In recent local elections and in two by-elections for seats in the House of Commons, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) garnered around a quarter of the votes cast. UKIP calls for British withdrawal from the European Union. This demand resonates with a section of the electorate that blames "Brussels," as the EU institutions are termed, for many of Britain's economic woes and that is nostalgic for a Britain that was once a leading world power.
UKIP's other policies are an uncosted and populist amalgam of lower taxes and freedom from the interference from the "nanny state." UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has the gift of the gab, is happy to be photographed smoking a cigarette and drinking a pint of beer. (Smoking in public is now decidedly not politically correct.)
UKIP also calls for much stricter controls on immigration and attacks EU provisions on freedom of movement within the EU. This call also resonates with many voters, who are egged on by xenophobic elements in the media.