UKIP's Nigel Farage defends poster campaign
Nigel Farage said the posters would "ruffle a few feathers among the chattering classes"
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has defended a poster campaign about immigration as "a hard-hitting reflection of reality" after it was condemned as "racist".
The posters - featuring messages including a warning that UK workers are "hit hard by foreign labour" - come ahead of 22 May European elections.
Mr Farage will launch UKIP's campaign for the elections later in Sheffield.
Labour MP Mike Gapes tweetedthat he hoped the "racist posters" would encourage "decent" people to vote.
"Hope UKIP racist posters encourage all decent British Commonwealth and EU citizens to ensure on register by May 6 and vote on May 22," he said.
Fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy wrote on Twitter: "Just at time when jobs market for Brits requires more networking & collaboration they want us to walk away as though we can compete."
And Tory peer Lord Deben, after retweeting comments featuring pictures of the posters, wrote: "UKIP stands for the worst in human beings: our prejudice, selfishness, and fear."
Celebrity lifestyle
The poster campaign, which will be backed up by newspaper and online adverts, is the party's biggest publicity drive to date.
Former Tory donor Paul Sykes is funding the £1.5m anti-EU campaign.
The poster campaign is the party's biggest publicity drive to date
The posters have been released as Nigel Farage prepares to launch UKIP's election campaign
One of the posters asks "who runs this country", adding: "75% of our laws are now made in Brussels."
Another includes a picture of a labourer begging for money accompanied by the text "EU policy at work - British workers are hit hard by unlimited cheap labour".
UK taxpayers fund the "celebrity lifestyle" of Eurocrats, warns another.
And another poster has the text: "26 million people in Europe are looking for work - and whose job are they after?"
Ruffle feathers
Mr Farage said the posters were "a hard-hitting reflection of reality as it is experienced by millions of British people struggling to earn a living outside the Westminster bubble".
The anti open-immigration slogans may seem targeted at the traditional right-wing, but Nigel Farage is hoping for a broader reach with this poster campaign.
It's nationwide, but many adverts have been carefully placed in Labour heartlands. UKIP thinks its anti-establishment message can appeal to both ends of the political spectrum.
In this year's Wythenshawe and Sale-East by-election they came second - gaining ground in a traditional Labour stronghold. The party wants to capitalise on this ahead of next month's European and local elections.
Mr Farage is constantly cultivating his own image as a "normal" bloke down the pub, and these posters have been deliberately designed - and placed - to persuade voters his is the party in touch with the common man.
"Are we going to ruffle a few feathers among the chattering classes? Yes," he said.
"Are we bothered about that? Not in the slightest."
Paul Sykes said in a statement that he was "supporting the biggest advertising campaign in UKIP's history to bring home to the British people what is at stake".
"The European elections are the most important for many years," he said.
He added that the other parties were "content to work within the existing Brussels straitjacket".
"An overwhelming victory for UKIP will break the political mould in the UK, forcing Labour and the Lib Dems to back a full-scale referendum and intensifying the popular pressure for that to be staged as early as general election day 2015," he said.
Editorial control
Mr Sykes, making his first major investment since pledging financial support last year to UKIP's election campaign, is paying for the adverts directly instead of handing the cash to UKIP, the BBC has learned.
BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth said this allowed him to retain some editorial and financial control.
Mr Sykes also wanted to make sure his money was used for campaigns he supported was not sucked up in general party administration, our correspondent added.
She said he had helped to design the posters and was clear they should include messages he supported.
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UKIP leader Nigel Farage has defended a poster campaign about immigration as "a hard-hitting reflection of reality" after it was condemned as "racist".
The posters - featuring messages including a warning that UK workers are "hit hard by foreign labour" - come ahead of 22 May European elections.
Mr Farage will launch UKIP's campaign for the elections later in Sheffield.
Labour MP Mike Gapes tweetedthat he hoped the "racist posters" would encourage "decent" people to vote.
"Hope UKIP racist posters encourage all decent British Commonwealth and EU citizens to ensure on register by May 6 and vote on May 22," he said.
Fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy wrote on Twitter: "Just at time when jobs market for Brits requires more networking & collaboration they want us to walk away as though we can compete."
And Tory peer Lord Deben, after retweeting comments featuring pictures of the posters, wrote: "UKIP stands for the worst in human beings: our prejudice, selfishness, and fear."
Celebrity lifestyle
The poster campaign, which will be backed up by newspaper and online adverts, is the party's biggest publicity drive to date.
Former Tory donor Paul Sykes is funding the £1.5m anti-EU campaign.
The poster campaign is the party's biggest publicity drive to date
The posters have been released as Nigel Farage prepares to launch UKIP's election campaign
One of the posters asks "who runs this country", adding: "75% of our laws are now made in Brussels."
Another includes a picture of a labourer begging for money accompanied by the text "EU policy at work - British workers are hit hard by unlimited cheap labour".
UK taxpayers fund the "celebrity lifestyle" of Eurocrats, warns another.
And another poster has the text: "26 million people in Europe are looking for work - and whose job are they after?"
Ruffle feathers
Mr Farage said the posters were "a hard-hitting reflection of reality as it is experienced by millions of British people struggling to earn a living outside the Westminster bubble".
The anti open-immigration slogans may seem targeted at the traditional right-wing, but Nigel Farage is hoping for a broader reach with this poster campaign.
It's nationwide, but many adverts have been carefully placed in Labour heartlands. UKIP thinks its anti-establishment message can appeal to both ends of the political spectrum.
In this year's Wythenshawe and Sale-East by-election they came second - gaining ground in a traditional Labour stronghold. The party wants to capitalise on this ahead of next month's European and local elections.
Mr Farage is constantly cultivating his own image as a "normal" bloke down the pub, and these posters have been deliberately designed - and placed - to persuade voters his is the party in touch with the common man.
"Are we going to ruffle a few feathers among the chattering classes? Yes," he said.
"Are we bothered about that? Not in the slightest."
Paul Sykes said in a statement that he was "supporting the biggest advertising campaign in UKIP's history to bring home to the British people what is at stake".
"The European elections are the most important for many years," he said.
He added that the other parties were "content to work within the existing Brussels straitjacket".
"An overwhelming victory for UKIP will break the political mould in the UK, forcing Labour and the Lib Dems to back a full-scale referendum and intensifying the popular pressure for that to be staged as early as general election day 2015," he said.
Editorial control
Mr Sykes, making his first major investment since pledging financial support last year to UKIP's election campaign, is paying for the adverts directly instead of handing the cash to UKIP, the BBC has learned.
BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth said this allowed him to retain some editorial and financial control.
Mr Sykes also wanted to make sure his money was used for campaigns he supported was not sucked up in general party administration, our correspondent added.
She said he had helped to design the posters and was clear they should include messages he supported.
Follow @LaNUBlog & @Hon_KingSIMEO on Twitter for Updates
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