The sleeping disconnected just woke up, and their concerns have still not been addressed

The sleeping disconnected just woke up. Again.

If you believe the BBC, UKIP are on a whirlwind of success. If the measure of success is to appeal to fear and disconnection without offering any solutions to the problems faced by the UK then the BBC is spot on.

I should say though that pound for pound the free around the clock election broadcast facilitated by the national media should have meant ‘call me Nige’ Farage should have done even better. The obsession with UKIP as something new and sexy (I know, not a good image) in British politics has got some heads spinning.

This isn’t new and the issues being picked up on now are the same issues the BNP found fertile ground in not that long ago.

When the BNP blasted on to the political scene ‘mainstream’ politicians rightly pointed out the extremism, obsessiveness and paranoia of the BNP leadership and its members. There were encouraging words about the need to address the underlying tensions in communities, which fed the BNP message.

The lack of decent jobs, decent housing and opportunity meant a huge number of those previously assumed to be Labour voters (when some hadn’t voted at all before) found someone else had identified the root of the problem, and guess what? it mirrored entirely their own view of the world.

So, let’s fast forward. The BNP are a shadow of their former selves and we can all celebrate that. But have the underlying issues all mainstream parties acknowledged been addressed?

For many the fight for a decent job which pays the bills is not within their grasp. While the government claim credit for a fall in unemployment, my own area of Oldham highlights a very worrying reality.

First, that around a third of people no longer claiming JSA (Job Seekers Allowances) are not in work at all, but instead just shifted to claim Universal Credit instead.

Of those which remain the evidence says that many are in low paid, low skilled employment with little security. Nationally the number of zero hour contracts has risen to over 1.4m and in Oldham the weekly wage has now fallen to £417 a week, down from £437 a week, at the same time as the cost of living goes up, and up, and up. The average working week in the UK is now just 32 hours with full time employment reducing and over £1.2m work fewer hours than they would want to.

In Greater Manchester 22% of workers earn less than the Living Wage, meaning they rely on top up benefits to just cover the bills.

In low skilled and temporary work British workers do see pressure from European workers. The race to the bottom for cheap and easily accessible labour is driving down employment security and wages in some companies. This is not a throw away statement but an economic fact; more people chasing less secure employment.

That is a failure. Local people (both white and Asian) on the doorstep and in the factories of my town blame the economic migrants from Europe.

Does this make uncomfortable reading? It should but not because it is taboo, but because we know if we fail to address the underlying issues affecting people then those fears will be played on by someone with ulterior motives.

It is wrong that the blame goes to those working hard to make a better life for themselves. Having a positive immigration and free movement of labour policy is not a failure and we should be careful not to verge to the extreme opposite.

The failure is one of government policy and investment in public services. If jobs were plentiful, decent housing available to those in need, and if everyone was united by a sense of optimism and hope there would be no need to blame anyone. If we funded that by a fair taxation system where everyone paid their bit into the system the burden wouldn’t fall on those at the bottom end of the pay scale.

The government has set poor people against poor people in its attack on ‘benefit Britain’. UKIP has set those trying to make ends meet against those coming to make a better life for themselves.

If government isn’t willing to do what’s needed to make that happen then you have to accept that those affected will support a party they believe speaks for them. The fact that UKIP actually don’t speak for them, don’t have any positive or progressive policies and have gained a party membership base from those ‘on the edge of politics’ is a side issue.

People believe what they see and feel. If a politician’s rhetoric mirrors that then there is agreement. If it argues against what people see and feel then it simply alienates. To win their votes we must first win their hearts by offering hope, backed up by practical policies to address work, pay and conditions, housing and opportunity.

I must admit feeling the same frustration at the national media. Our local paper had UKIP on the front page for winning two seats. Shame they didn’t include that Labour maintained a healthy 45% of the popular vote, won all but one of our existing seats and in fact increased our representation by three seats, creating the largest Labour Group in Oldham since the borough was formed in 1974 – but that’s the media we have for next 12 months. We all better get used to it

Jim McMahon is the Leader of Oldham Council. He is standing to be the national LGA Labour Group Leader