Reworking the Eurosceptic and Conservative Traditions into a Populist Narrative: UKIP’s Winning Formula?

Abstract:This article brings the interpretive approach to the study of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), with the aim of exploring the different traditions informing UKIP's thinking and the way it has responded to various dilemmas since the party was founded 20 years ago. Three traditions interact in UKIP's thinking: the Eurosceptic tradition, the conservative tradition and the populist tradition.

This article examines how the party is positioned in relation to each of these traditions and how they have been incorporated and modified into a distinctive narrative and as responses to dilemmas. It appears that UKIP's populist form of Euroscepticism stands in contrast to the elite-based form of Euroscepticism embodied by the Conservative Party – to which UKIP is considered as a threat. The article also addresses the implications of the rise of UKIP for the Conservative Party.