Ukip’s treasurer will be beaming this morning, thanks to Paul Sykes. The Yorkshire millionaire — whose wealth is estimated to be over £600 million — has, according to Philip Johnson in today’s Telegraph, promised to ‘do whatever it takes’ to ensure that the party tops the polls at the 2014 European elections.
The Tories won’t be thrilled at the news; but Sykes is not a new problem, more of a recurring headache. He supported the Tories for many years; but left the party following the Maastrict Treaty, and campaigned instead for James Goldsmith. He rejoined the Tories in 2001 under William Hague before being expelled. Sykes donated £1.5 million to Ukip in 2004, and looks set to make another substantial contribution. He believes that Ukip are now the ‘only game in town’ to ensure that Britain leaves the European Union.
Sykes popped up on Radio 4’s Today programme to explain himself. He refused to say how much money he was giving Ukip, nor admit that he was aiding Ed Miliband’s path to Downing Street by splitting the right:
‘Party politics is up to them. What I’m involved in is making the British people aware of where this game is between Britain and the EU, and for them to have a say. And which party decides on giving referendums is up to them. I’ve decided there’s only one game in town, and that’s Ukip. That’s declared quite clearly if we vote for them in the next European elections, we should stand a good chance of negotiating ourselves out of the EU.’
Hang on, what about the Conservative Party? You know, the only party (with a realistic chance of making it happen) that offers a referendum? Well, Sykes is not happy with Cameron:
‘He’s going to lead this negotiation, and all the time the people he’s going to negotiate with know he wants to stay in…What we’ve got today is no party, apart from Ukip, committed to a referendum’
And, like Adam Afriyie, Sykes also wants a referendum sooner rather than later:
‘So I think it’s time to step up, to bring a referendum forward to 2015. Why hang about till 2017 for the comfort of the political parties? We need to get this thing settled.’
Farage will be delighted because Sykes is just the kind of disillusioned Tory he’s trying to attract. The money will go far in a small party with a poor infrastructure. But how much difference will his money make to the polls? Most political observers expect Ukip to come first in next year’s European elections anyway.
By aiding an anti-Tory sentiment, Sykes will simply increase the likelihood of the Europhile Labour Party gaining power. The Tories need to convince those flirting with voting Ukip that a vote for Farage is a vote to stay in Europe.
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