There are still some people who view the UK Independence Party as a single-issue party, concerned only with narrow issues of sovereignty and parliamentary democracy. But this vile anti-asylum leaflet (collected by the excellent Straight Choice) shows the party’s true colours.
The leaflet was put out on behalf of the former Tory councillor David Duxbury, the party’s candidate in South Ribble. It states that “you can’t blame asylum-seekers for coming over when it’s so easy to jump on the UK benefits bandwagon”.
This, as ever, ignores that the vast majority of asylum-seekers (80 per cent) live in developing countries far less able to host them than rich nations such as Britain. The UK itself is home to less than 2 per cent of the world’s refugees — out of 16 million worldwide. It also ignores the moral obligation we have to protect those fleeing torture, war and genocide.
Ukip should no longer be treated as an eccentric and even amusing party, but as the dangerous and sinister force that it is. That so many Tories still seem to have a sneaking admiration for it says much about David Cameron’s failure to modernise the Conservatives.
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