UKIP Uncovered
What motivates the leaders of the United Kingdom Independence Party?


Saturday, December 11, 2004 

Robert Kilroy-Silk in Oxfordshire last evening

I have received this report:

I went to hear Kilroy at a public meeting in Benson (Oxfordshire) last night. Basically he had everybody eating out of his hand. At one point during the questions he got to his feet, walked up and down at the front of the platform and delivered a five minuteimpromptu speech, and the whole audience was spellbound.

There's no doubt that he's a very effective speaker, and a huge asset to UKIP, but would his oratorical skills be enough to make him an effective party leader? The same question could be asked about Nigel Farage, who is also an inspirational speaker. On the other hand, the present leader barely qualifies as "effective".

He may have been the best person available two years ago, but so what? If there's somebody better now, that should be seen as progress and for goodness sake let him take over the reins.

What a pity that the UKIP Constitution allows the leader a four year term. If that was only a two year term, by now the members would have been allowed to decide whether they wanted to change their leader. Maybe they wouldn't, who knows?

One thing is clear - a true leader would not have allowed this dispute to rip the party apart, and what's more he would not have gone out of his way to stir it up by descending to personal abuse. For the sake of party unity, and the cause, he would have had the grace to let the members make a fresh choice of leader, even though he was not obliged to do so for two more years.

By the way, I don't think I'm colour blind - so I don't know where the "Orange Man" business has come from.

posted by Martin |4:19 PM
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