There has been some speculation about the future of UKIP, post referendum.
It is being claimed that now we’ve achieved our original and primary goal, we can now sit back and leave it to the “experts”, people who were so sure that Remain would win, that those of them in actual government made no contingency plans for Brexit.
Some experts. In fact more British people voted to leave than had voted for anything before, ever.
UKIP ceased to be a single issue party years ago.
Anyone who bothered to read our 2015 manifesto would have seen that perfectly clearly.
There is still much to do at both a local and national level. Little matters like healthcare, education, housing, forward planning, devolution, fair distribution of resources, HS2, overseas aid and rural transport.
We have not yet left the EU, without UKIP pressure it may not happen or we could find ourselves signed up to “EU light”.
Just like other parties we have decided to reorganise and restructure under new leadership.
Exactly how that goes will depend on who is elected to head up our party.
There are several excellent candidates and the membership will decide, indeed there is an interesting possibility that all three most popular parties could end up being headed by women.
Post referendum was the very best time for politics to take a look inwards, that’s why it’s happening now, not because anyone chickened out.
A small delay in giving formal notice to the EU works in our favour, which is why Juncker and chums don’t want one.
Europe too is hugely changed by our vote, to our advantage. That change was inevitable, Remain or Leave, our nation was at a cross roads and we had to choose between two different directions. Standing still was not an option.
We made the right decision and now we need to implement it. That requires all of us to get behind the decision and move forwards, certainly not to indulge in “what if” or to talk our country down.
On the issue of borders and immigration, please note that everyone in the Leave campaign insisted on respecting the present rights of existing, legally established EU and other foreign citizens.
There is no question in our minds of repatriating anyone except serious criminals.
That possibility was raised only by Remain spokespersons, it will not happen.
UKIP is here to stay, a name change is unlikely but not impossible. We have never respected “wings”.
There is still much to do if we want governments that put the people first, rather than themselves or special interest groups and privileged elites.
Paul Foyster
Chairman, UKIP South
Holland and the Deepings
