UKIP founder: party lacks "intellectual content"

In an interview with the Chatshow Network on 1 July, the founder of UKIP, Dr Alan Sked, turned on his former colleagues.

In the interview, Dr Sked states that:

• "Elements of the leadership and membership are infected by xenophobia and racism";
  
• UKIP's success in the European Parliament elections was due to the media being "manipulated by Dick Morris and Max Clifford";
  
• the three UKIP MEPs from 1999 to 2004 (Nigel Farage, Graham Booth and Jeffrey Titford, all of whom were re-elected in June) "had done nothing, were never heard of";
  
• UKIP has been "driven by internal disputes over the past five years";
  
• UKIP's policy and campaigning has "no intellectual content".

Dr Sked led the party until 1999 and left UKIP shortly afterwards due to concerns about extremism in the organisation.

Source: http://www.chatshow.net/interviews/interview.aspx?interviewID=63