I'm British and I support both Ron Paul and UKIP, I follow both daily and have done for a number of years so i'll break it down;
There's no doubt that UKIP and Nigel Farage are certainly not as 'pure' as Ron Paul is, although they are pretty close. UKIP is a coalition afterall between conservatives and libertarians, with a small group of left wingers who often side with the conservative right within the party. Issues like that can be seen in the burkha ban and immigration. On the other hand, there's the libertarian faction which i've noticed is growing rapidly within the party. It consists mainly of younger people who often haven't been all that involved in the mainstream parties before.
Overall the party is libertarian with conservative elements, for example;
- The burka ban although unclear, was basically an intention to allow private property owners to have that power (a de facto repeal of Equality legislation).
- Although wanting a complete ban on immigration for 5 years, the party would allow work visas and then implement a tougher system.
- A system of local and national referendums would be introduced for issues such as gay marriage, abortion etc.
- Allowing home schooling, bringing back the grammar schools (although public funded, would be much more deregulated than comprehensives)
- Reform of the tax code to simplify taxation.
- Overall reductions in taxation across the board.
The more left wing aspects of the party include;
- The continuation of the national healthcare service.
Source - myself, have closely followed the party.
I think Farage is much more bold in his personal opinions (see IEA interview) but he is the head of a political party, not a movement.
