Would this link prove useful? I believe some policies in the link seem rather economically liberal? Also, this one might be useful, speaking of free trade? IndependentThinkerUK (talk) 17:29, 27 November 2011 (UTC)
 * This is the problem. As per rules on reliable sources, the source must explicitly state what you are trying to say. Implicit sources unfortunately are not very useful. Alexandre8 (talk) 17:47, 27 November 2011 (UTC)
 * additionally party sites are not generally allowed for sources on the party, unless for manifesto policy obviously. Alexandre8 (talk) 17:48, 27 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I just re-added the ideology with sources. I hope they are of use. Both being third party and one being from the Institute of Economic Affairs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by IndependentThinkerUK (talk • contribs) 18:55, 27 November 2011 (UTC)
 * One is a reference to free market in a think tank web site and the other is an interview, neither are reliable third party sources. -- Snowded TALK  20:53, 27 November 2011 (UTC)
 * It has been added again, and I've removed it. The claim that UKIP have a free-market agenda may be true, but it is synthesis to claim their ideology is Economic Liberalism due to this. A source saying their ideology is Economic Liberalism is needed. 86.174.155.109 (talk) 08:48, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

I can see references to UKIP's economic liberalism, but none to supposed "national conservatism" or "right-wing populism", neither of which are really used in relation to UK politics. --Dunenewt (talk) 09:47, 30 December 2011 (UTC)


 * It is difficult to take you seriously when...
 * You do not provide the references to economic liberalism
 * The term right-wing populism is sourced in the very first sentence of the article, which suggests you didn't look very hard.
 * Over to you? 2 lines of K  303  14:34, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

Looking much better
In the above talk section I did rather blow my top and tread the line with AGF, due to the frustration of trying to tell Xijky that what he was doing wasn't for the most part within guidelines, not only myself telling him/her, but others too, with the end result of us all getting ignored. The article is now looking much better, now it's not getting trolled by an editor with a clear agenda, so I've removed the neutrality tag. Well done to all involved who have sorted this article out over the last day or so, it's looking much better. Apologies if I went a little too far in trying to tell Xijky create an encyclopedic article and not one with an agenda led person crusade! AssociateAffiliate (talk) 22:26, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

You did the right thing. I did not like what Xijky was saying. I could not find any evidence of racism within UKIP only to control immigration, which is a totally different subject. Pstaveley (talk) 22:55, 27 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Both of you are more than entitled to your opinions but you should keep them off wiki. Xijky in the main has provided properly referenced material and the only real question is where it should be placed and if it should be in the information box.  Please keep a focus on content issues rather than commenting on the views of others -- Snowded  TALK  23:37, 27 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid I can't take Xijky's attempts seriously anymore. He's been blocked for a week for uploading a picture of hitler instead of Nigel Farage, and a nazi flag for the ukip logo. Anyone else is more than welcome to relocate those sources and provide them himself, but coming from Xijky I'm dismissing now. Alexandre8 (talk) 23:39, 27 November 2011 (UTC)


 * This edit made me lose it with the individual, coupled with what Alexandre8's above comment shows this is one editor we can do without. AssociateAffiliate (talk) 11:34, 28 November 2011 (UTC)


 * I see a lot of well referenced material that most editors have agreed should be included.  Uploading a picture of Hitler is silly, but no more silly that some of the personal attacks made here -- Snowded  TALK  14:05, 28 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Most of the sources he came up with were awful. "Experts in their field" or not, a quick look at the publisher of each source shows they have a political bias against the subject. Their own bias is going to see things which quite often don't exist, then because they're "experts" they claim to think for the rest of us and know better than the rest of us.  I've been though the system, "wet behind the ears" wouldn't be a term misused for most of these "experts". They all live in cloud cuckoo land. AssociateAffiliate (talk) 20:54, 28 November 2011 (UTC)


 * They are established academics at respectable universities. Your opinions of that system and the people in it are irrelevant  -- Snowded  TALK  21:06, 28 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Nevertheless, significant claims of racism have been made against UKIP and it's quite proper that these should be included in an encyclopaedic article. Far too many people here seem to think this article is either an advert for UKIP, or an opportunity to highlight things they don't like about the organisation. It's neither, this is an impartial and encyclopaedic account.Obscurasky (talk) 09:30, 29 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Ok well get some sources and we can perhaps put them in. But since the guy who uploaded a nazi flag here is blocked for being an idiot, we'll have to use some different material for the minute since he is the holder of these sources and I'm not going back through every one of his hundred edits just to pick out racial slurs. Alexandre8 (talk) 10:06, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Quotation
"In 2011, British academics Matthew Goodwin, Robert Ford and David Cutts published a study revealing significant xenophobic and increasing Islamophobic elements in UKIP's strategy. They showed that the discourse of the Independence Party on immigration and national identity is similar to the one of British National Party (BNP), with the former's being gradually more moderate. "

This which was origionally uploaded by user:Xijky (now blocked) is problematic for a number of reasons. 1) Only the original uploader can access the source. He is blocked. 2) The original uploader origionally uploaded this citation in a different form and then re-editied to pass what he saw as the "censorship". This means that we have no idea what is in the original source. 3) This citation was then reintroduced by another user who I assume neither has access to the original source. Thus, considering that we have no idea waht the original source said, and that we have valid reason not not to doubt the motives and the integrity of the original uploader, can we suspend its usage in the article until which point we can actually  view  its content. If someone else is able to provide this source directly I don't oppose it's actual content, just its veritibility in light of the changes that were made the citation a few times, and the initial uploader. Alexandre8 (talk) 17:18, 29 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Actually, it was me who uploaded it originally, and I am rather surprised that you cannot access it, because I have thought that it was free. Please try the HTML version here. I hope it will work for you, too. Regards --RJFF (talk) 21:42, 30 November 2011 (UTC)

Nope it is inaccessible. Even it were accessible, what makes it notable for inclusion at the forefront of the section?Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 14:23, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Ok, I can access it now, but I've looked at the history and I'm almost certain you weren't the original uploader since Xijky inserted it and then played around with teh wording. It's a hugely long article and essentially just a long rant from a socialist name calling. He identifies the problems, i.e dissatisfaction with immigration, but then calls this dissatisfaction xenophobia. How ridiculous. Just because someone believes in tough immigration doesn't make them a xenophobe. Alexandre8 (talk) 17:02, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

I agree, it's nothing more than a transparent smear attack with an anti-ukip agenda. The whole piece is an attack on any desire to limit immigration and it does this by name calling rather than actual research and analysis. It has no place here.Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 22:12, 1 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Everyone is entitled to their opinion but it is clearly a reliable source and relevant. -- Snowded TALK  09:36, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Agree, so apart from not liking the quote, why should it not be included? Mo ainm  ~Talk  09:40, 2 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Standard problem on right wing political party articles. Some editors think that if an academic is a socialist then it's biased.   Policy is simply if it's an academic publishing in a reliable source then it counts.  Eventually these things get sorted, but you wish people would read policy rather than taking a political position.-- Snowded  TALK  09:45, 2 December 2011 (UTC)


 * I am disturbed that contributors to what is meant to be an encyclopaedic project see fit to condemn a respected academic peer-reviewed paper as a "transparent smear attack". In the academic world, this is simply not acceptable and would certainly result in widespread censure, if not legal action. Keep to the rules please. Emeraude (talk) 17:27, 2 December 2011 (UTC)


 * As Emeraude says above this is a peer-reviewed publication, so can in no way be seen as a "smear attack" - it is an academic paper. But it would be preferable if we could report this finding from a 3rd party publication, as stated in WP:PRIMARY. Although I can see no policy that means that this information should not be provided here in its current state. Zangar (talk) 01:10, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

Socking.
There are a number of I.P addresses who have only made one contribution and are coming to the UKIP page just to make reverts. I have a feeling they are the avoidence of blocked user:xijky.

first ip second ip third ip fourth ip fifth ip sixth ip

That is six unique I.P addresses all of which are roughly in the same region in the UK bar one. Alarm bells should be ringing. Alexandre8 (talk) 17:35, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
 * user:Xijky has been banned as sockpuppet of Claritas. I think ukip needs to go back to being a protected page. Alexandre8 (talk) 18:33, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

Semi-protected at least.Gaius Octavius Princeps (talk) 22:13, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

Content removal
Why is reliably sourced, verifiable content being removed? Mo ainm ~Talk  00:20, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I have restored it, agreement is clear above in section "Discussion on allegations of racism" -- Snowded TALK  06:57, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

UKIP is not Right-Wing Populist.
UKIP is a Libertarian and Liberally Economic Party. — Preceding unsigned comment added by E.P.D.97 (talk • contribs) 22:21, 20 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Will you read above sections that cover this. Mo ainm  ~Talk  22:23, 20 December 2011 (UTC)