The UKIP Challenge

Abstract

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) undoubtedly stands as the most Eurosceptic party in Britain today — Euroscepticism being the very raison d’être of the party since its creation in 1993. As such, the party can be considered as one of the major manifestations of the UK’s challenge to Europeanization which is the subject of this book, all the more so since its historic victory at the 2014 European elections — a performance which also makes it a challenge to the main political parties and to the British political system as a whole. This was reinforced by the election of the first UKIP MP in the House of Commons in October 2014 — a remarkable achievement for a party which, for a long time, has been derided by politicians and commentators alike. In those favourable circumstances, the party’s electoral prospects for the 2015 general election looked unexpectedly good. UKIP seemed to be on course to gain representation in Westminster at the expense of all three major parties, posing a threat to the political establishment as a whole.