Nigel Farage took questions from an audience at Worcestershire County Cricket Club, on 1st December 2014 . The event was to support Peter Jewell, PPC for Redditch, who is raising funds for the 2015 general election.
Speaking with typical conviction, Farage said, "David Cameron or 'Dave' ,as he prefers to be known, has claimed in the press that if you go to bed with Nigel Farage then you wake up with Ed Milliband. Whilst this is possibly a horrifying picture all round, the truth is the opposite. In many places now, even the labour strongholds of the North of England, UKIP is the main challenger".
I attended the event to ask questions on behalf of our members with our non-exec advisor Andy Moore. Made in the Midlands pressed Nigel for a response about what a UKIP coalition government would do to support manufacturing.
Farage said, "For too long we have placed tariffs and penalties on our manufacturing firms from EU directives that aim to reduce our carbon footprint. He added, "The UK represents 1.8% of global CO2 emissions, yet other countries who make far more impact are allowed to trade without incurring these costs and therefore our companies have been made less competitive.
"We need to stop investing in these useless wind farms and start investing in traditional power and explore new resources such as shale gas, which will give better economic results."
No sensible person would disagree at the unfairness of a company in China being more competitive on price than a UK firm because of EU environmental taxes but surely there is a more elegant solution.
People will accept that there needs to be a trade off between economic benefits and environmental ones as long as its fair.
Midland case-studies
On a recent visit to one of the Made in the Midlands founding members, I was shown a company energy bill which itemised a 'feed in tariff', it was explained to me that this had increased the cost of energy by more than £5k per year. The tariff was introduced by government to subsidise domestic properties that have solar panels installed. This is problematic to manufacturing firms who often have large energy bills and are rarely consulted. Other examples of green energy initiatives actioned without consulting businesses include Birmingham City Councils plan to introduce code 4 sustainable housing in 2009 at a time when the UK supply chain had not yet caught up with this technology.
It is worth noting that whilst economic benefits are important, there is a growing minority green vote that is also surging in support. If you look at the Green Party vote for example,they reached their highest percentage in the opinion polls earlier this year and in many polls are higher than the Lib Dems. Politicians somehow need to achieve a trade off between the two.
Humour
There is no doubt that Farage has charisma in abundance and this is part of his appeal. Speaking with passion and conviction his message was well received by the supporters of UKIP.
Making several jokes during the evening, mainly at the expense of the conservatives, Farage speech concluded with a standing ovation.
Traditional voters
Although I didn't get all the answers I wanted, it's easy to see their appeal and not just the hard line Thatcherite, but the working class. As Farage said, "No one is more patriotic that the working class man, the traditional Labour voter. We proved this in Haywood where we came a close second, in what was considered a safe Labour seat."
Farage commented that many of the UKIP voters were people that had not voted in 20 years, but had re engaged within the political system.
During the evening I made it clear that whilst I welcomed his support of the manufacturing sector, I am keen that we are seen as open internationally. It is vital that the UK protects its interests, but also important that we are seen to be a friend of the international community.
Popular views
UKIP have a set of very simple policies that are often grounded in common sense, unfortunately many of the voters are coming to the party because they are angry over immigration and this is a dangerous narrative for a cohesive society, at it's worst it could lead to further fragmentation. I feel it is important that UKIP develop a strong international strategy and start making links overseas, so that we do not become isolated in the world. We also need a pro active and positive plan of how we can bridge cultural divides within our own country.
UKIP invites questions from Made in the Midlands members
Made in the Midlands will be taking a small delegation to London early next year to ask the UKIP leader a range of questions and present our manufacturing futures report.
Anyone who wishes to ask a question or put forward an idea can email me at [email protected]