UKIP

• How did UKIP become a major force in British Politics

  The Maastricht Treaty

  • founded the EU merging the EEC, ECSC and Euratom
  • number of aspects which caused opposition within UK such as:
  • Birth if 'european citizenship'
  • The Euro currency
  • The CFSP (common foreign and security policy)
  • Increasing power of European Commission
• Origins of UKIP

  In opposition to the Maastricht Treaty the Anti-Federalist League(AFL) was formed in 1991 by Alan Sked, former Liberal party member

  • Had little success in the 1992 election and didn't gain any major press attention
  • After the Maastricht Treaty became law, Sked decided that the way forward was to campaign for the UKs removal from the EU
  • in 1993 Sked and members of the League formed the United Kingdom Independence Party UKIP
• UKIP -the early years

  From 1993-1997 UKIP was overshadowed by the much better funded Eurosceptic party - the Referendum Party

  • in 1997 Alan Sked was forced to resign by a faction of the party containing Nigel Farage
  • in 1998 the Referendum Party disbanded following its founders death and many joined UKIP
  • In the 1999 European Parliament elections, they received 6.5% of the vote and got 3 seats
• UKIP - the middle years

  The 2004 European Parliament elections were a turning point for UKIP, they received 16.1% of the vote and got 12 seats

  • thanks to an increase in funding and a celebrity endorsement from Robery Kilroy-Silk
  • Major development in 2006 was the election of Nigel Farage as leader of the party who adopted more socially conservative policies
  • built towards further success in the 2009 European Parliament elections with 16.5% of the vote and being the largest British party behind the conservatives
• UKIP - Major Successes and Status

  2014 was the greatest year for UKIP as they won 163 seats in local elections, an increase of 128

  • Furthermore, in EU Parliament elections, UKIP received the highest number of votes (27.5%) of any British party producing 24 MEPs
  • Put pressure on Tories who were losing voters to UKIP, in response David Cameron pledged a leave/remain referendum on the EU as part of their manifesto as a way of attracting voters back
• UKIP - the decline

  • After 2016 Brexit referendum, UKIP had achieved its aim and Farage resigned
  • since, the party drifted further to the right and affiliated itself with far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson and it has taken an increasingly anti-islamic stance
  • UKIP dwindled back into a minority party and has had little impact on UK politics since
  • New groups formed from UKIP, Brexit Party, Reform UK