The Tories have ConHome, Labour has LabourList and even the Lib Dems have an unofficial blog. Now it’s UKIP’s turn. As co-founder, along with Michael Heaver, it gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of The Ukipian, a brand new UKIP-supporting blog that aims both to stimulate debate within UKIP, and to communicate the views of our members to a wider audience.

This Thursday, UKIP looks set to achieve its best ever result in a Westminster election. Yesterday, Channel 4 News’ Michael Crick tweeted that he thought the party could “pull off a surprise victory in Eastleigh”, and with the polls standing as they are, there’s every chance that he could be right.

In the last 12 months, we’ve witnessed the Party rise to the very forefront of the British political scene and in turn UKIP has gained a significant increase in press coverage. This is largely testament to the unwavering dedication of Nigel Farage, Paul Nuttall, and other party officials getting out there and spreading UKIP’s common sense policies on a new and unprecedented scale. 

UKIP will celebrate its twentieth birthday this year and naturally suffers the occasional growing pains felt by all that go through the process of developing into maturity. Criticism of UKIP has often been prejudiced and unfair but occasionally right in highlighting some of the challenges that the party has yet to overcome. As UKIP continues to professionalise and develop into a mature political force, it’s crucial that the voices of its members and activists remain heard. Although the party is young, the vast wealth of experience and wisdom found within its ranks is spread generously throughout its membership. 

As an unofficial collaborative blog run by UKIP members, The Ukipian aims to provide a platform for those within the party who won’t necessarily ever get the opportunity to appear on Question Time or the Andrew Marr Show, but whose views and ideas are as intriguing, valid and relevant as any other within the party. 

UKIP is a party with a broad range of opinions that span the political spectrum. We hope that The Ukipian will become a vital tool in improving the quality of debate within the party, allowing our policies to develop from a wider base of opinion, further increasing our legitimacy as the only party that truly puts the interests of the British people at its heart. 

So whether you support UKIP or not, come and join the discussion at The Ukipian where I can guarantee you will always find UKIP’s original brand of free, frank and honest opinion in an environment that encourages calm, fair and well-reasoned debate. 

Phil Howell is Co-Founder of The Ukipian and tweets @reasonablyright