Ukip and Britain First together. Photo: Britain First (Facebook)

Last week, Britain First and Ukip were observed to be campaigning alongside one another in Rochester with Britain First candidate Jayden Fransen stated “we’re telling people to vote Ukip as well”. She further went on to tell Buzzfeed “We were just having a chat about how our policies are very similar to Ukip’s, in fact they almost mirror them”.

While it’s true that both target minorities in Britain as their scapegoats, this is arguably the main common factor that they’re known for, the minority they focus on is vastly different. Ukip’s main priority is “tackling mass immigration” of Romanians in particular. It states in their manifesto that “28,000 Romanians are held for crimes in London”, completely ignoring any crime statistics of those who are British-born. Britain First has a wider range listed in their “Statement of Principles”; they are opposed to movements such as “Liberalism”, “Political Correctness”, and “Islam”. Interestingly, Islam is the only religion singled out on their website, and the party seems to pick on this group in particular. Both parties also emphasise a desire to withdraw from the EU, as well as wanting to protect “green spaces”.

Britain First have almost double the amount of “likes” as Ukip on Facebook, which means any posts they make will reach a wider audience. Many of their posts relate to “national pride”, or for a call to change the political system; a lot of people seem to like the organisation because they’re fed up of the way the country is being run and they want change, although I’m not sure it need be so extreme. Worryingly though, the comments made on Britain First posts seem far more controversial than on the Ukip page. Some striking examples have been made in recent response to the planned construction of the mosque in Rochester, with one individual writing “Wts wrong wiv this country allowing them to build mosques n wear the burka …. Just too frigging soft”. The organisation attracts a great deal of people that clearly have a lot of hate towards these minorities, which is further fuelled by Facebook posts, and I’m concerned that the election of a Britain First representative into power will further put a wedge between minority groups. If there’s something we don’t need in this country, it’s more hate and prejudice.

While Britain First may feel the two parties are similar, Ukip have commented that they don’t want anything to do with them. The Independent reported that a spokesman stated “We have no connection with Britain First and reject any association with them”, which suggests just how little Ukip actually feel they have in common with the far-right group. I’m glad they have taken this stance.

I’m not a fan of Ukip, and I hope the majority of Rochester aren’t either. They rely on the fact that people are bored of the main parties and feel that they can offer a better alternative, even though the only policy they seem to push is cutting back on immigration. Having said that, they have become a more serious party in recent years and if the public really want an alternative to them then I’d rather Ukip represent the constituency than Britain First. Rochester certainly does not need Britain First, and I would be incredibly worried about providing power to an organisation that opposes so many movements and yet still call themselves “democratic”.

I hope that the public are mindful of who they give their vote to and research their chosen party to make sure they agree with all of their policies – rather than voting purely on stopping immigration.