Ukip no protest party, says Farage (From Somerset County Gazette)
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Ukip no protest party, says Farage
2:53am Saturday 23rd March 2013 in National News © Press Association 2013
UKIP leader Nigel Farage says the public are angry with the failure of the three main parties on key issues
Nigel Farage is to insist Ukip is more than a vehicle for protest today as he rallies activists.
Speaking at the party's spring conference in Exeter, Mr Farage will say the public are angry with the failure of the three main parties on key issues.
But he will argue that Ukip's shock second place in the Eastleigh by-election - beating the Tories into third - was not merely a rejection of their opponents.
The leadership is hoping to make a major breakthrough in local and European elections in May, and Mr Farage will tell the party it is fighting on a "bigger scale" than ever before.
He is to admit that some people believe their recent success and high poll ratings are down to protest votes.
Mr Farage will list a range of areas - from Europe Union membership to cost of living and an obsession with renewable energy - where the public feels "incredibly let down".
However, he will insist he is "pretty sure" that Ukip's appeal goes wider than disaffection, stressing that the party has a coherent policy platform.
