Farage Beats Clegg in Second Debate on U.K.—E.U. Relationship

Last
night Nick Clegg, British deputy prime minister and leader of the
Liberal Democrats, and Nigel Farage, the leader of the United
Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) faced each other in the second
and final scheduled debate on the U.K.’s membership in the European
Union (E.U.).

According to polling,
Farage was the clear winner of last night’s debate. Farage managed
to present a case for British withdrawal from the E.U. by saying
(among other things) that immigration helps the rich but hurts
British natives and that the U.K. would be capable of making trade
agreements with countries if it were not in the E.U. Farage also
cast the status quo as unfair, emphasizing the undemocratic nature
of the E.U. and the fact that the British people have not been
offered a referendum on the U.K.’s relationship with Europe since
1975, when the British people voted to joined what was then called
the European Economic Community. 

Clegg, who was more forceful than he was in the first debate,
made sure to highlight Farage’s
controversial comments on Russian President Vladimir Putin and
one piece of bizarre UKIP literature featuring a native American
which features the words: “He used to ignore immigration…now he
lives on a reservation.”

Clegg may be wondering why he agreed to these debates in the
first place. Farage is the head of a party which has no seats in
the House of Commons, has no hope of securing a majority in the
next general election, and cannot force a British referendum on
E.U. membership.

Farage will be particularly pleased by YouGov’s
polling on the most recent debate:

It is clear that Farage gained ground most among the very people
LEAST likely to support his party or his cause:

• The proportion of Labour supporters saying Farage performed
  better rose from 42% after the first debate to 57% after the
  second

• Among Liberal Democrats, Farage’s figures are: first debate 20%,
  second debate 33%

• Among people who told us ahead of the debate that they supported
  British membership of the EU, his figures are: first debate 30%,
  second debate 45%

Some members of the Conservative Party, which contains some
Euroskeptics, are worried that UKIP could take away votes in the
next general election. However, Prime Minister David Cameron, the
leader of the Conservative Party, could end UKIP tomorrow. All he
would have to do is work to secure a referendum on E.U. membership
to be held before the end of the current parliament.

Watch last night’s debate below:

Martin Durkin, a self described “wicked, middle-aged
libertarian,” spent six months with Farage and had the experience
filmed. Watch below: