I Could Vote UKIP…?

This decision has taken a long time coming. It comes on the day that the UKIP leader Nigel Farage backs the campaign to release Royal Marine Sergeant A for “murdering” a seriously wounded Taliban fighter.

It’s not really to do with this announcement, but follows the sewer-like accumulation of BS we’ve experienced from Labour’s MilliVanilla-Brand, and Dave the Con. There’ve also been the disgraceful manoeuvrings of the Scottish power-mongering anti-democrats (who should have put more effort into winning the Referendum).

It seems that UKIP more recently are managing to say some brave and sensible things – as well as fielding candidates who make racist and homophobic tweets thus managing to corrupt their clear stance on Europe and immigration.  This sort of bollock-dropping seems endemic to all parties, but UKIP’s lack of experience has made for some epic clangers.

But looking around, to where for example did the Tory stand on strong defence evaporate, or Labour’s strategy for training people for 21st century jobs?  What happened to the difference between these two parties?

Not that it makes any difference to anything, but I think I’m going to vote UKIP.  If, that is I decide to vote according the party I think is currently showing as being the most sensible….by which in thinking of voting UKIP I mean that none of them seem sensible.  And thinking further, into the tactics of it and the numbers, any kind of clear decision evaporates along with the difference between the main parties.

Here where I live in East Oxford, we have an Official Monster Raving Loony, a nice girl for the Tory’s and a slightly mad looking Green lady. The fave is the (sitting) Labour candidate, who is the typical Whitehall male creature, so if nothing else, getting rid of him wouldn’t do any harm. But the UKIP candidate is a gangly youth who looks incapable of much beyond what gangly youths do. But I guess he’d grow up quickly and might retain some post-election energy for a bit of thought especially of the lateral variety.

Here are my choices, starting with the current MP:

What you see is what you get – and please, let’s not have more of these? He was a Minister under Blair ffs. Enough already?

Ms Duncan wins lots of prizes: the nicest, and the most sensible looking person, Green (obviously), but judging by factor numero uno, sensible with it. But a wasted vote probably? OR perhaps not here in funky East Oxford. My Ward was held by the Greens for many years. Didn’t make much difference, but it was a point of pride here.

Our Ian with his cogent views on not smoking and immigration could shape up, but I’m not sure he’d hold out in the obligatory beer drinking required if Great Leader Farage was to offer him mentoring. You can probably see my dilemma.

This lady would have won the doubtful (and possibly important electoral) honour of “most male interest” had she not posted this dreadful pic of herself with Himself as her main website pic. Terrible judgement. A “Blonde moment” perhaps, but she’s ruled herself out.

Like Nigel Farage, another “what you see is what you get”. Trouble is, this splendid Son of Oxford  does seem to be using his candidacy publicising some sort of tour of Oxford business thing… so if elected might not be available for five years of advanced foolery.

But on Election Day, I will vote, then proceed eastward to Gravesend in Kent where an old friend Adam Holloway is defending his seat. I may take a guitar and busk.  Adam beat a 2-tour Labour candidate in 2005, and regards his job as representing whatever his constituents feel strongly about, irrespective of party etc.  Politico’s call his a “mid-reliability bellwether” seat, which Adam’s refusal to play party politics seems to have confounded

There will be an all-night party until 0400 or so, when Adam will find out whether he is to given further gainful employment in the Palace of Westminster.  I will then take the slow train back into London, and the Oxford Tube coach back out to the dreaming spires of Oxford, to find out whether we are to be led with enthusiasm and wisdom – or more of the usual empty words.

So why can’t we just vote for people we know and trust?  But I do know the answer…  There’s a huge industry that shapes grindingly ordinary but very ambitious people into MPs who once voted in, imagine they’ve become suddenly terrific.  They reinterpret for example their entitlement to allowances, have affairs with keen young secretaries,  toe party lines with abject desperation, talk at length with great pomposity without saying anything.  And so on.

But some MPs are not like this.  Their aberration is a cross party phenomenon, but they rarely clamber above the morass of self-seekers to reach positions of power.

And this is because they did not become MPs to find power, but to serve their constituents and the Nation. I was an officer cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst rather a long time ago.  Its motto then as now, was and is “Serve to Lead”.  Would that more people did this.