UK Independence Party
|
|
---|---|
Abbreviation | UKIP |
Leader | Paul Nuttall |
Deputy leader | Peter Whittle |
Chairman | Paul Oakden |
Deputy Chairman |
The Earl of Dartmouth Suzanne Evans |
Founder | Alan Sked |
Founded | 3 September 1993 |
Preceded by | Anti-Federalist League |
Headquarters | Lexdrum House Newton Abbot, Devon |
Youth wing | Young Independence |
Membership (July 2016) | 39,000 |
Ideology |
Hard Euroscepticism Right-wing populism Economic liberalism British nationalism |
Political position | Right-wing |
European affiliation | Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe |
International affiliation | None |
European Parliament group | Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy |
Colours | Purple, yellow |
House of Commons |
1 / 650
|
House of Lords |
3 / 804
|
European Parliament |
20 / 73
|
National Assembly for Wales |
6 / 60
|
Northern Ireland Assembly |
0 / 90
|
London Assembly |
2 / 25
|
Local government |
487 / 20,690
|
Scottish Parliament |
0 / 129
|
Police and Crime Commissioners |
0 / 40
|
Directly-elected Mayors |
0 / 17
|
Website | |
www.ukip.org | |
The UK Independence Party (UKIP /ˈjuːkɪp/) is a Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Newton Abbot, Devon and currently led by Paul Nuttall. At Westminster, UKIP has one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and three representatives in the House of Lords. It has 20 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), making it jointly the largest UK party in that Parliament. It has six Assembly Members (AMs) in the National Assembly for Wales and has 488 councillors in UK local government.
UKIP has been identified by political scientists as part of the broader European radical right. Its ideological approach is that of right-wing populism, employing populist rhetoric to distinguish itself from the political establishment. Promoting a British unionist and nationalist agenda, it characterises the latter approach as a non-racial civic nationalism, although the accuracy of this description has been disputed. UKIP's primary emphasis has been on hard Euroscepticism, calling for the UK's exit from the European Union, while it has also placed strong emphasis on lowering immigration. Economically describing itself as libertarian and influenced by classical liberalism and Thatcherism, it promotes economically liberal policies while appealing to traditional social values.