Of the 27,706 votes cast at the by-election, a low 40.3% turnout, 7,115
(25.7%) were postal votes. Given its mastery of the system, it is a
safe bet that the vast majority of these were for the Labour Party.
And so the by-election marked solid progress for UKIP but not the hoped-for
breakthrough in Labour’s heartland. Both the Conservative and LibDem
vote collapsed and it continues to surprise me that neither party is pressing to
repeal the 2001 postal voting legislation which the Labour Party continues to
exploit in a way that is certainly irregular if not illegal.
And what of UKIP? Over the next four years we must persevere in
the knowledge that a Corbyn-led Labour Party will entrench itself still more in
constituencies like Oldham. And we must offer an upbeat message
about what Britain can become at a time when the politics of identity are
all-important. The narrative over the dysfunctional EU is nearly won
now and so we need to build a new narrative of a post-Brexit
Britain. This will be of an outward-looking nation of brave,
creative, enterprising men and women, well able to cope with all the challenges
of the new world.
If we find that we have to stand alone, so be it,
as we have always been at our best when we have stood alone. This is
the positive message that can forge a renewed identity for UKIP, enabling us to
win elections across the country however much our opponents twist and bend the
rules to their advantage. There’ll be more on this in the New
Year. In the meantime, a happy and peaceful Christmas to all the
readers of this blog, website and facebook, who now number well over 3.000 every week!
Until 2016!
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