“Our borders are massively porous. Immigration is a good idea, but it has to bring a benefit to our economic, social and cultural life”
Boris Johnson’s former right-hand man at City Hall yesterday announced that he has ditched his Tory membership to join Ukip.
Former deputy mayor of London, Richard Barnes, told the Standard that the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats did not “speak the language of normal people”.
He argued that Ukip was the only party with the right answers on the EU, immigration, HS2 and Heathrow expansion.
The mayor yesterday addressed the Conservative party conference following the defection of two Tory MPs to Ukip.
Barnes, who served as deputy mayor between 2008 and 2012, said his decision was based on a mix of London and national issues, adding: “There seems to be a detachment from ordinary people’s lives in the Westminster village. The parties just don’t seem to relate and talk the language of normal people.”
Barnes said he wanted the UK to pull out of the EU and return to a free trade agreement with the continent, and claimed that David Cameron’s plan to renegotiate a deal with Europe was “unrealistic”.
“Do we really believe they can create a new settlement by 2017, with the agreement of all the member states?” he asked.
On immigration, he said: “Our borders are massively porous. Immigration is a good idea, but it has to bring a benefit to our economic, social and cultural life. It cannot be to take advantage of the NHS or to exploit the benefits system. At the moment it’s a mess. We don’t count people in, or count them out. That would be a good place to start.”
Barnes, who is gay, dismissed claims that Ukip was homophobic after one Ukip councillor, a former Tory, blamed floods on the decision to legalise same-sex marriage.
He said: “I’ll stand my ground against any foolish person. They are in all the parties. I don’t think they become homophobic the moment they join Ukip.”
Having represented Ealing and Hillingdon on the London Assembly from 2000 to 2012, he said the impact of HS2 and possible Heathrow expansion on west London were reasons for his disillusionment with the Tories. He added that he might one day seek elected office for Ukip, though most likely not in the Commons.
Naked pictures of Barnes were posted on his Facebook account last year. The pictures were later removed and he said that the account had been hacked.
Ukip on the defensive over racism question
The anti-immigration United Kingdom Independence Party has continually rebuffed allegations of racism, following a series of gaffes, but still struggles to shake off a xenophobic tag.
“We’re no racists. Not at all,” said Sandra James, who will be standing as a candidate at the May general election.
The “Ukip is a fabulous, commonsense party which goes where other parties are afraid to go. We believe in a multi-cultural society.”
Ukip, which plans to contest a series of parliamentary seats held by both the Labour and Conservative parties, topped the European Parliament elections in May. It was bolstered on Saturday by the defection to its ranks of Conservative lawmaker Mark Reckless, the second Tory party member to switch to Ukip within two months.
Steven Woolfe, a member of the European Parliament and the party’s migration spokesman, said: “We are the most diverse and modern nation of the world and Ukip embraces that,” declaring himself “proud” to be mixed race.
Fellow MEP and communities spokesman Amjad Bashir, who for his part is “proud to be a Muslim”, said: “Respect for others is the key to a healthy community. It starts in the family and must extend beyond into the community so we can live together regardless of ethnicity and religious beliefs.”
The two MEPs’ presence in the UKIP front rank could be seen as a foil to those who say the party only speaks to those with blue collars, white skin and grey hair.
A 2012 study by Manchester and Nottingham universities found that Ukip voters are mainly white older people.
But at the Doncaster conference last week, the message was clear: an Indian doctor is just as welcome as a German one.
Haunted by a series of gaffes - the latest last month, when Ukip MEP Janice Atkinson was forced to apologise for describing a party supporter originally from Thailand as a “ting tong” - delegates must avoid sending out the wrong message.