The commentators                    22-10-14

...on Ukip

If calypso seems a peculiar musical form for a pre-2015 election campaign anthem, well, isn’t that the central point about Ukip? The defining quality of Nigel Farage’s ragtag army isn’t the racism or nastiness, though there are of course elements of both. It is the beguiling peculiarity of a 21st-century populist movement that seeks willingly to imprison itself in 1955.
- Matthew Norman, The Independent
There is only one political party in Britain today that wants more powers ceded to the European Union and more migrants crossing the Channel. Its leader is Nigel Farage. He’d deny it of course, but the last thing Ukip needs is a lower foreigner head count or European reform because its stock-in-trade is discontent. Despair when other politicians can’t make everything better is the fuel in Farage’s tank.
- Rafael Behr, The Guardian
Daniel Finkelstein
Listening to Ukip and responding to what its supporters, a big and important group, are saying doesn’t just mean in some vague, general way, “listening” and being in touch with voters as a whole. It means being responsive to these particular voters, to this group of people with their particular views and demands. Views and demands that aren’t illegitimate, but aren’t universal either. Because the problem for the Conservative party is that the Tories already have their work cut out responding to other groups, whose views are just as important and valid but which pull in a different direction.
-  Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
In the corridors of Berlin and Brussels, a Europe without Britain is looking possible – although for those who advocate leaving the EU, the little Englander approach just won’t cut the Dijon mustard. Eurosceptics like me need to think carefully about how we craft the argument. We should avoid negative, anti-European messages and xenophobia, and instead instil positive images of the sunlit uplands that will open to Britain as a prosperous global trading nation free from EU directives and dogma.
- Michael Fabricant, The Guardian
The EU, wanting Britain to be reduced to status of a province within its empire, is determined to deny us the fundamental right of deciding who can live in our own country. We are paying a terrible price for this ideology, as our infrastructure buckles under the strain of mass immigration, our public services are hopelessly overstretched, our living standards continue to fall, our social solidarity is undermined and the bill for the welfare system becomes unaffordable.
- Leo McKinstrey, Daily Express
Thursday 25 September Judges for the Editorial Intelligence comment awards announced their shortlists today, with ten nominations for the FT, nine for the Times, five for the Guardian, four for the Independent - and two for SubScribe. 
The Times and Sunday Times scored a clean sweep in nominations for the main award of commentariat of the year, which will be decided between David Aaronovitch, Camilla Cavendish, Daniel Finkelstein and last year's winner Caitlin Moran.
Guardian's Jay Rayner was shortlisted in the food writer category, but said that he did not wish to be considered as that award is sponsored by Tesco. 
The awards will be presented on November 25. 
See the full shortlists here
The Independent offered a Q&A, the Times expert analysis and comparison with services elsewhere. And both had charts, facts and figures. These were statistic-rich properties. That is not the way of the Mail. It aims directly at the heart, avoiding the head at all costs. With maximum use of  adjectives and minimum use of statistics, it tells us that Welsh health services are a mess - and this is, it seems, entirely a result of the fact that Labour has been in charge of them for 15 years. 
- Press review
comments powered by Disqus

Please sign up for SubScribe updates  
(no spam, no more than one every week or two)

I'd like to become a SubScriber

* indicates required
Comment digest courtesy of
Editorial Intelligence
Picture
October 21
Britain and EU
October 20
British politics
October 17
Lord Freud
October 16
British politics
October 15
British politics
October 14
British politics
October 13
British politics
Picture


October 10
Isis and UK politics
October 9
British politics
October 8
British politics
October 7
LibDem conference
October 6
British politics
David Cameron





October 3
Party conferences
October 2
Cameron's speech
October 1
Conservative conference
September 30
Conservative conference
September 29
Conservative conference
September 26
War on Isis
September 25
Labour conference
September 24
Miliband's speech
September 23
Labour conference
September 22
Referendum fallout
September 19
Scottish referendum
September 18
Scottish referendum
September 17
Scottish referendum
September 16
Scottish referendum
September 15
Scottish referendum
September 12
Scottish referendum
September 11
Scottish referendum
September 10
Scottish referendum
September 9
Scottish referendum
September 8
Scottish referendum
September 5
Scottish referendum
September 4
Nato and Isis
September 3
Scottish independence
September 2
Hacked photographs
September 1
British politics
August 29
Carswell defection
August 28
Rotherham scandal
August 27
Islamic militants
August 26
Middle East