Little bit of politics - let's keep it civil

[Dixie]

..and yet; the surge in UKIP support in the EP/local elections coincides with a pro-European surge in the opinion polling. Which suggests that a UKIP vote is far more a protest vote than an anti-EU vote.

Yes indeed. In line with the OP, I wasn't commenting on the validity of UKIP's case, but rather responding to the quiestion why most of the electorate does not consider a vote to select MEPs to justify the bother of a trip to the polling station.

 

[4eyesbetter]

Perhaps due to a recognition that if 100% of people in the UK voted UKIP in a European election, the resulting 69 MEPs would be perpetually outvoted by the 96 German MEPs, leaving the remaining 601 MEPs to decide whatever they like without any reference at all to UK sentiment?

Don't be ridiculous. This is why you have party groupings, like in every other parliament that uses an actually representative method of apportioning seats. A UKIP with 69 seats would be able to form a new alliance to the right of the EPP on its own terms, with itself as the focal point. It'd completely shake up the wider balance of power, and there's plenty of small groups in the EPP who are actually quite Eurosceptic and could be persuaded to join with UKIP.

I'll hazard the guess that you don't read the Daily Express.

One swallow doesn't make a summer, and one newspaper where 64% of its readership are pensioners doesn't make a press.

 

[Browner]

Wish I'd have voted for the pirate party now who were standing in my area but I had no flyers so don't know what their policy was!

Maybe it was the same as everyone else's, a policy of self promotion/betterment !

I decided not to vote for Pirates, being very concerned that after the election they'd all 'jump ship'

 

[Dixie]

Don't be ridiculous. This is why you have party groupings, like in every other parliament that uses an actually representative method of apportioning seats. A UKIP with 69 seats would be able to form a new alliance to the right of the EPP on its own terms, with itself as the focal point. It'd completely shake up the wider balance of power, and there's plenty of small groups in the EPP who are actually quite Eurosceptic and could be persuaded to join with UKIP.

That's a fairly sweeping statement. Any grouping has to include representation of at least a quarter of the EU member states - so you need to attract members from seven EU member states. Those members cannot belong to any other grouping - so if you are appealing to their euro-sceptic instincts, you need to be confident that this will over-ride their left-wing or right-wing instincts, or whatever other potential grouping may attract them. There is also the UKIP conundrum; as UKIP doesn't want the EU to be meddling with UK governance, it doesn't see the need to participate in the political process whereby the EU does indeed meddle - that would add hypocrisy to the list of other criticisms that can be (and are) aimed at UKIP. So what is the value of any grouping - other than to get a larger group of mates down to the pub while Parliament conducts its business?