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Why do people hate UKIP so much?

I've been following the election campaign pretty closely this year, and it seems to me that UKIP gets more than its fair share of hate. So to those who dislike UKIP's policies, please explain why?

Now I'll agree, the party's image hasn't been great, but I do think there may be some bias in what gets reported - so before I hear the 'Oh, they're racist' comments, can we focus objectively on the policies - what don't you agree with?

Why is it wrong to control the numbers of people coming in to a country?

UKIP say they don't want to stop immigration - just that it needs some degree of control, what's wrong with that?

btw I'm not a UKIP supporter trying to campaign on TSR here, just trying to actually understand what I'm missing here... I get the impression a lot of people say they hate UKIP before even trying to understand what they want to do, just for fear of being branded a racist?

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Reply 1

Le Nombre

I think the issue is few parties have objectively objectionable policies (BNP and co. aside), but that people think they will do something different/more extreme than their manifesto.

So Labour may say they oppose an EU referendum and will support public services, but those against them suspect 'greater integration and massive borrowing'.

The Tories say sensible cuts and a business friendly environment, those against them suspect 'slash public services to the bone and cut taxes for multi-nationals'.

For UKIP they say 'controlled immigration', but people suspect 'send them back'.

In in each case there will be some evidence to back this up from unguarded comments, the question is how much those one off comments reflect the genuine wishes of the wider party. In UKIP's I suspect plenty of the base agree with Victoria Ayling.

Reply 2

Thinking_Aloud

Original post by Nice.Guy

Generally speaking its their ignorance and the way they present themselves as a new party. UKIP, or parties very much like it, have been around for as long as we've been in the EU, presenting the same arguments over and over again.
By ignorance, I am talking about some of their MPs, for example, we recently had a UKIP MP come in to answer questions and although claiming UKIP would ensure free education for STEM students at university, they refused to accept that Climate Change existed.
UKIP gains votes through the perpetuation of negative stereotypes, scape-goating an entire sector of society for problems that, quite frankly, have nothing to do with them. Immigration has been shown to have a huge positive impact on the UK, but UKIP present it as a huge problem. They also seem to forget that freedom of movement allows people to emigrate to whichever country they like within the EU, something that many Britons take advantage of.
As well as this, from a mathematical perspective, their use of figures is infuriating. We have no way of knowing what net immigration to the UK is, as the number of people who emigrate is not counted. Yet, they throw a bunch of figures from some survey or other, and people lap them up.
I also do not agree with their policy of reducing spending on international development and keeping Trident as a Nuclear deterrent.
They plan to make migrants wait five years to claim benefits and as most benefits are claimed by people from working families, this will just lead to a lowering of the quality of life faced by people who choose to work here.
Their scrapping of sex education for primary school students would only have a negative impact as a lot of children start puberty while in primary. This will not protect children and would actually be more likely to do the opposite.
I also do not agree with their plan to repeal the Climate Change Act 2008.

Reply 3

RF_PineMarten

Their climate change denial seems to be based on conspiracy theories rather than science. I do not want to vote in people who are that scientifically illiterate. It's bad enough that the Conservatives are riddled with such people.

Their party, including the people high up, is full of defectors from the Conservatives, and is funded largely by donors who switched from the Conservatives. I don't like how they claim to be anti-establishment when they have that relationship with the most establishment friendly party there is.

Reply 4

CurlyBen

In reality it's a mixture of reasons:
There's no doubt there are some unpleasant characters within the party, and the rapid growth of the party has made it harder to identify them before they get to more prominent positions.
Some people genuinely abhor their policies and (ironically, given they generally identify as anti-fascist) seek to silence those who hold their views.
Others are just a little more cynical and realise it's an effective way to discredit UKIP and advance their own agendas.

For what it's worth, whilst I have some sympathy for or support some of their policies, overall I'm not inclined to vote for them.

Reply 5

MatureStudent36

Scared of loosing voters to UKIP.

Reply 6

mojojojo101

Hate is a bit strong. I think UKIP are just wrong about pretty much everything though.

Also think Farage is a hypocrite.

Reply 7

mindblank

Many of their members seem to harbour some quite disturbing ideas about groups of people, whether they be foreign, gay, female, etc. In a way they seek to bring the UK back to a sort of 1950s mindset, which might have had some good aspects, but certainly had some bad ones (if you were a minority of any sort). Sometimes I get the sense that UKIPpers are damaged people who wish for others to feel their pain, turning their anger outwards. While they started off merely hating Romanians and Poles, and initially seemed harmless enough, they since seem to have moved towards the old BNP style where it has become a bit more visceral and entrenched that so many UKIPpers are simply intolerant of anyone who is different.

Aside, here in Scotland, UKIP until recently wished to abolish our Parliament, holds many members of the unionist Orange Lodge within their ranks, and is strongly anti-independence, all of which gives them a strong anti-Scottish flavour. They are supported by a select and definite group but not by the masses as they are perceived as backward, intolerant and anti-Scottish. I was notionally anti-EU before the rise of UKIP. I now fear being out of Europe and stuck on a sinking ship with these bampots at the helm. UKIP here wishes to frack the fcuk out of our country ASAP with no regard to environmental consequences nor what we do after the gas has been extracted. (surely better to bite the bullet and admit that a variety of renewables is better). Their stance on environmental issues is highly concerning.

Yeah, it's not hate, but UKIP just doesn't turn me on like Nicola Sturgeon & the SNP :biggrin:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 8

gazzagoalie

Because most of the haters actually have no idea what UKIPs policies are

This.....

The Daily Express has been promoting UKIP for a number of years now.

Reply 11

Babada Boopy

Fear mongering that controlled immigration= nazi
Also Tories are mad they are causing a split in their party

Reply 12

looseseal

I do love how UKIP supporters act as if they're the enlightened and everyone that doesn't have their tin foil immigration hat on is somehow part of the mass of sheeple who blindly follow the media :laugh:

.

Have you ever stopped to think that it might be because we don't agree with their policies?

I think the climate change denial is an extremely worrying facet of UKIP considering it's a theory that's been agreed upon by over 99% of the world's scientists with expertise in that area. It's something that could completely change the complexion of the world we live in and any party that refuses to believe that (based on little to no evidence) should not be in power.

Additionally, staying in the EU is imperative if we want to have any significant influence in the policies devised by our biggest trade partner block. It would be foolish to think that operating under the same relationship that countries like Switzerland, Norway and Iceland would serve us better than being able to affect policies from the source within the EU.

The only policy of theirs that I agree with would be their desire to reinstate more grammar schools as I strongly believe that they greatly aid social mobility.

However apart from that, I think UKIP getting any semblance of power would be a huge step in the wrong direction in for the UK.

Reply 13

Babada Boopy

Original post by looseseal

Additionally, staying in the EU is imperative if we want to have any significant influence in the policies devised by our biggest trade partner block. It would be foolish to think that operating under the same relationship that countries like Switzerland, Norway and Iceland would serve us better than being able to affect policies from the source within the EU.
UK.

Thos countries are doing very well so? Independent we have our democracy back

Reply 14

Babada Boopy

Original post by looseseal

I think the climate change denial is an extremely worrying facet of UKIP considering it's a theory that's been agreed upon by over 99% of the world's scientists with expertise in that area. It's something that could completely change the complexion of the world we live in and any party that refuses to believe that (based on little to no evidence) should not be in power.

They don't deny it, they question it, questioning things is how we discover more.

Reply 15

looseseal

Original post by Babada Boopy

They don't deny it, they question it, questioning things is how we discover more.

On what basis are they questioning it?

What scientific evidence do they have that's dissuaded them from the widely accepted and validated scientific opinion on the matter?

As I could quite easily question the existence of neutron stars and black holes as I haven't seen or personally identified one. But then you'd ask me what evidence or expertise I had in the subject area of astrophysics to back up my claim.

Reply 16

Babada Boopy

Original post by looseseal

That is doesn't matter because many other countries don't give a **** about it and it has effected nothing, we're just losing money from it.

Reply 17

looseseal

Original post by Babada Boopy

That is doesn't matter because many other countries don't give a **** about it and it has effected nothing, we're just losing money from it.

Ah... So it's better to just stick our heads in the sand and hope that those scientists were telling porkies? That's definitely a well-thought out plan.

Reply 18

looseseal

Original post by Babada Boopy

Thos countries are doing very well so? Independent we have our democracy back

In some ways I trust EU leadership more than I trust the UK government. I feel that if we hadn't joined the EU or had left it we would most likely be in the pocket of the US. A lot of important EU-wide legislature on farming and food preparation standards has ensured we haven't turned into a country where companies can get away with putting almost anything in our food products as long as it doesn't kill us (straight away that is).

Additionally, these countries are still required to pay into the EU in order to conduct trade with it. It's a sum based on their GDP so we'd likely be paying a huge sums of money to do trade with the EU without having a say on any of the policies they enact.

Reply 19

Babada Boopy

Original post by looseseal

Ah... So it's better to just stick our heads in the sand and hope that those scientists were telling porkies? That's definitely a well-thought out plan.