The UKIP encourage voters to say No to the EU with meticulous door drop

Eligible voters in Great Britain will be going to the polls on 4 June 2009 to vote in the European elections, but the UKIP says they are the country’s only hope.

On 4 June, voters from across Europe will elect 736 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament), made up of representatives from all 27 EU countries, and the UK is allocated 72 of these seats. Voters are encouraged to turn out as, it is often argued that MEPs have more real power than members of national parliament according to the BBC, even though they usually have a lower profile.

Elections are taking place in 34 local authorities across the UK, and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is urging voters to vote for them and ‘Say NO’ to Europe. On its election communication, including leaflets distributed to homes across the country, the regional teams have given a detailed manifesto as to why voters should vote UKIP:

• 1 million new jobs in last 10 years have gone to EU immigrants, not to our children or UK citizens.
• 75% of we Brits would like to get out of the Political EU
• The Lib-Lab-Con all want to stay in the EU regardless
• 80% of our laws come from unelected EU Commission
• EU regulation hinders business. Work goes overseas
• Impossible to get rid of Commissioners, however bad
• UK to be subsumed into ‘Europe of Regions and Cities’
• EU Carbon Emissions rising in spite of Euro-babble
• Faked 2020 - 20% CO2 target excludes major polluters
• UK Fisheries destroyed by EU Common Fishery Policy
• Uncontrolled EU immigration – even criminals
• EU fraud – no audited EU accounts for 14 years
• Royal Mail Post Offices closed by EU decree
• Green Agriculture damaged on EU instructions
• NATO undermined by EU Defence posturing
• EU Defence posture a divided shambles
• EU whistle-blowers sacked and threatened
• Huge costs to Britain: £106,000 per minute
• Failure of EU to agree on financial package in crisis
• EU referendum denied us by Labour and Lib-Dem deceit
• Home Information Packs (HIPS) forced onto us by EU law
• World trade talks killed off by EU policy and subsidies
• Subsidy for wine growers; and subsidy of surplus alcohol
• EU Parliament moves to Strasburg and back every month
• Failure of EU to stand up to Russia; or agree about Israel
• Tobacco growing and anti smoking both subsidised by EU
• EU want control of our premier league – because we win

In the last EU elections back in 2004, the UKIP pushed the Liberal Democrats into fourth place with 2.7 million votes, so this year will be seeking an advance on this figure. With the recent public outcry over the expenses row involving the three major political parties, the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats have all expressed concern that voters may use the EU elections to punish them. A notion the UKIP team could use to their advantage.

However, UKIP have been criticised in the past for being too staunchly anti-EU, and voters may feel that its extreme point of view is too aggressive during a time when countries are pulling together to get the world economy back on track.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has defended his party’s Euro election campaign by commenting that while the EU was “far from perfect”, it was an organisation with enormous economic power, which could offer the UK support and protection through the recession.