I think the big problem in modern politics is the same it has always been... the people who gravitate towards politics are generally the upper class or at least rich. They have NO IDEA how the real world works.... in their world everything is paid for on expense and the concept that they would actually have to spend their salary on living and paying bills, instead of investing it all is an alien idea.
Now dont get me wrong there are some down to earth MP's but the majority still have no idea what is like to be on the breadline... having to choose wether to clothe and keep yourself warm, or eat and pay the rent. If you happen to be lucky enough to HAVE a job.
They just show themselves to be out of touch and always hark on about "the average salary of £28k".... many MANY workers have less than half of that to take home. And those are the lucky ones with jobs.
No wonder people turn to UKIP... they see the main 3 parties as utterly incompetent and out of touch with the real world.
Of course those with nice jobs and nice lives will just dismiss people as work shy, lazy or unmotivated. The politics of denial.
There needs to be a dynamic shift in how we choose our governments but business and the status quo have far more money and reasons to keep things as they are.
You are correct that the political class has ignored the needs of the average poorly paid worker.
The reason for this is because it's one of the least politically active groups out there - Labour used to support the rights of the workers in a far more active way, but the shift towards the right in social attitudes in the UK (when people who were working class, started to identify themselves as upper-working class, or 'middle class') - the party changed to maintain a chance of actually regaining power & it worked).
Look at the last Labour landslide. Simply put, popularist politics aimed at appeasing the social climbers/middle classes usually win elections. The increased popularity in UKIP is a predictable response during the times of austerity - when the previously ignored social groups get hit disproportionally harder are expected to shut up & take it.
The problem is UKIP offer no real solutions to these social problems & are utilising genuine anger & concern over the state of the country for their benefit.
What's worse is that really, there isn't anybody worth voting for - The Greens are pretty much unelectable due to having too many policies which are add odds with the standard social ideals, the Conservatives & Labour have both done little to nothing to address these issues, the Liberal Democrats have lost all political legitimacy & the BNP are laughable.
I do believe UKIP will do well in the elections & if they do well in the general will entirely depend on how they perform (based on historical trends very badly) over the coming year.
I found an article some time ago which echoes my views on the matter (looking at Europe - not the UK specifically).
"Conclusion
Right-wing parties have enormously increased their voting share beginning with the 1980s, when the economy slowed down, structural unemployment increased, and the intended guest-workers and refugees did not return to their country of origin.
Right-wing parties have fully exploited the cultural and economic fears of the domestic population, and offer simple-sounding solutions, such as stopping new migration. With the inability of the mainstream parties to seriously consider the needs of most working- and middle class people due to globalization and an economic crisis, affecting most of Europe,
the future prospects of right-wing parties are better than ever".
