Why Ukip voters turned to the big guns of the Conservative Party
sir – On the programme, the BBC took great delight in mocking Ukip. Ukip fared badly in the local elections because people turned to the big guns of the Conservative Party now that the EU has declared war. sir – Despite Ukip losing badly in the local elections, I am grateful to Nigel Farage for getting us out of the antidemocratic EU so that we can thrive. sir – A sobering fact in the local elections was the low turnout. If two thirds of the electorate cannot be bothered to vote, we have to ask what the purpose of local government is, and whether anyone would be bothered if it was simply abolished and replaced by a system of centrally appointed commissioners.
Use the vote or lose it. sir – I spent 14 hours sitting outside polling booths on Thursday, recording polling card numbers. I was amazed that, in that period, fewer than 10 under-25s bothered to vote.
One would think that, with Brexit, our youth would have woken up to the need to vote if they are to have any influence on the way their country is run. Apathy, unfortunately, rules. sir – Perhaps the “metro mayors” should be known as Goldwyns. sir – An inscription is being prepared for a monument to Nicola Sturgeon. It reads: “She made the Tories electable in Scotland again.” sir – The SNP Scottish government announced largesse for various groups in the days before the local elections. Why these announcements were not made earlier is anyone’s guess.
I seem to recall that this same government deferred issuing the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (Gers) figures for 2016 until after the May Holyrood elections, although they had been due in March. Those Gers figures showed Scotland had a £15 billion deficit.
This is the government that was going to be “different”, wasn’t it? sir – I have voted Conservative all my life yet feel very concerned that the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn will disintegrate. We need a strong opposition at this crucial time. A quick change of Labour leadership would cause a huge surge in their popularity. Appenzell, Switzerland