Lighter way to enjoy UKIP fruitcakes

THE FRIDAY THING: I HAVE to admit to a rather guilty pleasure: I have a soft spot for UKIP. No, not as a political party but as a comedy act that at least offers some lighthearted relief from Nick Clegg’s travails.

As part of its charm but probably not likely to improve its election prospects, UKIP members have given advice to women to clean behind the fridge, complained about sending our hard-earned dosh to “bongo-bongo land” and now blames the Government’s plans to allow gay marriages in church as being responsible for all the rain and flooding various parts of the country have experienced over the last few weeks.

You have to at least smile at this - and the thought that members and supporters actually see UKIP as potential Government members.

Tory Michael Fallon gets nearer the mark when he describes some of the UKIP members as “fruitcakes” which I think is a slander on my rich, dark, brandy-soaked Christmas cake and, of course, ignores the apprentice fruitcakes that sit on the Tory and Labour benches.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage learned the hard way that high-profile politicians take their lives in their hands when they go out to meet the long-suffering public.

On his way into a hotel in Kent to meet UKIP supporters, Mr Farage was hit over the head with a placard that did not, shall we say, carry a message of fulsome support.

Despite the blow (to both head and ego) Nigel had some comforting news. A poll in a Sunday newspaper reported that he was more popular than both Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg.