Beware: ‘UKIP’ thugs are attacking political campaigners
A gang claiming to be members of UKIP attacked South Basildon & East Thurrock Labour Party members and went on to destroy their town centre street stall on Saturday, according to LabourList.
Mike Le-Surf, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for South Basildon & East Thurrock, who was there, writes: “I was hosting a ‘Save our NHS’ stand with support from local party and UNISON members, collecting petition signatures and speaking to local residents about their issues.
“Earlier in the day, one of the gang approached us soon after we arrived and told us to pack up and get out. Strong language and references to Rotherham followed with a threat of him returning. Later he did return with a group of people. They began to rip up some NHS leaflets and told a party member they were UKIP and that they would be back.
“The attack which followed was filmed by one of their gang. The thugs kicked one of our members in the leg while she was sitting in her mobility scooter accompanied by her daughter and young grandson. The gang then demolished the street stall and ripped down a bannerstand before hurling it at a parked van. An eighty year old member of the party was subjected to a tirade of verbal abuse and another received a cut to his forehead in the violent and unprovoked attack.
“Whether UKIP party members or just local thugs, the perpetrators of these actions were happy to say off camera that they were UKIP and justified their actions with reference to UKIP’s Rotherham campaign poster targeting Labour councillors.”
Thurrock council has CCTV footage of the attack so Mr Le-Surf said he hopes it is only a matter of time before the offenders are brought to justice. We’ll know then if they really are UKIP members.
If they are, Nigel Farage will have more apologising to do.
More importantly, this indicates a strain of political thuggishness that we have not seen in mainstream British politics – at least, not for many years. Let us hope that the British people are smart enough to know that it must be discouraged.
The best place to do so will be at the ballot box.
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I’m guessing Britain First. They’ve been cosying up to UKIP (much to their dismay, after all who wants massive racists telling everyone that they agree with everything you’re doing huh?) and offering their “support”.
I know … wait one of those parties are the massive racists? or is it both, one’s just a bit more upper class than the other.
Smells Conservative to me. only a d**k would blame there party alliance.
Hmmm… intimidating disabled folk and eighty-year-olds… sounds like UKIP, doesn’t it?
it`s a terrible thing for violence to enter the political debate, some how If I was attacking someone I wouldn`t give any information that could lead to my capture, lets see who these are when they are caught and motives examined.
If they *are* UKIP and get caught, Farage needs to expel them from the party if they get convicted.
come on now where is all this proper gander coming from I don’t believe this for one minute. Sounds like some one running scared.
UKIP or the Tories, according to the talk on the Facebook page.
I’m also guessing “Britain First” – they and Ukip are from the same mold!
I agree that these antics could well be the actions of politically motivated people, but why you should think they’re attributable to supporters of a party that are going to gain a famous by-election victory this week is beyond me. Any evidence to back up your claims? Maybe they’re the actions of activists disillusioned with the utter incompetence of their leaders. So a lot to choose from then.
The article does not put forward any opinion on whether the perpetrators really are UKIP or not. It says a gang claiming to be UKIP members did the damage, that CCTV evidence should reveal their identity, and if they are UKIP members, Nigel Farage will have more apologising to do.
So I have made no claims of the kind you suggest, and you have no evidence to support yours.
If it is just propaganda from tories or Ukip, then haven’t they scored an Own goal? why on earth do they think that decent people would want to vote for thugs? look at where the BNP is now, isn’t their ex-leader doing time in prison now? I’ve not heard from them for ages.
“More importantly, this indicates a strain of political thuggishness that we have not seen in mainstream British politics – at least, not for many years. Let us hope that the British people are smart enough to know that it must be discourage.”
Really? Are you sure about that? I suppose the continued verbal & physical abuse that is routinely meted out at UKIP meeting by UAF and HnH doesn’t count then, or the brick that was hurled through Gerrard Batten’s window during the the European election campaign, or the UKIP activist who was stabbed in the face by a Labour supporter. What about the physical assault on UKIP Buckinghamshire County Councillor Phil Gomm whilst out leafleting? Then there was the attack on a UKIP stand in Brighton which left Linda Reid bruised and battered. What about the repeated vandalism of the UKIP office during the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election, and the vile abuse dished out by Labour supporters to pensioners with UKIP rosettes on?
I can only assume that these were “not seen in mainstream British politics” because you were looking the other way.
If, and it is a huge ‘if’, this was indeed perpetrated by UKIP members, you can be sure they will be expelled immediately. Was the same punishment handed out to the perpetrators of the incidents detailed above? I very much doubt it.
My money, however, is on either Britain First idiotically thinking they were doing UKIP a ‘favour’, or it is yet another attempt by Labour to smear UKIP (twitter timeline suggests the latter).
That should be “discouraged” at the end of the sentence. Thanks for pointing out the omitted ‘d’.
I don’t recall reports of the incidents you cite. Feel free to produce evidence.
The Vox Political line is that members of any political party indulging in this kind of thuggish bullying should be expelled from their party and convicted of violent offences.
They are acting like Brown Shirts from the 1930s,so either UKIP or Tories. Both are far right.
Sounds like a “tory” smear and dirty tricks to me !!!
well it is certain that it will come back and bite them and i hope it does. farage is a dangerous man and i urge all those people who are disalusioned with british politics to not be cowed by these thugs. the truth of them will come out. its inevitable.
It’ll bite whoever really was responsible, that’s for sure.
Well from what I read it looks like a possible race hate crime, calling people Kaffir isn’t a Labour party policy. there seems little connection between the attackers political beliefs (which may or may not be Labour) and the attack, since all the name calling has all been about being a non muslim from what I read. Perhaps we could go round the jails and ask the inmates for the party they vote for…Conservative murderer kills Labour voting wife, Lib Dem burglar steals from Conservatives mansion houses, Labour car thief heists Conservatives fancy cars, or how about Old Labour mugger steals from New Labour housewife !! Then we could say the reason for doing it was because they hated the victims politics. Following the UKIP reasoning it is typical of Conservatives to murder their political opponents because they can’t control their evil tendencies, Labour voters are just jealous of hard working Conservative voters and steal their cars to stop them being so politically active, or whatever nonsense you want to make up. We only know one side of the story, though, and it may have been a case of 6 of one side and half a dozen of the other. The stabbing may have been the end result of pushing people too far, and then making stuff up to pretend you are an innocent victim, or maybe the family are real anti British fanatics – we have no reliable information on which to go.
Are you sure you’re referring to the same incident?
I too wondered where Jean Hardiman Smith got the Kaffir reference from….
May have been the actions of Britain Last:
http://www.redbubble.com/people/letthemeatart/works/12148145-britain-last