May 22nd 2014

 

Today is election day 2014. Voting is open for the European MEP elections and in a third of the country for local council elections. Predictions are that UKIP an embryonic party with a main agenda on leaving the European Parliament and controlling immigration are poised to make a bit of a rumpus within the political establishment or as UKIP's leader Nigel Farage said in April "We [UKIP] have got a chance, four-and-a-half weeks from now, of causing such a shock in the British political system that it will be nothing short of an earthquake. If UKIP win these elections, a referendum and an opportunity for us to get back control of our country will be one massive, massive step closer." And so we are here, four and a half weeks later, voting day and it was hard not to be thinking about this. At a café at lunchtime I picked up a magazine to read which was all about the election today and the General Election in 2015. Walking home I spied this dramatic view as a rainstorm left Bristol to be replaced by sunshine. Finally I nipped to the village pub to vote, where I was asked by a woman, in all seriousness, standing outside having a cigarette with a small child, "what's going on in there then, do I need a card or summin?". Hummmmm maybe we do need to feel the earthquake of change........