Internal Report Showed Up Ukip Danger

AN internal report written by Alison Spencer-Scragg, the Regional Political Officer for Unite the Union in the North West of England last October, argued that in last year's by-election in Heywood and Middleton  '(Ukip) managed to poll over 11,000 votes with very little activity on the ground.'  Ms. Spencer-Scragg wrote that:  'Apart from initial leafleting and flying visits from Nigel Farage, actual campaigning on behalf of UKIP activists was minimal.'


This finding suggests that the threat to the Labour Party from John Bickley, the UKIP candidate in Heywood and Middleton, may be significant tomorrow.  Some Labour supporters have even privately admitted to me that they wished that Mr. Bickley was standing for the Labour Party. 


After their close result in the by-election last year Alison Spencer-Scragg wrote:
'The 36-point increase in UKIP support is itself one of the biggest surges ever recorded in a by-election.  Only in six previous contests in Great Britain has a party enjoyed a larger increase in vote share than UKIP managed in Heywood and Middleton.'


It will be interesting to see how Mr. Bickley  and UKIP performs tomorrow in Heywood and Middleton, and whether he can close the gap on the current Labour MP for the constituency, Liz McInnes.  Ms. McInnes is a member of the Unite union.