I am disgusted at UKIP as a party but I think the fear over them is serious, yet over-exaggerated. Looking at the trend in the last few elections we have seen the rise of parties attempting to portray themselves as a "protest vote". We saw the same with the Lib Dems in 2010, however, after N*ck Clegg grasped power, rose tuition fees, broke promises etc (basically doing what all politicians in power do) the Lib Dems have ceased to be a "protest vote" and have just become another sad component of "the system" in the view of the electorate.

I think its a fair point to recognise the naivety of the electorate when it comes to party politics but ultimately they are not stupid - UKIP will slip up, as we are starting to see with racist accusations and more and more daft UKIP activists being accused of what Nigel Farage calls "un-UKIP-like behaviour".

I believe that the success of UKIP should be acknowledged but with caution. Not only, as the fella above just said, did 31 million people not vote but the media tends to enjoy the fact that UKIP gaining seats in elections is a "good story" and ultimately sells. The electoral system involved in the general election (first past the post) will make it tough for Farage to gain a seat in Westminster in comparison to the system of local and European elections.

I think we should concentrate activity in actually looking at the very real problems facing British people - not the obsession with Europe which tends to be pretty moronic and divided along simple nationalist principles.

Europe, ultimately, will not be a political decision which can help change the lives of people below the breadline or those who cannot find stable employment.