It looks like the UKIP has lost its main electoral asset. Robert Kilroy-Silk, who helped the party do so impressively in the Euro-elections, has resigned the UKIP whip. It would seem that he is extremely miffed that his attempt to take over the party has been rebuffed.

The former chat-show host said he was leaving the Ukip group because he could no longer work with it. He will still remain a member of the party but would sit as an independent MEP.

So, things aren't going too well for the party. First, their principal sponsor pulls the plug on their finances, and now their silver-tongued frontman has thrown in the towel.

I think that perhaps the leadership will look to expel him at the first available opportunity.

Is this now back to the old three-party show? And an onward roll to Euro-federalism?

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/otherparties/story/0,9061,1337330,00.html

I would imagine the UKIP will experience an overall rise in their credibility if Silk leaves the party.

One step closer to abolishing the nation state - yay.

Kilroy is nothing more than a ego maniac and I said a while back that UKIP will implode and then there will be only one right wing party left and you know who that is.
UKIP was on the slide the minute that mr sykes said he was withdrawing funding from the party and going back to the tories.
Still at least that other right wing party will pick up some of those votes that UKIP woul'd otherwise get so all in all it's not too bad is it?

well your real foaming at the mouth rabid europhobe is going to have quite a choice at the next election, and the "united states of europe" glassy eyed federalist will have none, bar possibly the lib dems.

Kilroy Silk is a liability for UKIP as he has a big mouth he can deploy in less than 45 minutes, and which has the capability of making the entire party look like a bunch of loony tunes.

They are better off without him, and as Kilroy says, UKIP is not short of wealthy donors - and with MEPS, they have an additional revenue stream, so don't write them off just yet; not until they have split the tory vote so deep that they can't even make into Her Maj's Opposition.

And the role of opposition could then fall to whom? The Lib dems of course, and finally we might see some ideology creeping back in, instead of the smoke and mirrors of the "third way", obsessive media manipulation (9/11? "A good day to bury bad news"), and government by private executive.

Interesting points there phan,some I agree with as for UKIP yes they have the revenue from having m.e.p s so you are right they wont fade straight away but I thinh they will be finished in a couple of yrs.
As for the assertion that euro sceptics will have a real choice at the election they really only have 2 choices BNP or UKIP if they REALLY want to end this federalist march.
Dont say they have the torries as it was the torries under thatcher who gave us the mastrich treaty,the conservative party pretend to be euro sceptic but then they go and sign up to more euro treatys that the labour party.
As with so much from the torries it's all opportunist to try to get the votes but the reality is different.

Originally posted by royjames
Interesting points there phan,some I agree with as for UKIP yes they have the revenue from having m.e.p s so you are right they wont fade straight away but I thinh they will be finished in a couple of yrs.
As for the assertion that euro sceptics will have a real choice at the election they really only have 2 choices BNP or UKIP if they REALLY want to end this federalist march.

Assuredly, if anyone perceives a federalist march then you are correct. And many do, but for the most part they are to the right of the political spectrum. The more parties there are on "the right" the more the vote is split.

So with the tories losing voters on the right of the party to UKIP/BNP, and losing voters on the left to both labour and the lib dems (mps even) - what is to become of the tories? who cares? They will be out of government and out of opposition and can foam away on the back benches for a few hundred years.

If the lib dems ever manage to coerce the labour government into instituting PR, then the djinn is out of the bottle, once and for all. No more two and half party state and back to a bit more government by parliament and less by cabinet. Not Ideal to be sure, but an improvement on current circumstances IMO.

So Kilroy can bleat away to his hearts content. UKIP is aiming itself squarely at disenchanted tory voters, and doesn't need loose cannons like him - If UKIP are serious, and I believe they are, they will adopt a very sober and businesslike demeanour as a party before they garner the votes of spluttering tory opportunists. Good luck to them. The more parties that exist on the right, the more the vote is split - result? They all stay out of office -which, as you have gathered - is just marvellous.

What federalist march? I for one would like to see a bit more fedderation and a bit less isolationist nationalism

Well Phan you are a liberal democrat then? I as a BNP member dont agree with their policies but hey this is what democracy is all about.
However for purely party reasons we do back the lib dem call for P R for odvious reasons,plus it does mean that the so called small parties and their voters are not disen franchised from the political process.
The system we have in this country means its like the old days when you had the closed shop mentality in the work place ,either you joined a union or you wern't welcome in the work place.
I think if you really want to see the turn out increase at elections then you have t o show the people that EVERY vote does count a t the elections.
Of ourse the big 2 wont go along with this as the present system suits them but e have to keep hammering away until we win through.

lib dems?

mwuahahahahaha

nah.

ok looks like I made a asumption phan,sorry about that but still I have enjoyed our little discusion tonight hope we can continue again soon.

Kilroy has no patience. If he was prepared to work at it he could probably have become the leader of UKIP over the next 3 or 4 years. Instead he joins the party one week, stands for election the next and expects to be party leader the month after. He doesn't seem to have known much about the party or it's policies when he joined!
It's all quite laughable. His attempt to conduct a one man hijack make him look an impatient bufoon. He should have studied the rise of Tony Blair....you need allies to hijack a political party and you need to disguise your intent and your innermost poltical thinking ( if its at variance with that of the party)

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
Kilroy Silk is a liability for UKIP as he has a big mouth he can deploy in less than 45 minutes, and which has the capability of making the entire party look like a bunch of loony tunes.

They are better off without him, and as Kilroy says, UKIP is not short of wealthy donors - and with MEPS, they have an additional revenue stream, so don't write them off just yet; not until they have split the tory vote so deep that they can't even make into Her Maj's Opposition.


This may be so however, consider the fact that UKIP's best performance in the Euro-elections was in the East Midlands, where Kilroy-Silk headed the UKIP list. They narrowly missed being top of the poll there - extraordinary for a 'fourth' party in England.

I believe it is highly probable that the presence of such a high-profile figure on the UKIP team helped the party's performance in other regions, also.