UKIP leader Nigel Farage delivers a speech on the City and Europe, at Fishmongers Hall, in central London, yesterday.
The leader of the anti-EU party yesterday appealed to the financial services industry to back his campaign for a European Union exit, saying European politicians “loathed and despised” London’s dominance in the sector.
Seeking to boost support for his party ahead of elections to the European Parliament in May, Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), said Euro MPs were so hostile to the British finance industry that the country would be better off leaving the 28-nation bloc.
Within the European Parliament, “you’ll find a solid wall of hatred against everything the City of London stands for from virtually everybody,” Farage said during a panel debate. “We are loathed and despised when it comes to financial services.”
Britain is taking legal action against EU institutions over what it sees as potentially damaging regulation of the City of London, but EU officials say their sole intention is to better regulate financial activity and curb bankers’ excesses.
UKIP holds no seats in the parliament but its anti-EU, anti-immigration stance has found popular support. It has 13 seats in the European parliament and took a quarter of the votes cast in local elections in May.
The party’s rise has created a problem for Prime Minister David Cameron, as it threatens to split his Conservative party’s vote at next year’s national election, potentially depriving him of outright victory.
Pressure from eurosceptic Conservatives for Cameron to adopt a tougher anti-EU stance also risks reopening the internal rifts that contributed to the downfall of the party’s last two prime ministers.