Sponsored by
UKIP to change name in drive for more votes
Bid to fill 'vacuum' left by Cameron Simon McGee Political Editor THE UK Independence Party (UKIP) is planning to re-name itself "Independence" and use David Cameron's move to the centre ground to launch a major grab for a place in mainstream British politics.
Party bosses want UKIP to graduate from pressure group to fully-fledged political party, with properly fleshed-out policies on everything from health to planning.
They are keen to make it a credible opposition in Westminster and local elections to what they call the "centre-ground consensus" of the three main political parties.
In an attempt to reinvent itself following a dreary General Election performance last year, the party of Yorkshire Euro MP Godfrey Bloom – whose joke about women not cleaning behind the fridge enough raised hackles across the land – will also launch a recruitment drive for more female candidates.
But it will resist mimicking the Tories' decision to employ positive discrimination to increase its female representation.
Other measures being considered include campaigning for proportional representation and changing the party constitution to include a commitment to fight every constituency, regardless of whether or not it will oppose Eurosceptic Tory candidates.
The Yorkshire Post has learned that the party's leadership are urging members to approve the raft of reforms as it struggles to maintain momentum following the 2004 European elections, in which it achieved a stunning 16.1 per cent of the vote and pushed the Liberal Democrats back into fourth place.
UKIP chairman David Campbell Bannerman, great nephew of former Liberal Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman, said the party's legal name would remain the UK Independence Party, but that to all intents and purposes it would be totally rebranded.
"Independence as a name is catchy, reduces the emphasis on Europe a little and allows us to focus more on domestic policies," he said.
"Rebranding will help show that we're not just about leaving the European Union but about being a party of opposition to the three main parties, who share the centre ground.
"We will push for independence for local schools, councils, hospitals and planning and champion low taxes, which the Tories no longer seem interested in doing."
Mr Campbell Bannerman added that the intention of the rebranding and proposed constitutional changes was not intended to water down its focus on Europe.
"We have to show that we're not a single-issue party but we stand by the belief that withdrawing from Europe is the key to unlocking huge resources to pour into all our services.
"Europe affects every single area of activity in the UK – 120,000 directives and regulations affect the quality of our services, working time hours, health and safety, everything."
UKIP's plan is also to challenge the Tories on the right and to mould itself an identity distinct from the main parties.
"There's always debate about whether we're a party or a pressure group," said Mr Campbell Bannerman.
"The fact is that we're a party, we must pursue policies in all areas and demonstrate our support across the country.
"There's a vacuum for us to fill not only as an alternative to the Tories but as an alternative for millions of disaffected voters."
He also denied suggestions that UKIP was an almost exclusively male party but conceded that the party had to do more to attract women.
Despite the obvious benefits of proportional representation for small parties, UKIP has been reluctant to argue for an electoral system other than first-past-the-post – until now.
Mr Campbell Bannerman signalled that the party was minded to make calls for a mixed system, similar to that used in Germany and for the London Assembly.
The Conservatives last night declined to comment on UKIP's plans, but party figures told the Yorkshire Post that they would raise alarm among strategists.
Shipley MP Philip Davies, the only Conservative in Westminster to have called for a complete withdrawal from the EU, dismissed UKIP's proposals last night.
"I've every sympathy with their view on Europe, I'm just not sure what it is they're trying to achieve.
"They'd be much better off remaining a pressure group.
"Shouting from the sidelines with five per cent of the vote doesn't seem like a particularly constructive way of advocating their cause."
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
