No-one who has a passing interest in the fortunes of UKIP can have any cause to celebrate today. In the wake of the dire local election results that are now flooding in, it has most certainly become a very, 'Black-Friday.' One that will no doubt go down in history and any future books that are written to remember it by, and certainly the day the party and the dream they once had died.
What went wrong?
So much went wrong from the outset of the campaign, Douglas Carswell - a man who appeared perpetually caught in the glare of head lights - resigned as UKIP's only MP, to become an independent.
When the general election was called for June, he resigned from Parliament altogether, showing his overall commitment to political life was sadly rather lacking. After resigning last year only days after taking over from Nigel Farage - by the way, who remembers her name? - she was replaced by Paul Nuttall. Unfortunately, the new party leader was caught out in any number of blatant untruths by various sections of the media, denting his own credibility for any form of high office.This has had a definite knock on effect, with the party faithful throughout the land wavering. The loss last night of every seat they contended and the heartlands of, Hampshire, Lincolnshire, and Essex and with a general malaise within the party itself, and support wavering all over the country; it appears that the last rites will be administered sooner of later.
The day the music died?
UKIP was and will always be the idea, and the dream if you like, of one man, Nigel Farage. He was the face from the start and love him or loathe him, he was the first thing people said when you mentioned the party name. He had the common touch, a beer and sandwiches type of guy, the one that went out of style with flat-cap socialism and vestiges of the TUC style of management.
He had a spectacular habit of getting it wrong, appointing misoginists and too-far-to-the-right wingers to positions where they were able to influence policy and basically do it no good at all. He was unable to 'pick-em' as it could be said, leaving only him to mop-up and explain away the mess that others made. When he got out of the boat...it simply sank!
It is doubtful if, like a phoenix, the party will rise from the ashes and make any serious in-roads on June 8th. But before being consigned to the dustbin marked 'History,' it is worthwhile in these dismal moments, to remember that UKIP as a one-man-band, did achieve what it set out to do, rightly or wronlgly! To turn our collective heads away from a unified Europe and onto a solitary path. Only time will tell if we will thank, or curse them for it...?
