Is UKIP really a ‘Nigel Farage dictatorship’ rife with sexism?
by Mary Honeyball
UKIP seems to be a party filled with anti-women sentient – it is a one man band and it is all about Nigel Farage, or so it certainly seems, claims Labour Party MEP “A woman’s place is cleaning behind the fridge.” Well that’s what they seem to believe in UKIP.
Indeed, in 2004 UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom said just this and the events which unfolded last week shows little has changed in the intervening years since Bloom made such remarks.
It would be laughable if it was not so damaging, offensive and humiliating for those on the receiving end. So it is hardly a surprise to learn that the party’s only female MEP might have suffered alleged discrimination from within the party. But it was a surprise to see Marta Andreasen MEP launch a searing attack on the leader of the party Nigel ‘too much air time’ Farage.
She has said of Farage: “He doesn’t try to involve intelligent professional women in positions of responsibility in the party. He thinks women should be in the kitchen or in the bedroom.” Andreasen continued by telling the BBC (to view the article CLICK HERE) that she had been openly criticised by her party leader and other MEPs, claiming that this amounted to bullying.
“I’ve been bullied, in private situations, for decisions I have made by Nigel,” she said. “I have been accused of being disloyal, breaching confidence and breaching my contract with the party. There’s an attitude that either you keep silent about everything that’s been going on in the party or suffer the consequences.” Andreasen said she believed
Farage – who was re-elected as leader in 2010 after standing down a year earlier to contest a Westminster seat – “did not like women” although this is purely her opinion and allegation.
I have appeared alongside Andreasen before on the BBC’s Newsnight programme and her views were some of the most thoughtful that I have seen come out of UKIP. We should give weight to what she says because what she is demonstrating is that UKIP seems to be a party filled with anti-women sentient. It is a one man band and it is all about Farage, or so it certainly seems.
Andreasen who, represents South East England in the European Parliament, has said she will not stand again. Still, this is a brave thing to do – to reveal a bullying culture at the highest level of the party while she is still in office and to do it so publically is courageous. She also claims in an interview with LondonlovesBusiness.com that Farage runs his party like some kind of dictatorship:
“Under his leadership – and I have questioned his leadership obviously a number of times – the party has become a dictatorship,” she said. “This is a Stalinist way of operating and he doesn’t care about the membership or the grassroots.”
We also should not forget former UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire – a lesbian, who won a sex discrimination case against her former colleagues on a default judgement at Exeter Employment Tribunal. This came after UKIP failed to lodge a defence. Sinclaire alleged that UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom had called her a “queer”. We can only draw our own conclusions from all of this..
Indeed, in 2004 UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom said just this and the events which unfolded last week shows little has changed in the intervening years since Bloom made such remarks.
It would be laughable if it was not so damaging, offensive and humiliating for those on the receiving end. So it is hardly a surprise to learn that the party’s only female MEP might have suffered alleged discrimination from within the party. But it was a surprise to see Marta Andreasen MEP launch a searing attack on the leader of the party Nigel ‘too much air time’ Farage.
She has said of Farage: “He doesn’t try to involve intelligent professional women in positions of responsibility in the party. He thinks women should be in the kitchen or in the bedroom.” Andreasen continued by telling the BBC (to view the article CLICK HERE) that she had been openly criticised by her party leader and other MEPs, claiming that this amounted to bullying.
“I’ve been bullied, in private situations, for decisions I have made by Nigel,” she said. “I have been accused of being disloyal, breaching confidence and breaching my contract with the party. There’s an attitude that either you keep silent about everything that’s been going on in the party or suffer the consequences.” Andreasen said she believed
Farage – who was re-elected as leader in 2010 after standing down a year earlier to contest a Westminster seat – “did not like women” although this is purely her opinion and allegation.
I have appeared alongside Andreasen before on the BBC’s Newsnight programme and her views were some of the most thoughtful that I have seen come out of UKIP. We should give weight to what she says because what she is demonstrating is that UKIP seems to be a party filled with anti-women sentient. It is a one man band and it is all about Farage, or so it certainly seems.
Andreasen who, represents South East England in the European Parliament, has said she will not stand again. Still, this is a brave thing to do – to reveal a bullying culture at the highest level of the party while she is still in office and to do it so publically is courageous. She also claims in an interview with LondonlovesBusiness.com that Farage runs his party like some kind of dictatorship:
“Under his leadership – and I have questioned his leadership obviously a number of times – the party has become a dictatorship,” she said. “This is a Stalinist way of operating and he doesn’t care about the membership or the grassroots.”
We also should not forget former UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire – a lesbian, who won a sex discrimination case against her former colleagues on a default judgement at Exeter Employment Tribunal. This came after UKIP failed to lodge a defence. Sinclaire alleged that UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom had called her a “queer”. We can only draw our own conclusions from all of this..
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