Redefining the political map

I have been inactive in party politics since the day Tony Blair gained the support of the House of Commons for the ill-conceived war in Iraq.  Nevertheless I have maintained an interest in the machinations of the political parties.

Recently the activities of the 'Right' have come under my scrutiny. Unsurprisingly the small parties of the Right are as busy as the small parties of the 'Left' engaging in turf wars and internecine strife. 

On the Right the only parties of any significance in an English context are the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the English Democrats (ED) and the British National Party (BNP).

The BNP is a spent force, heavily in debt, hemorrhaging members and losing seats.  Some of its members have joined the ED, not to the universal acclaim of ED members. 

The key policies of the EDs are withdrawal from the European Union and the establishment of an English Parliament within a federal  United Kingdom.   The ED claims not to be a party of the Right, but the pre-occupation with immigration and the 'threat of Islam'  voiced by party members on social networking sites certainly gives the party a 'tinge' which makes it an attractive proposition to disaffected BNP members. Some ED members are heavily involved with the English Defence League (EDL) which is a direct action pressure group rather than a political party.  The EDL is matched on the Left by United Against Fascism (UAF).

The ED is quite excited by the recent statement by the leader of UKIP that he favours an English parliament within a federal UK.  See: http://www.indhome.com/2011/07/farage-calls-english-parliament/  This is a shift from the UKIP policy that English matters should be considered only by English MPs within the Westminster Parliament.  Should the leader's comments become official policy it may result in some ED members joining UKIP.

Within UKIP there is a strand of opinion which emphasises that the party is libertarian, by which it means a party of small government. Is this a Tea Party manifestation?  UKIP has managed to avoid being tinged with racist overtones (but not entirely) so will be attractive to some ED members worried about the growing ex- BNP influence within the ED. 

One could argue, fascinating though all this may be to a political anorak, it is of no interest given the poor electoral performance of the parties at the last General Election. I am not so sure.  The major political event in the next few months will be the future of the eurozone.  Decisions will be taken which inevitably will lead to some form of fiscal and political union. The key issue in the UK is its future relationship with the EU.  The three main political parties are all to varying degrees pro-EU.   A strong anti-EU party could do well at the next general election.