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New coalition to tackle UKIP in Portsmouth

New coalition to tackle UKIP in Portsmouth

Categories: Latest News

Friday December 05 2014

The Portsmouth News reports on the establishment of a coalition in Portsmouth in a bid to fight the rise of UKIP ahead of the next general election.

The local paper reports on a meeting of approximately 40 members from a range of political parties to discuss strategies to fight against the growing UKIP political campaign in the area.

Former city council leader, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, who attended the meeting, noted the growing support for the party in Portsmouth stating “I go and knock on doors every week and people are showing support for Ukip and I think their strength is growing.”

The coalition discussed potential reasons behind the far right group’s rise in popularity including a lack of social housing, poverty and strains on the NHS. Speakers speculated that UKIP supporters were blaming immigrants for people’s concerns about these issues.

In a video published by the paper, Jon Woods, the chairman of Portsmouth Trades’ Council and one of the speakers, stated:

“I think people are disillusioned with the main political parties and unfortunately, that protest vote is tending to go to UKIP. So they are a real threat and we need to do something about it.”

Earlier this year, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats Lord Ashdown, observed the disillusionment and lack of trust in national institutions among voters fuelling their turn to “demagogues”” such as far right political groups.

Woods added “I urge people to join and stand up to the UKIP campaign. Whatever political party, whatever political view you have, if you’re opposed to racism, opposed to UKIP, join us and I think we can expose UKIP for the lies they’re peddling.”

Zuber Hatia, a local Muslim resident, revealed that he had been targeted by racists previously in relation to mosques in Portsmouth. He told the meeting “We’ve seen the mosques targeted by the English Defence League, the British National Party and Britain First.”

Muslim faith schools in Portsmouth have also faced attacks from the far right.

Similarly, Labour’s candidate for Portsmouth South observed that ethnic minority women in the city “fear walking outside their front doors because of racists.”

Portsmouth has attracted a good deal of media attention after a number of Muslim teenagers from the city were found to have travelled to Syria prompting imams from the local community to issue a statement condemning the “barbaric and inhumane” behaviour of ISIS adding, “There is absolutely no basis in Islam for these acts. It stands against every teaching the Qur’an gives us.”

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