Responding to a UKIP Redditor

Meanwhile, on the UKIP sub-reddit [1], a supporter has said that my article about UKIP was “weak” and an “attack”, whilst quoting its photo caption.

In this article [2], the photo caption to a UKIP-liveried Renault was:

The irony that the UKIP car is a Renault is not lost.

The Reddit user ‘dougal83’ wrote: “Reminds me of how how [sic] weak the anti UKIP attacks are”. This was followed by:

Apparently we hate foreign people.

My article did not make this claim, and it is not a reasonable consequence of what I wrote.

Economic patriotism

The irony is not something so simplistic as UKIP hating French people, whilst purchasing a French car: it is that UKIP have previously supported a policy of national campaigns to induce customers to ‘buy British’ and have a protected register for British companies, that is, economic patriotism [3].

In the short form of the 2010 UKIP manifesto [4], the party made the following pledges:

Create a ‘British Register’ of important UK companies, products and brands and amend the UK Takeover Code to safeguard these using set critieria, parliamentary approvals and/or conditions where necessary Ensure there is no sudden loss of Common Agricultural Policy farming subsidies such as single farm payments (already paid for by British consumers and taxpayers). Over time, UKIP will use labelling and advertising campaigns to promote British produce and fairer food prices. This will replace the need for many subsidies.

In 2011, Stuart Agnew MEP (UKIP, East of England) told the European Parliament on the matter of food regulation:

If any of you are insistent on top quality eggs, ask for the Lion and British producers will be delighted to supply you.

(Video: UKIP MEPs)

“Drivel”

My article was published on 3rd January 2014, before UKIP leader Nigel Farage made a public disavowal of the 2010 UKIP manifesto, describing the document as “drivel” later that month [5].

This user called my article as “weak” on the basis of a simplistic misreading of its photo caption.

This completely circumvented the substance of the article, which is that UKIP represent a fusion of nationalism and populism, and “offer simplistic solutions to increasingly complex problems”.

References

[1] Reddit, 2015. Official UKIP car for sale! Only £750… Available from: http://redd.it/3f58ti [Accessed: 1st August 2015]

[2] Masters, A., 2014. On UKIP. WordPress: In Defence of Liberty. Available from: https://anthonymasters.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/on-ukip/ [Accessed: 1st August 2015]

[3] Masters, A., 2014. Against Economic Patriotism. WordPress: In Defence of Liberty. Available from: https://anthonymasters.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/against-economic-patriotism/ [Accessed: 1st August 2015]

[4] UKIP, 2010. UKIP manifesto April 2010. Politics Resources. Available from: http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge10/man/parties/UKIPManifesto2010.pdf [Accessed: 1st August 2015]

[5] BBC, 2014. Nigel Farage: 2010 UKIP manifesto was ‘drivel’. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25879302 [Accessed: 1st August 2015]