Douglas Carswell quitting UKIP

robfosters · 25 Mar 2017 at 21:57

a1ex2001 said:
Horrible little man interested in nobody but himself I can't believe anyone votes for him.

That probably applies to over 50% of MP's, if not more.

a1ex2001 · 25 Mar 2017 at 21:59

robfosters said:
That probably applies to over 50% of MP's, if not more.

True but I can't stand attention whores and he clearly is one!

dowie · 25 Mar 2017 at 22:02

a1ex2001 said:
True but I can't stand attention whores and he clearly is one!

So nothing to do with his policies, just that he's an 'attention whore'?

robfosters · 25 Mar 2017 at 22:09

DM comments cracking me up. Everyone insisting he was a tory plant. lmao

Everythings a conspiracy with them. They could keep bacofoil in business with all those tin foil hats.

Uther · 25 Mar 2017 at 22:10

I can't stand UKIP, but IMO they spooked the Cons into the EU referendum, and by doing so probably became the most successful political party ever in carrying out their main aim, of getting the UK out of the EU. People can LOL all they like, without UKIP there wouldn't be a multi page Brexit thread running in SC

Of course, now that's happened they have lost their reason to exist.
I think Carswell realises this, so has bailed out. Farage said he was going to be kicked out anyway.

a1ex2001 · 25 Mar 2017 at 22:15

dowie said:
So nothing to do with his policies, just that he's an 'attention whore'?

Both I don't agree with his views and think his decision to flip flop to ukip was the worst sort of look at me grandstanding a politician can do and certainly didn't serve the country as he should it's not like he was in a party where he couldn't express his Euro sceptic views. He lent legitimacy of an elected politician to a bunch of snivelling wretches and then once he had what he wanted crawled back under his rock. He clearly never believed the ukip way it just served his purpose. I don't like many politicians and self centered rats like him don't help the disconnect between politicians and the electorate.

Cromulent · 25 Mar 2017 at 22:31

I'm so fed up with politics in this country. It doesn't help that there is no one I really support but I'd certainly never support UKIP. I just hope politics changes in this country to something more open and caring than the usual selfishness that people seem to vote for these days. I don't like Corbyn but at least he is trying to change the country for the better like it or not. I guess the only party I could vote for would be the Liberal Democrats although they have their own problems as well. I hope they get more popular again to cause a bit of a problem for the other major parties.

Pawnless Endgame · 25 Mar 2017 at 22:57

+1 for Lib Dems. Always voted for them. I liked that they took the edge off some of the Tories' policies while the coalition gov't was in power.

robfosters · 25 Mar 2017 at 23:05

Pawnless Endgame said:
+1 for Lib Dems. Always voted for them. I liked that they took the edge off some of the Tories' policies while the coalition gov't was in power.

Agree, it was quite a nice balance with the coalition. Once the tories had the majority, they couldn't wait to go until full kill the sick and poor mode.

Amp34 · 25 Mar 2017 at 23:25

seaviewuk said:
I believe that if an elected MP defects then a by election should be automatically triggered. Yes previous voters may have voted for the man/woman but equally voters may have voted for the party.

You vote for the MP not the party in UK elections, so no if you thought "you" were voting for the party then you should go and read up how our democracy works.

Uther · 25 Mar 2017 at 23:58

Pawnless Endgame said:
+1 for Lib Dems. Always voted for them. I liked that they took the edge off some of the Tories' policies while the coalition gov't was in power.

I think coalition governments are the way forward. An unfettered Tory party is a scary thing.

V F · 26 Mar 2017 at 00:30

Cromulent said:
I'm so fed up with politics in this country. It doesn't help that there is no one I really support but I'd certainly never support UKIP. I just hope politics changes in this country to something more open and caring than the usual selfishness that people seem to vote for these days. I don't like Corbyn but at least he is trying to change the country for the better like it or not. I guess the only party I could vote for would be the Liberal Democrats although they have their own problems as well. I hope they get more popular again to cause a bit of a problem for the other major parties.

Following whatever way the wind blows?

Cromulent · 26 Mar 2017 at 04:14

V F said:
Following whatever way the wind blows?

They made some mistakes when they were in coalition with the Tories but I firmly believe they stopped them from making some serious mistakes. I'm not saying the Liberal Democrats are perfect but they are the best of a bad bunch. If my political ideas were more well rounded I'd consider starting my own party even though I know it would only ever have one member (myself). At least I'd feel like I was doing something rather than sitting around moaning on forums about how I disagree with everyone.

Sometimes even if you know you are going to fail you've got to try anyway. The alternative is just to moan and nothing will change. People don't follow moaners.

jsmoke · 26 Mar 2017 at 06:40

Totally irrelevant, looks and somewhat comes across as a serial killer.

semi-pro waster · 26 Mar 2017 at 09:00

Uther said:
I can't stand UKIP, but IMO they spooked the Cons into the EU referendum, and by doing so probably became the most successful political party ever in carrying out their main aim, of getting the UK out of the EU. People can LOL all they like, without UKIP there wouldn't be a multi page Brexit thread running in SC
Of course, now that's happened they have lost their reason to exist.
I think Carswell realises this, so has bailed out. Farage said he was going to be kicked out anyway.

I'd suggest that it's a bit difficult to compare parties when some have a single aim and others are actually looking to govern the country - in what they've done then UKIP do appear to be the most successful of the single issue parties, perhaps in time they might evolve/change into a party with multiple aims (or at least be viewed as such as I'm sure their manifesto lists more than just "exit European Union") and then it would be interesting to see how successful they are at carrying them out. The current comparison could equally lead you to say that Sam Allardyce is the most successful England manager ever with a 100% win record - the fact that he presided over only one game before leaving the role when allegations of malpractice came to light might or might not be germane to this record.

Grimley · 26 Mar 2017 at 11:29

Feek said:
It's my constituency and I agree with this - People voted for him, not specifically his policies. The locals generally like him but I don't, I'd never vote for him and in fact in the by-election where he got in, I voted tactically for the first time in my life.

I thought that too. Clacton is on my weekly round, I was there on the day of that by-election & the General Election 3 & 2 years ago. I saw that UKIP pumped a lot of money into advertising around the town for both elections, his campaign office was in a prominent part of the town (by the railway station). I don't recall much advertising from either the tories or labour, they knew they were onto a losing cause methinks.
Having said that when the next General Election comes rolling round, I don't think He'll get re-elected. The same happened to the MP in the place where I work (Bob Spink) he quit the tories & subsequently didn't get re-elected.

datalol-jack · 26 Mar 2017 at 11:33

What's more ironic is the current King Kipper thinking losing all of the party's representation is somehow conducive to the purple cause.

scorza · 26 Mar 2017 at 12:28

Pretty much confirmed on Sunday Politics he'll be running as a Tory at the next Clacton election. Mischief managed I would suggest.

a1ex2001 · 26 Mar 2017 at 14:05

Amp34 said:
You vote for the MP not the party in UK elections, so no if you thought "you" were voting for the party then you should go and read up how our democracy works.

But if your MP is a member of a party they are running in support if that parties manifesto so you are electing them based on the policies of a given party. If they then change party this manifesto totally changes. In this case as long as old dougie continues to support everything in the ukip manifesto then fare enough otherwise he should call an election!

datalol-jack · 26 Mar 2017 at 14:38

a1ex2001 said:
But if your MP is a member of a party they are running in support if that parties manifesto so you are electing them based on the policies of a given party. If they then change party this manifesto totally changes. In this case as long as old dougie continues to support everything in the ukip manifesto then fare enough otherwise he should call an election!

His thinking on this is just convoluted enough for him to weather it out till the next election. He would have called for another by-election if he had crossed the floor, but since he hadn't, then it's fine in his political calculus. He will then stand as a Tory in a couple of years.