The caricature of Ukip, as the party of disgruntled country club types in the shires, has stubbornly lingered even as the facts have told a very different story. This morning, that myth was finally scotched.
Ukip’s soufflé has not deflated. But it is Labour in the north – and not the Conservatives in the south – who have suffered. Remarkably given the resources the party poured into the seat and his profile, it looks like Nigel Farage has been defeated in Thanet South. But even more remarkably, given the comparative lack of attention they paid to the constituency, Ukip forced a recount against Labour in Hartlepool; we already know that they got second places in Sunderland’s two seats.
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