He is only 22-years old but Robin Hunter-Clarke is on his way to become the next MP for Boston & Skegness on a Ukip ticket.
“Am I too young to stand for Parliament? I don’t think so. I have been doing politics now for nearly 4 years, and I know the issues. Everybody is saying all the time how we need more young people in politics. Well, here I am!”
Robin is confident and bullish about his prospects in the coming general election. He is certain that he is as good a politician as anyone. On the outside, he already looks the part. Dressed in a smart suit and often checking his iPhone, he walks straight into Houses of Parliament without anyone raising an eyebrow.
A poll from September last year put Ukip on 46% in Boston & Skegness, twenty points ahead of the Conservatives. Despite the comfortable lead, Robin says there will be no lazy cruise to victory, and he promises to campaign day and night until polling day. If Ukip wins, he will be the youngest MP in 30 years.
First elected as a local councillor for the Conservatives at the age of 18, Robin soon realised politics was the thing for him and that he might not be a Tory after all. 18 months into his term, he defected to UKIP in September 2012. Describing his reasons to switch side he claims the Conservatives are no longer stands up for their voters.
“I realised that the Conservative Party had betrayed the British people, and everybody that had voted for them. It was impossible for me to support them any longer.”
Robin is eager to talk about immigration, a proven vote winner for Ukip. It is a “big issue” both nationally and for his constituency. He said:
“Immigration has had a huge impact in my area, especially in Boston. We want a system where we can have full control of the number of people we let in every year.”
Another important point on Robin’s programme is to secure better funding of non-central areas such as Boston & Skegness. Currently the area is massively underfunded.
“In the summer, the population of Skegness more than doubles, but we only get funding based on the number of people on the electoral roll. I will fight for a better deal for us.”
Of course, we could not avoiding discussing the European Union (EU). Robin believes David Cameron has been bluffing about a referendum before and have little faith in the Conservatives staging a referendum if they are re-elected. He said:
“I would like Britain to negotiate a new deal with the EU, but Angela Merkel and the commission of state leaders have said that they are not willing, so staying in is a lost cause.
“Cameron has made empty promises about holding a referendum on the EU before and he simply can’t be trusted to deliver. The British people don’t want a referendum in 2017. They want it now! “