UKIP leader Nigel Farage has promised there will be a political earthquake if his anti-EU, anti-immigration party win next month's EU elections - and they are the favourites to do so.
Launching UKIP's campaign, he argued his policies on immigration and the EU were "straightforward" and "simple".
He called posters claiming millions of European workers are after UK jobs "a hard-hitting reflection of reality".
The posters - which Britain's left wing, liberal, ruling Establishment, or the "chattering classes" as Farage has called them, have predictably called "racist" - include one showing a labourer begging for money, accompanied by the text "EU policy at work - British workers are hit hard by unlimited cheap labour".
UK taxpayers fund the "celebrity lifestyle" of Eurocrats, warns one poster, while another asks: "26 million people in Europe are looking for work. And whose job are they after?"
The European Parliament elections take place on Thursday, 22 May, with UKIP widely predicted to improve on its performance in 2009 when it finished second in the UK behind the Tories.
UKIP's strong performance in the UK section of the EU elections shows the strong Euroscepticism prevalent amongst the British public.
The party is calling for the UK to leave the EU and for a tightening up of immigration rules, with ultimate powers over this area of policy to be transferred from Brussels to Westminster.
Launching his party's manifesto in Sheffield, Mr Farage said: "We want to have, post-EU, a sensible, open immigration policy that says we welcome people, but we have got to control the quantity and the quality of who comes to Britain.
"And at the moment we have turned our backs on talent from India and New Zealand because of an open door to (EU countries) Romania and Bulgaria. And that doesn't make any sense."
For all the British EU constituencies as a whole, UKIP has a total of 13 MEPs in the European Parliament and will he hoping to increase that number in a month's time.
UKIP's Nigel Farage promises political 'earthquake'
22 April 2014
BBC News
UKIP leader Nigel Farage addressing supporters during the launch of his party's manifesto in Sheffield, Britain's fourth city
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has said there will be "an earthquake" in politics if he triumphs in next month's European elections.
Launching UKIP's campaign, he argued his policies on immigration and the EU were "straightforward" and "simple".
He called posters claiming millions of European workers are after UK jobs "a hard-hitting reflection of reality".
Mr Farage said he employed his German wife as a secretary as "nobody else" could do the job, with its long hours.
The European Parliament elections take place on Thursday, 22 May, with UKIP widely predicted to improve on its performance in 2009.
The party is calling for the UK to leave the EU and for a tightening up of immigration rules, with ultimate powers over this area of policy to be transferred from Brussels to Westminster.
'Get back control'
Launching his party's manifesto in Sheffield, Mr Farage said: "We want to have, post-EU, a sensible, open immigration policy that says we welcome people, but we have got to control the quantity and the quality of who comes to Britain.
"And at the moment we have turned our backs on talent from India and New Zealand because of an open door to Romania and Bulgaria. And that doesn't make any sense."
Nigel Farage said the posters would "ruffle a few feathers among the chattering classes"
The posters have been released as Nigel Farage prepares to launch UKIP's election campaign
He added: "So we are going to fight this campaign with a straightforward, simple manifesto, but a message to the British people which is this: These are the most important European elections that have ever been fought in this country.
"We have got a chance, four-and-a-half weeks from now, of causing such a shock in the British political system that it will be nothing short of an earthquake. If UKIP win these elections, a referendum and an opportunity for us to get back control of our country will be one massive, massive step closer."
The anti open-immigration slogans may seem targeted at the traditional right-wing, but Nigel Farage is hoping for a broader reach with this poster campaign.
It's nationwide, but many adverts have been carefully placed in Labour heartlands. UKIP thinks its anti-establishment message can appeal to both ends of the political spectrum.
UKIP are the strong favourites to win in the UK in next month's EU elections
In this year's Wythenshawe and Sale-East by-election they came second - gaining ground in a traditional Labour stronghold. The party wants to capitalise on this ahead of next month's European and local elections.
Mr Farage is constantly cultivating his own image as a "normal" bloke down the pub, and these posters have been deliberately designed - and placed - to persuade voters his is the party in touch with the common man.
The party's posters include one showing a labourer begging for money, accompanied by the text "EU policy at work - British workers are hit hard by unlimited cheap labour".
UK taxpayers fund the "celebrity lifestyle" of Eurocrats, warns one poster, while another asks: "26 million people in Europe are looking for work. And whose job are they after?"
Mr Farage said the posters were "a hard-hitting reflection of reality as it is experienced by millions of British people struggling to earn a living outside the Westminster bubble".
"Are we going to ruffle a few feathers among the chattering classes? Yes," he said. "Are we bothered about that? Not in the slightest."
Mr Farage was asked by BBC political editor Nick Robinson why he employed his wife Kirsten, who is German, as his secretary, rather than employing a British person. He replied: "I don't think anybody else would want to be in my house at midnight, going through emails and getting me briefed for the next day."
Pressed on whether his wife was an example of a European person taking a British person's job, he replied: "Nobody else could do that job - not unless I married them."
Nick Robinson asks Mr Farage about his German wife's job
Mr Farage said his wife earned a "modest salary for working extremely unsociable hours for me and being available up to seven days a week. It's a very different situation to a mass of hundreds of thousands of people coming in and flooding the lower ends of the labour market in Britain."
A number of critics expressed their dismay with UKIP's campaign on social media, with Conservative peer Lord Deben tweeting: "UKIP stands for the worst in human beings: our prejudice, selfishness, and fear."
Labour's Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said UKIP had "lowered the tone of the European debate" and its stance was "hypocritical" because it had criticised Home Office vans carrying posters urging illegal immigrants to "Go home".
However, former Tory donor Paul Sykes, who is funding UKIP's £1.5m anti-EU campaign, told the Daily Telegraph it was "an essential public awareness campaign" on the effects of Brussels.
Mr Sykes is paying for the adverts directly instead of handing the cash to UKIP, allowing him to retain some editorial and financial control.
BBC News - UKIP's Nigel Farage promises political 'earthquake'
Launching UKIP's campaign, he argued his policies on immigration and the EU were "straightforward" and "simple".
He called posters claiming millions of European workers are after UK jobs "a hard-hitting reflection of reality".
The posters - which Britain's left wing, liberal, ruling Establishment, or the "chattering classes" as Farage has called them, have predictably called "racist" - include one showing a labourer begging for money, accompanied by the text "EU policy at work - British workers are hit hard by unlimited cheap labour".
UK taxpayers fund the "celebrity lifestyle" of Eurocrats, warns one poster, while another asks: "26 million people in Europe are looking for work. And whose job are they after?"
The European Parliament elections take place on Thursday, 22 May, with UKIP widely predicted to improve on its performance in 2009 when it finished second in the UK behind the Tories.
UKIP's strong performance in the UK section of the EU elections shows the strong Euroscepticism prevalent amongst the British public.
The party is calling for the UK to leave the EU and for a tightening up of immigration rules, with ultimate powers over this area of policy to be transferred from Brussels to Westminster.
Launching his party's manifesto in Sheffield, Mr Farage said: "We want to have, post-EU, a sensible, open immigration policy that says we welcome people, but we have got to control the quantity and the quality of who comes to Britain.
"And at the moment we have turned our backs on talent from India and New Zealand because of an open door to (EU countries) Romania and Bulgaria. And that doesn't make any sense."
For all the British EU constituencies as a whole, UKIP has a total of 13 MEPs in the European Parliament and will he hoping to increase that number in a month's time.
UKIP's Nigel Farage promises political 'earthquake'
22 April 2014
BBC News
UKIP leader Nigel Farage addressing supporters during the launch of his party's manifesto in Sheffield, Britain's fourth city
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has said there will be "an earthquake" in politics if he triumphs in next month's European elections.
Launching UKIP's campaign, he argued his policies on immigration and the EU were "straightforward" and "simple".
He called posters claiming millions of European workers are after UK jobs "a hard-hitting reflection of reality".
Mr Farage said he employed his German wife as a secretary as "nobody else" could do the job, with its long hours.
The European Parliament elections take place on Thursday, 22 May, with UKIP widely predicted to improve on its performance in 2009.
The party is calling for the UK to leave the EU and for a tightening up of immigration rules, with ultimate powers over this area of policy to be transferred from Brussels to Westminster.
'Get back control'
Launching his party's manifesto in Sheffield, Mr Farage said: "We want to have, post-EU, a sensible, open immigration policy that says we welcome people, but we have got to control the quantity and the quality of who comes to Britain.
"And at the moment we have turned our backs on talent from India and New Zealand because of an open door to Romania and Bulgaria. And that doesn't make any sense."
Nigel Farage said the posters would "ruffle a few feathers among the chattering classes"
The posters have been released as Nigel Farage prepares to launch UKIP's election campaign
He added: "So we are going to fight this campaign with a straightforward, simple manifesto, but a message to the British people which is this: These are the most important European elections that have ever been fought in this country.
"We have got a chance, four-and-a-half weeks from now, of causing such a shock in the British political system that it will be nothing short of an earthquake. If UKIP win these elections, a referendum and an opportunity for us to get back control of our country will be one massive, massive step closer."
The anti open-immigration slogans may seem targeted at the traditional right-wing, but Nigel Farage is hoping for a broader reach with this poster campaign.
It's nationwide, but many adverts have been carefully placed in Labour heartlands. UKIP thinks its anti-establishment message can appeal to both ends of the political spectrum.
UKIP are the strong favourites to win in the UK in next month's EU elections
In this year's Wythenshawe and Sale-East by-election they came second - gaining ground in a traditional Labour stronghold. The party wants to capitalise on this ahead of next month's European and local elections.
Mr Farage is constantly cultivating his own image as a "normal" bloke down the pub, and these posters have been deliberately designed - and placed - to persuade voters his is the party in touch with the common man.
The party's posters include one showing a labourer begging for money, accompanied by the text "EU policy at work - British workers are hit hard by unlimited cheap labour".
UK taxpayers fund the "celebrity lifestyle" of Eurocrats, warns one poster, while another asks: "26 million people in Europe are looking for work. And whose job are they after?"
Mr Farage said the posters were "a hard-hitting reflection of reality as it is experienced by millions of British people struggling to earn a living outside the Westminster bubble".
"Are we going to ruffle a few feathers among the chattering classes? Yes," he said. "Are we bothered about that? Not in the slightest."
Mr Farage was asked by BBC political editor Nick Robinson why he employed his wife Kirsten, who is German, as his secretary, rather than employing a British person. He replied: "I don't think anybody else would want to be in my house at midnight, going through emails and getting me briefed for the next day."
Pressed on whether his wife was an example of a European person taking a British person's job, he replied: "Nobody else could do that job - not unless I married them."
Nick Robinson asks Mr Farage about his German wife's job
Mr Farage said his wife earned a "modest salary for working extremely unsociable hours for me and being available up to seven days a week. It's a very different situation to a mass of hundreds of thousands of people coming in and flooding the lower ends of the labour market in Britain."
A number of critics expressed their dismay with UKIP's campaign on social media, with Conservative peer Lord Deben tweeting: "UKIP stands for the worst in human beings: our prejudice, selfishness, and fear."
Labour's Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said UKIP had "lowered the tone of the European debate" and its stance was "hypocritical" because it had criticised Home Office vans carrying posters urging illegal immigrants to "Go home".
However, former Tory donor Paul Sykes, who is funding UKIP's £1.5m anti-EU campaign, told the Daily Telegraph it was "an essential public awareness campaign" on the effects of Brussels.
Mr Sykes is paying for the adverts directly instead of handing the cash to UKIP, allowing him to retain some editorial and financial control.
BBC News - UKIP's Nigel Farage promises political 'earthquake'
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