So, are UKIP offering the British public the first ever blank manifesto?

With just four months to go until the European elections, the announcement by Nigel Farage that he is, seemingly unilaterally, junking the entire policy portfolio of his party is, I admit, intriguing. Describing the 2010 manifesto as "486 pages of drivel... a complete nonsense." does at least have the virtue of honesty, but does rather beg the question, "is UKIP a political party or the Nigel Farage Fan Club?".

In fairness, I don't suppose that it mattered that much in 2010 - they weren't terribly significant in terms of being likely winners anywhere - but, now at least, it does matter somewhat, for UKIP supporters and the rest of us.

If you're a UKIP candidate or activist, you find yourself reduced to glib sound bites when extolling the virtues of your party on the doorstep or in public forums, vulnerable to the "so what are you going to do about that?" question, let alone "how are you going to do that?". Apparently, you have spent three years spouting drivel at potential voters, assuming that you have been actively campaigning at all. It's all a bit embarrassing if you believe in ideas rather than just slogans.

And, if your leader can just junk your policy, demand the suspension of members and generally dominate party affairs like he does, what are you for? What influence do you actually have? It all rather assumes that you "agree with Nigel", rather than with UKIP. That's all very well if your leader is seen as relatively charismatic, consistent and resonates with a significant chunk of public opinion (or at least, a significant chunk of those going to vote). It allows you to gain votes from those who want to send a message, rather than those who want to see specific things happening, but it doesn't give you a basis on what you'll do, if elected, when confronted by political choices.

That's bad news for our democracy, bad news for voters, and, in the long term, not great for UKIP either, who need to decide at some point what they believe in other than wanting their country back. Because, as Liberal Democrats will tell you, there's no point in being a protest party forever...