What's the deal with this?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-independence-party-surges-in-elections/2013/05/03/7afddfc2-b406-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.htmlU.K. Independence Party surges in electionsLONDON — The Conservative-led coalition of Prime Minister David Cameron just got served.
The anti-immigration U.K. Independence Party staged a dramatic surge Thursday in local elections in England and Wales, with results on Friday showing voters delivering a brutal whipping to the Conservatives and their junior coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats.
Political pundits said the results represented one of the strongest showings by a nontraditional party in Britain since World War II, with the gains underscoring the rise of populist and nationalist parties across Europe.
At the core of the party’s platform are aspirations to withdraw Britain from the European Union and
impose new curbs on immigration, and the powerful showing sets U.K. Independence up to be an increasingly influential force in British politics. In recent months, its growing support in national polls had already sparked Britain’s three major parties — the Conservatives, Labor and the Liberal Democrats — to float increasingly strict proposals aimed at stemming the tide of foreigners.
“We have been abused by everybody, the entire establishment, and now they are shocked and stunned that we are getting over 25 percent of the vote everywhere we stand across the country,” Farage told the BBC. “This is a real sea change in British politics.”