The rise of the right

Last night's European election results underline an increasing trend towards the right that I've noticed across Europe over recent years. Even discounting the BNP, the rise of UKIP to second place overtaking Labour and the Lib Dems, and how well the Conservatives have done in these elections shows that this trend now includes the UK.

Perhaps UKIP's rise can be partly attributed to the fact that European elections are a time for protest voting, to the of anti-Europe feelings of many people who might not otherwise vote for a right-wing party, and of course to the expenses scandal that's damaged the three main parties. Being seen as a small party means you can avoid to some extent being tarred with the same brush. Now they've started to increase their share of the vote perhaps people will begin to expect more of them and to be more harsh where they fail- the same goes for the BNP.

I have to say that UKIP's griping that they lost out on votes because their party was at the bottom of a long ballot paper, and that because it was folded people couldn't find them really annoyed me. Do politicians really think that the electorate are that stupid? Or that they just give up because they can't be bothered to turn the page over?

Perhaps if that's how (some?) politicians think of us, it explains how they think they can get away with some of the things they've been doing lately. But perhaps it also gives us a clue how to solve the problem- we need to take an active, educated interest in what's going on, to actually look at the issues of the day rather than being guided by prejudice and what the newspapers say. We need to show them we're not stupid. As a former history student, you learn not to take anything you read at face value, a skill we all need to engage when we read the papers or listen to the news or anything politicians say.

The other thing that annoys me is their (UKIP's and Eurosceptics in general) claim that most of our laws (I heard 75% being quoted last night) are made in Brussels, mostly by unelected officials. From what I know, and despite having tried to do some research that's not a huge amount, I understand that yes, a lot of laws are passed but that the vast majority of them are fairly minor- food standards and safety, fishing rights. All important to some people, but really- I don't care whether someone in London or someone in Brussels decided if this or that additive is safe. What I want to know is that they're making the right decision, and that if they make the wrong one they are accountable to the electorate that put them there.

I think that touches on the real problem- the sense of disconnection with what goes on in Europe. People don't know what goes on, partly because it's not really reported much. The doings of celebrity popstars or footballers is much more interesting to the British public. The only European issue that gets coverage most of the time is the 'in-out' debate- which isn't even a question at the moment. A notable absence from this campaign has been anything to do with Europe. Partly this is because the whole campaign has been overshadowed by the MP's expenses scandal, but partly because people just aren't interested in how government actually happens. They base their vote (if they vote) to a large extent on who the media tells them to like. While of course politicians need to be able to communicate, we shouldn't be taken in by slick speeches and gimmicks but look at the policies behind them.

While there are things about the EU that I think need change or reform, I don't think getting out is the way to do it. The parties that complain most about the things that need reform are also the ones, I suspect, that do all they can to block changes on the grounds that we shouldn't be in the EU anyway. Well sorry, but at present we are, like it or not, so shouldn't we try to make it work? You can't eat your cake and have it.

In some ways, I can't help but feel sorry for Gordon Brown. The way politics are these days, he's under attack for not being able to manipulate people into believing in Labour's policies. But if public opinion has changed, if the country and indeed Europe as a whole is now more right-wing than 5 years ago (as seems to be the case) then is it really all his fault? True, some people will have been voting against Labour rather than for the other parties, but is it really all his fault? I don't think so. Yet I suspect he'll get the blame.


PS How can people still be voting for Berlusconi in Italy after everything that's happened recently?!
PPS My spellchecker just tried to get me to change Berlusconi to burlesquing. How appropriate.