Ukip rebranded as ‘independence party’
The UK Independence Party (Ukip) is to rebrand itself as the Independence Party ahead of the local elections in England this May.
Leader Nigel Farage said he wanted to focus voters’ minds on the party’s overall agenda, which included independence for Britain from Europe but also greater independence for local government from Westminster.
It was about “more independence for hospitals, more independence for schools and above all more independence for the individual because we have a government that is regulating our social life in a way that we find unacceptable”, he told BBC News 24.
“This is not right now about wholesale getting rid of Ukip – it’s about emphasising the word independence,” Mr Farage said.
Ukip – whose main campaign issue until now has been for Britain to leave the European Union – surprised the political establishment in the 2004 European parliament elections when it came third, winning 12 seats.
It has failed to make any real headway in domestic politics since then, and was last year dismissed by Tory leader David Cameron as a bunch of “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists”.
However, it recently won its first foothold in the House of Lords when several former Conservative peers defected to Ukip, part of a high-profile campaign to attract traditional Tories alienated by Mr Cameron’s efforts to reform the party.
Today’s move is another attempt to re-position the Eurosceptic party into mainstream politics. Mr Farage said: “A lot of people who vote Ukip are people who’ve given up voting for anyone, so disgusted are they at the lack of choice being offered by Westminster parties.”
