Much as I wouldn't really like to admit it, the Lib Dems are (or at the very least were until 2010) more left wing than right. The history of British left wing politics is essentially a history of peaks and troughs in Labour and Liberal support, whereby irrespective of their individual fortunes their combined vote was nearly always 55% or so, compared to a very stable 40% average for the Tories. In spite of this, a right-wing party was usually elected because the Tories were generally the most popular party.

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Finally, a right-wing party has come along that might be able to break the Tories' monopoly over right wing politics, since it can do to the Tories what Labour and the Liberals have been doing to each other for decades. Abhorrent though I find most of their policies, it's difficult to deny that with a Labour Party polling 35% of the vote and a split on the right, David Cameron continuing to be PM past 2015 is in doubt.

As such, I think voting for left-wing parties who have little or no public support is like being given an electoral gift by UKIP, wrapping it up in ideologically right-on lefty paper and giving it straight back to the Tories. The simple fact is that the full manifestos the Greens and TUSC promote, however successful they might be if implemented, do not have support of a third of the public, never mind he majority. You can whine about how this is down to a heavily biased media until the cows come home but until the public has been persuaded to be more left-wing, you only win their votes by reflecting their views somewhat.

That doesn't mean you have to support the bedroom tax, or an EU referendum, or tighter border controls. It just means you don't nationalise everything that was ever privatised, ignore the deficit and so on. Sadly it's a central component of democracy that people don't get elected unless they represent the issues that are most important to the majority (or at the very least, a sizeable majority). If I only voted for a party that closely resembled my views, i'd vote about once a decade and be joined by just a few hundred others. So I've decided to vote for the least undesirable party out of those that actually stand a chance of winning.

"The fox has his den. The bee has his hive. The stoat, has, uh... his stoat-hole... but only man chooses to make his nest in an investment opportunity.” Stewart Lee

I know what you mean. I went to Sweden recently, it was nearly 7 quid for a Duvel. People wouldn't stand for that in the UK. How can we be expected to trade, travel and so on when there's such fundamental cultural differences?

"The fox has his den. The bee has his hive. The stoat, has, uh... his stoat-hole... but only man chooses to make his nest in an investment opportunity.” Stewart Lee

Funny one, UKIP. They're now in such a strong position that even criticising them seems to do them the world of good.

To my mind, the reason for their recent surge comes from about three main reasons:

Firstly, their ability to harness major media outlets. I don't buy the whole 'the pres sin this country hate Ukip' bollocks. The two major newspapers in this country, the Sun and the Mail, are broadly Eurosceptic, anti-immigration and advocate the sort of reactionary politics UKIp thrives on. The ineptness of the Tories has left a lot of those on the right disillusioned, and thus Ukip's rise has been welcomed.

Second their critics have completely misdirected their criticisms. Why the f*ck are people focusing on the nutjob councillors when they have just spent millions on an advertising campaign which includes a f*cking billboard which essentially says 'bloody foreigners, coming here and taking our jobs'!!!! And what about Farage playing this whole 'we're different to the rest' bullsh*t?! He's an ex-merchant banker FFS. He would look right at home in the current Tory cabinet, and his expense claims, marital status and hypocritical policy stances would verify this. They are just as rotten as the rest.

Thirdly though, you have to give credit to Farage, he's a very good tactician. Previous far-right talismen like Griffin and Powell wouldn't have stood a chance in a debate with a current govenrment minister, but he put up a decent account of himself against Clegg, who for all his faults is a decent rhetorician. He also knows the importance of distancing himself from the traditional far-right, despite Ukip's tendency to conflate a minority parasitical immigrant group in to a much larger group, and their questionable social policies such as rejecting gay marriage bearing all of their hallmarks.

Gotta say though, I think it's very damaging that we don't at least have a vocal alternative to austerity from the left. The Greens, TUSC and Left Unity would benefit this nation greatly if they were at the very least able to put across the view that cuts, privatisation and policy based on some mythical deficit reduction aren't the only way. Even if you disagree with them, their absence from mainstream discussion is creating a tyrannical stranglehold on economic policy that takes a need for austerity for granted. The fact that this government hasn't even implemented genuine austerity, and that it is a very dodgy, unproven option among many, is covered up on all sides, which is a shame.

If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4

You get twice as much beer in that though, 660ml instead of 330ml. Not as nice, but it would get you more pissed for less money.

"The fox has his den. The bee has his hive. The stoat, has, uh... his stoat-hole... but only man chooses to make his nest in an investment opportunity.” Stewart Lee

I kind of answered this point in a previous post.....Ukip aren't perfect by any means.....But they actually stand for changing that system.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

Mmmmm....Multicultural Britain isn't a happy situation for many.

But in general I think you wrote a good reply.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)