Authenticity, UKIP and Me

At the weekend I was listening to a popular talk radio show that focussed on the fact that there is now less than a year until the next General Election in Britain and asking people how they would vote and why? The background being the surge in popularity of Nigel Farage and UKIP, the UK Independence Party. As I listened it sent me back to an episode in my life almost 30 years ago.

I should say at the start that I am not a political creature, having never sought public (or private) office and having had little time for the cyclical, manipulative, shallow and self-centred behaviours that have been evident in mainstream politics for most of my life. Nor am I a supporter of UKIP or Nigel Farage, though I will confess a degree of admiration at his willingness to give voice to interests that are clearly widely felt, yet tinged with personal danger. In this I speak of the criticism of being labelled racist when he looks to control immigration. There are some crazies in UKIP, a new party will attract them, but then there are crazies in any party. That does not make it a racist party.

Anyway back to phone in. The context as that UKIP is expected to poll well in the European elections this year, and while on previous occasions this dropped when translated to the national stage, pundits are predicting that they may hold onto up to 55% of that support next year.

The general view from callers was that few trusted the established political leaders, while a number found Farage "a breath of fresh air". He is seen as someone who speaks in a way they can engage with. Of course the chances of UKIP gaining control are about the same as their ability to form a coherent and believable government at this stage, but they are likely to make a difference, one that may impact all of the main parties.

So what has my past to do with this? Well in the late 70's I was an undergraduate at Jesus College, Oxford. I was studying physics, but also played rugby, darts and bridge and I rowed; I was neither geek nor jock, but maybe a little of both. The one thing I had not got into was poilitics. I was and still am a member of the Oxford Union having taken a life membership in my first week as a student, but I have since visited the place only a handful of times, the most memorable being when Richard Nixon addressed the Union.

All colleges have a Junior Common Room or JCR. Not only is this a physical place to meet, read, drink tea, watch TV, etc, it also represents the Junior members of college on various matters, organises a number of social events and sets an overall agenda for the year. Some JCRs are notoriously political, but Jesus was not while I was there.

Each year the undergraduate body elects a JCR President, who then appoints their committee. This is done in the summer term and usually elects a then first year student, who will be JCR president in their second year, before concentrating on finals in their third. As you would expect some people aspire to be JCR President, but it had not crossed my mind.

In my first year election time approached and a number of people were nominated, wrote manifesto's and faced hustings. Frankly as long as the place ran I was OK with that. I had plenty else to do, but with a couple of weeks to go some people suggested to me that I should run for the role. I dismissed this for some time, but with a week to go and a number of other encouragement a I acquiesced on the basis that I would not indulge in the usual "political" stuff or go canvassing.

My memories are a little sketchy as I have hardly thought about this since 1978. I recall it wrote a single sheet that basically stated I was apolitical, that I would seek to focus on the things that made a difference to students in college and not worry about nuclear disarmament (or something similar) and that I was a WYSIWYG candidate, what you see is what you get. I guess in modern speak I was positioning myself as an "authentic" and straight forward candidate. I pinned the sheet on the college notice board and my campaigning was complete.

I was true to my word, I did not canvas or seek votes. So it was with some surprise that I came second by, as I recall, only a handful of votes. There was no prize for coming second other than so,e personal satisfaction. Instead I went onto enjoy my other interests for another two years.

The girl who beat me carried out the position effectively and went on to be the partner in a major law firm. I believe she is now retired while I am still working so you can form your own assessment of our respective success.

That was not the point of this post, but rather I have a sense of comraderie with Nigel Farage. As long as he can control the crazies and stay close to his own authenticity then against our current crop of uninspiring political leaders I think he can do well. He will not become Prime Minister, but he will worry them and mix things up. He may also accelerate the elevation of better politicians within the main parties and he will certainly keep them focussed.

I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next 12 months and I may even consider voting having not bothered for a number of years. I should say that my apathy to voting is a mix of extended disillusionment with all the main parties and their leaders and the fact that I reside in what has long been a landslide Tory constituency.

Maybe the tide is turning?