The Punk in Politics

Punk emerged as a Youth Counter-Culture in the mid 1970s. The punks were frustrated with what they regarded as an old, boring and largely irrelevant rock-establishment, whose music said nothing to them. They took it upon themselves to forge the culture they wanted, through fanzines, independent record shops, clubs and sheer bloody mindedness.

The ‘Do It Yourself’ ethic of Punk manifested itself in the brash, unrefined, guitar sounds and disharmonious vocals of the music, and the frayed edges, safetypins and painted-on graphics of the clothes. The production may have been rough and ready, but it was new, it was energetic, and it was theirs. The punks had shattered the illusion that you had to accept the ‘tyranny of the status quo’. They had siezed the power, and the possibliities were intoxicating.

Punk has now come to encapsulate a set of values and a mindset embraced by pro-active, forward thinking people the world over, who, frustrated with the way things are, take matters into their own hands to make things better. Nowhere is this more apparent than in high-tech industry. The biggest and most influential companies in the world, Apple, Google and Microsoft were started off in garages and on kitchen tables, by individuals with ‘crazy’ ideas, energy and motivation to do something great and an impatience for ‘the establishment’ to come up with the goods.

In many ways, we in UKIP are the Punks of Politics. We certainly have a healthy disregard for the establishment – the Political Class who seem to think they have a god given right to run our country without answer to the electorate. We deplore the ‘tyranny of the status quo’. We’re not afraid of change, we embrace the possibilities is presents. We speak our minds, we are optimists, we believe that the United Kingdom can succeed and prosper, free of the shackles that restrict us and bind us to the the dead weight of the EU. We are open minded, we listen to new ideas and encourage new thinking. We are proud of our culture, and not afraid to show it. We certainly have some colourful characters in our ranks – a true reflection of our society.

And, just like the original punks, who were banned from radio stations, record labels and concert halls, we are deamonised by those in the establishment who would seek to silence us, belittle our principles and pollute our message with untruths. It is because they fear us. Because they know - we are the first wave in an irreversable tide that will wash them away.

Never mind the Lib/Lab/Con, here’s UKIP.