Come, I will conceal nothing from you: I don’t follow British politics all that much. But this sounds pretty significant:
Tory Douglas Carswell has defected to UKIP and quit as MP for Clacton, saying he will contest the subsequent by-election for Nigel Farage’s party.
If he wins the support of voters he will be the first elected UK Independence Party MP in the Commons.
More here and here. Typically, when British MPs switch parties they apparently do it without having by-elections, which apparently drives British voters nuts. As it should. Douglas Carswell is either very confident that he can win, or he’s acting on principle. Or, I suppose, both.
It is significant and fascinating. Carswell is no mean, disgruntled Tory MP on the outs with Cameron. He was a shining light of the modernizers that the PM claims to promote. For him to decide that Ukip is a better option for his vision, and to take the step of actually allowing his voters to decide his fate, makes this a barometer to establish how deeply the disaffection with the established parties in GB is.
It quite possibly could serve as a signal to a new, populist Libertarian right much like Thatcher presaged the opportunity of Reagan.
I don’t follow UK politics closely, but I do have some interest. From what I’ve read, this is essentially a pants-wetting moment for the Conservatives and even Labour, since the populist, anti-EU tendency UKIP represents draws from both. Carswell is exceptionally popular in his district and should win handily, even if he ran on the Monster Raving Loony Party platform. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Monster_Raving_Loony_Party ) What I’ll be interested to see is how many Conservative and Labour MPs and local councilors defect after the election, assuming Carswell wins big. This could be the crack that breaks the dam.