UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage speaks during an interview with Reuters in London March 17, 2015

The British general last week election was spicier than a tikka masala curry, with the leaders of three major parties resigning consecutively, among them, a very bitter Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom Independence Party. Of course, the UKIP subsequently rejected his resignation and he is now back in the saddle.

Did Farage have reason to be disgruntled? The UKIP garnered 12.6 per cent of votes, but under the current first-past-the-post system (FPTP), gained only one seat in parliament.

“It is my view that the first-past-the-post system is now totally bankrupt. It has turned general election campaigns into ‘Please vote for me, I’m not quite as ugly as the other one’ situations, rather than parties fighting over policy positions and serious issues.” Nigel Farage wrote in the Independent shortly after resigning as leader of the UKIP.

The right-wing United Kingdom Independence Party may have won only one seat, but they gained enough of the popular vote to make minority communities in the UK worry

To be fair, his anger is somewhat justified: almost four million electorates voted for UKIP in contrast to the Scottish National Party, which gained 56 seats with just 1.5 million votes.

Under the proportional representation D’Hondt voting method, UKIP would have been the third largest party in the country with an estimated 83 seats in the House of Commons rather than the one it is now holding in south England.

But UKIP supporters will be further disappointed if they think there will be an overhaul in the electoral system. Following a national referendum to determine whether or not to keep FPTP or the Alternative Vote back in 2011, 67.9pc of people agreed to stick to the current voting method.

While many people called FPTP unfair on smaller parties following the election, a huge relief was felt across multicultural communities across the UK once the UKIP’s parliamentary tally became clear.

Over the past year, UKIP has not been shy of controversy. Headline after headline accused the party of being racist, xenophobic, homophobic and of course sexist.

While many people called FPTP unfair on smaller parties following the election, a huge relief was felt across multicultural communities across the UK once the UKIP’s parliamentary tally became clear.

“It’s worrying because UKIP is against immigrants like us and they don’t like multiculturalism,” Nasreen Mahmoud, 56, says. “Parties like UKIP promote racism in the mainstream and try to make it the norm through their propaganda.”

Mahmoud, who works as a social worker in Glasgow, thinks South Asians in particular are being vilified in light of the grooming scandals, which took place in northern England over the past year.

Anti-UKIP protest and rally in Westminster London

Far-right groups such as the English Defence League and Britain First urged their supporters to vote for UKIP as the closest ‘electable’ party which shares their views — an association the UKIP has tried to distance itself from.

But the UKIP, which has in the past been accused of having links to other extreme-right groups such as the National Front, has had a seemingly strange link with immigrants and Pakistan.

Take, for example, former UKIP spokesman Mujeeb ur Rehman Bhutto, who last year was accused of running a high-profile kidnapping gang in Karachi. Bhutto had previously been referred to as a bridge between UKIP and Muslim communities in Leeds.

And, where else did UKIP find support other than a small church in Lahore, which seemed odd due to the party’s stance on migration to the UK. Nigel Farage personally thanked the Royal Disciple Church for its backing, thought to be linked to his strong views on Christianity.

The shift of far-right views into the mainstream has been pinned on UKIP since the demise of the British National Party who saw a 99.7pc drop in votes, beaten even by the comical Monster Raving Loony Party.

The shift of far-right views into the mainstream has been pinned on UKIP since the demise of the British National Party who saw a 99.7pc drop in votes, beaten even by the comical Monster Raving Loony Party.

“We can’t leave the doors open for immigrants to flood in,” says a 65-year-old UKIP supporter of Pakistani descent who doesn’t want to be named.

“I voted UKIP because I agree with Nigel Farage on such things and also his bid to get us out of the European Union. UKIP just wants what is best for the British people and I resent it when people say it is a racist party because it’s the only party that speaks the truth and has our wellbeing in mind.”

Interestingly, almost half of UKIP voters said they were racially prejudiced according to research by a YouGov poll carried out before the elections.

A UKIP supporter leans on a campaign car

Is it surprising? A few months ago UKIP councillor Rozanne Duncan was expelled from the party for racist remarks about her problem with “negroes”. The ex-councillor even went as far to say she had “no regrets” over her comments.

Similarly, Dave Small, another UKIP councillor was suspended last year for posting a series of racist and homophobic tweets where he called gay people “perverts” and expressed his outrage at not being allowed to use the derogatory term “Paki”, freely.

“It was amusing to see Nigel Farage resign and I’m very optimistic that UKIP will fall after the latest outcome of the election,” 21-year-old Polish student Agnieszka Dzeidzic says.

“Because of the rise of UKIP, stereotypes have emerged about Poles coming to London and stealing all the jobs and these xenophobic attitudes have become acceptable to have.”

“You wouldn’t believe how many people ask if I’m a cleaner and their shock when I say I’m an engineering student,” she adds. “The irony is that I’m putting money back into the British economy by working here, paying tax and tuition fees. If immigrants left the UK, this entire country would crumble.”

Nigel Farage has not ruled out a comeback as UKIP’s leader in September when voting takes place. For now, his supporters said he deserves a holiday from politics.

Whatever the outcome of UKIP’s future, generations of immigrants will be nervously rubbing their hands together, while they wait for the next election.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, May 17th, 2015

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