SO farewell 2014, a year of disgruntlement, disillusionment and disappointment, and hello 2015...or should that be 1955?

 

 

Leaving aside the heavily examined elephant in the room - the independence referendum - for the moment at least, the past year of UK politics has in many ways been dominated by a singular force; pint in hand, fag in mouth, the croaky message of Ukip.

The sentiment of sticking two fingers up to creaky old Westminster, of suggesting life would be jolly easier if we ditched difficult, nuanced, politically correct, liberal Britain and all went back to those warm, reassuring and more straightforward black and white days of 1955, obviously has an appeal for some disgruntled, disillusioned and disappointed people.

The rise of Nigel Farage and his merry band of anti-EU idiosyncracies has had a major impact on the Establishment.

First, it was David Cameron, who, helped on by his own party's rightwingers ramped up the anti-Brussels rhetoric to such an extent that, having said the UK would have "one last go" at renegotiating with the eurocrats, it was pretty clear where that would leave Britain if the PM could not get all the other 27 EU members to agree to his demands.

In tandem, having failed miserably to honour his "no ifs, no buts" pledge to get the immigration numbers down to below 100,000, the Tory leader nonetheless furrowed his brow and insisted he would crack down on benefit tourism.

Then, not to be outdone, Ed Miliband suddenly woke up to the doorstep concerns and, after saying sorry for getting it wrong in the past, insisted a future Labour government would also introduce a new, stricter regime on foreign workers and their access to welfare.

The Ukip mantra was having a mesmerising impact on the two main UK parties but also on some of the noble British electorate, who, despite certain Ukippers causing embarrassment, hastily rewriting policy and sparking a flurry of negative headlines, still in numbers went out to vote for them.

As political gravity was challenged in England, it was defied in Scotland when defeat for the SNP on independence felt remarkably like victory.

So much so that as we look to the season ahead, the Scottish Effect looms large.

The draft Bill on more powers for Holyrood is due to drop on Westminster's doormat by Burns Night while English Votes for English Laws, the answer to the unanswerable West Lothian Question, will play an increasingly large part in the election campaign.

Indeed, the politics of Scotland could well determine the governance of the UK after May.

The inexorable rise of the SNP has titled the political axis north of the border significantly. As the other parties scramble to wrap themselves in the Saltire, Nationalist fortunes continue to improve with the party, thanks to a surge in post-referendum membership, now dominating the thoughts of voters south of the border like never before.

It might even be that a hung parliament heralds in a Lab-SNP Coalition with Alex Salmond as Deputy Prime Minister. Fancy that.

Who, one would have to ask, would become the messenger of grudge and grievance then - the croaky-voiced, wax-jacketed Englishman in the Dog and Duck?