Who are we?
The UK Independence Party consists of people who value concepts such as Freedom, Independence and Democracy. We believe in Britain's freedom from the European Union, which has (in the words of Tony Blair's own election address leaflet in 1983) drained our natural resources and destroyed jobs http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/eucon/teflon/blairout3.html. Britain should have the freedom to trade globally, not suffer from EU protectionism and trade tariffs.
But we also believe in freedom from high taxes, freedom from political correctness and freedom from government interference in citizens' lives.
We believe in Independence - at local level, we want to see UKIP councillors vote according to their consciences rather than blindly following party orders. We also believe in Independence for local councils - government diktats are not the way to achieve better local government. In the same way, schools, hospitals and police forces function better when they are allowed to get on with their jobs without interference and artificial 'targets'.
UKIP also pioneers the concept of true Democracy. Voters should be able to call a binding referendum on key national issues - our politicians are frequently out of touch with the views of the general public; the solution is to force them to listen. In the same way, local communities should be able to call a vote on major planning issues.
These three words sum up what UKIP believe in: Freedom, Independence, Democracy.
History of the party
UKIP was formed on 3 September 1993 at the London School of Economics by several members of the Anti-Federalist League (AFL). UKIP's first electoral outing at the 1994 European elections saw 24 UKIP candidates secure 157,000 votes. On 28th October 1995 the party held its first annual conference at the London School of Economics.
The first General Election contested by UKIP was in 1997, but it was not until 1999 that the party achieved its first major breakthrough. With the new system of proportional representation taking effect at European elections in 1999, voters were prepared to consider alternatives to Labour, Lib Dems and Conservatives. UKIP got its reward, taking 3 MEP seats.
By 2001, the party was able to contest most seats at the General Election and its long-term survival seemed assured.
The next major opportunity for UKIP came in the June 2004 European Elections - having broken the ‘electability barrier' in 1999, the public already believed UKIP was capable of taking seats. A £2 million campaign - the biggest yet - saw 2.6 million people (16%) vote UKIP. With the Liberal Democrats unceremoniously dumped into fourth place nationally, UKIP secured 12 MEPs.
UKIP followed this up in September 2004, finishing third in the Hartlepool by-election and relegating the Conservatives to fourth place. Some internal difficulties saw UKIP slip back slightly at the 2005 general election. Nevertheless, 610,000 votes across 497 Parliamentary constituencies still showed progress since 2001.
The arrival of Lord Pearson and Lord Willoughby de Broke in January 2007 gave UKIP its first Parliamentary representation. By 2008, UKIP had started to make inroads at Council elections and it was clear that the electoral tide was about to turn.
June 2009's European elections saw UKIP make history, with the governing Labour Party embarrassed into third place by a resurgent UKIP. Never before has the government suffered the ignominy of national defeat to a party the size of UKIP. UKIP's 13 MEPs showed a big advance on 2004 - not least with the UK's representation dropping from 78 to 72 seats.
UKIP maintained its momentum on 23rd July, taking its best-ever Parliamentary by-election result at Norwich North - meanwhile, Pete Reeve astonished Lib Dems and Conservatives in Ramsey by gaining County and District council seats in local by-elections.
From just half a dozen people in 1993, the party has today firmly established itself nationally as the UK's fourth party, developed unique policies for Britain's independence and regeneration, and shifted the whole political debate towards the re-establishment of our independence.
Given the extraordinary success in the European Elections in June this year, there is no reason to believe that the Party will be any less tenacious at the forthcoming General Election.