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| How do you solve a problem like Ukip? This is a question that has dominated Westminster this week as the party heads towards a remarkable victory in the European elections. Much has already been said about the Tories' failed attempts to defeat Nigel Farage's party. Cameron's offer of an in/out referendum on the UK's membership of the EU will go down as one of the biggest self-inflicted calamities in recent political history. Instead of killing them off, Cameron's pledge inflamed ancient wounds within the Conservative party and led directly to the point where more than a third of voters now intend to vote for Ukip later this month. If Ukip is a monster, then David Cameron is its creator. But it is not the Tories' response to the party that has most fascinated me this week. It is Labour's. By any reasonable definition, Ukip is a racist party. Barely a day has gone by recently without some new racist, islamophobic or generally bigoted statement coming from a Ukip politician. But it is not just the party's junior members. All parties have bad apples, although few fall so frequently off the tree as Ukip's. It is the party's most senior figures as well. Earlier this week Ukip's deputy chairman Neil Hamilton boasted that they were now openly appealing to BNP supporters. And why not when they are led by a man like Nigel Farage? Asked whether people should be scared of Romanians moving onto their street, Farage replied simply "Well, of course, yeah." So are Ukip a racist party? Well, of course they are, yeah. And should decent people on the left be doing everything they can to expose that fact? Well of course they should, yeah. Yet this fact seems to have escaped many within Labour who have spent the week arguing that people should resist calling out Ukip for the racists and bigots they so obviously are. The reason given for this is that accusations of racism do not damage Ukip and may even help them. This is ludicrous. Racist views are clearly still prevalent in the UK but only among a minority of people. The vast majority of British people are not racist and more importantly would not want to vote for a party who are perceived as racist. It is because of this that openly racist parties like the BNP have never elected more than a handful of councillors, MEPs and assembly members in the UK. As Jeremy Clarkson discovered this week, the occasional racist joke about lazy Mexicans may be tolerated, but openly racist language is not. If Ukip can be defined as a racist party then their hopes of entering the political mainstream are over, whatever the result of the European elections. So when Ukip bring out posters that use racist stereotypes about foreigners stealing our jobs, Labour should stand up against them. And they should do so for both political and for principled reasons. This seems obvious, which suggests to me that there may be a far more cynical belief propelling the Ukip apologists in Labour. So what could it be? Could it be a fear of doing anything that might burst the Ukip bubble currently lifting Ed Miliband into Downing Street? I sincerely hope not, because that way lies danger, not just for Labour, but for the rest of the country as well. Best of newsMass protest at Harmondsworth detention centre Up to 330 people are conducting a sit-down protest and hunger strike at an infamous detention centre. London smog: Boris Johnson shuns air pollution inquiry Boris Johnson accused of taking a reckless approach to Londoners' health after refusing to appear before a parliamentary investigation into air pollution. Police officers 'frequently' dismissing rape allegations The police are frequently failing to record rapes and sexual offences as crimes, a damning report by the national policing inspectorate finds. Security after the war on terror: Britain urged to give up on 'force projection' Britain must accept its failure to create stable democracies in the Middle East and move beyond its fixation on military intervention, a coalition of pressure groups demands Ukip posters branded a 'lie' as builders report labour shortages Ukip's poster campaign suggesting that builders are being forced out of work by immigrants was looking shakey today, after the building industry reported a widespread shortage of skilled workers. Prisons ordered to monitor inmates amid surge in suicides Prisons ordered to bolster suicide-watch programmes amid surge in inmates killing themselves Judicial review: Parliament unites against Grayling's assault on justice Government proposals making it much harder for ministers to be challenged in the courts have been slammed in a report by parliamentarians. 'Atheists' handbook' sent to every secondary school Atheists' Handbook sent to every secondary school in England and Wales to be placed in their library, amid a continued debate over the role of religion in educational establishments Boris Johnson attacks 'crazy' immigration crackdown The government should allow hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants living in the UK to become British citizens, Boris Johnson insists, as he launches a stinging attack on the government's immigration and asylum policies. Best of Comment and AnalysisComment: Why Miliband’s rent cap will make your rent increase Ed Miliband wants your rent to be lower, so much so in fact that he’s prepared to do the one thing which will guarantee it increases. Comment: Police need to investigate Portland prison for historic sexual offences Abuse at the prison has not been properly investigated. Comment: Why Euro elections could kill Cameron's renegotiation hopes Despite a record vote share for anti-EU and protest parties across Europe, the next European parliament could be even more pro-integration. Generation landlord: Tories march to defend high rents The Conservative Party's response to Labour's "cost of living" attacks continues to mystify. PMQs verdict: Cameron's relationship with Bercow hits a new low An angry outburst and a cold reply: the Speaker and PM wash their laundry in public Boris Johnson's broken tube strike promises in full After six years, the London Mayor has made no progress on reducing tube strikes. Why 'Help to Work' won't help jobless back to work The Help to Work scheme will be a failure. We can predict this because the government have already tried it and found it to be so. | World Health Organisation annual hand hygiene campaign dayMRSA Action UK believe there should be an International Convention for the Protection of Antibiotics. What is the future of surgery if we can't find antibiotics that work?This week the World Health Organisation has clearly stated that our over use of one of the most important drugs ever discovered will threaten modern healthcare as never before. Stapeley hits the 100,000 mark as it celebrates 20 years of successA staggering 100,000 animals have now passed through the doors of the RSPCA’s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery since it opened in 1994. More mental health training for GPs and nurses could save lives, says charityThe national charity Rethink Mental Illness has welcomed a commitment by the Government to give all health professionals better training in mental illness. Interest-only contact strategy is working as intended, CML reportsOne year on from the agreement between the CML and the FCA, the CML is able to report a significant reduction in outstanding interest-only mortgage debt. Apprenticeship funding reforms: longevity and stability needed to help employersAs the Government’s Apprenticeship funding reform in England: payment mechanisms and funding principles consultation closes, the IET is stressing the need for longevity and stability with the new arrangements, enabling businesses to plan effectively. RSPCA sees a huge rise in adoptions of our adore-a-bull staffiesRSPCA animal centres have seen a rise of 48 per cent in adoptions of bull breed dogs in the first three months of 2014 compared with the same time last year. Just Act, a new national website that helps community groups across the country get support, funding and advice launches todayJust Act provides and signposts practical information, resources and support for all types of community project. |
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