(Nearly) all right on the night

So, the people have spoken and - for some reason better known to themselves - have put substantial faith in UKIP. The party recorded significant gains in Thursday's county council elections, despite what they claimed was a dirty tricks campaign instigated by the Tories, seeking to smear their candidates - one of whom party leader Nigel Farage defended as "imitating a pot plant" rather than making a Nazi salute. (Incidentally, the Tories lost my seat, Abingdon East, but to the Lib Dems rather than UKIP.)

While there's a measure of satisfaction in seeing the Tories - who had belittled and mocked UKIP - with egg on their faces, it's worrying that there's now talk of them taking Farage and co seriously, and trying to poach some of their policies, which would mean a lurch rightwards.

Another party on the right who could learn some lessons from UKIP's example are the BNP, who failed to win a single council seat. Remarkably, their response to this latest dismal failure doesn't seem to have been to assess where they're getting it wrong but instead to urge sympathisers to breed...

(Thanks to Graham for the first link.)