Why I've voted Conservative today and so should you.

I'm guessing that won't come as a surprise to anyone given what you all know about me! But there's a story.

If you'd have asked me a while back about the European Parliament elections, I'd have whispered (in a strictly deniable way, of course) that like a lot of Conservatives there was a pretty high chance of me voting for Ukip. Simply because we wanted to make the point that the EU - and especially its purposeless and expensive 'parliament' - isn't in Britain's interests.

However, in the course of the campaign I've come to realise a few things - and these are the reasons why you should vote Conservative today.

1. Whatever we think of the parliament and its purpose, there's a job to do in Brussels (and peripatetically Strasbourg). There are constituents to represent, cases to argue that affect real people and their real lives. I saw this first hand with the attempt by a Labour MEP to ram through a de facto ban on e-cigs. And it was Conservative (and some Lib Dem) MEPs that took up the vapers' cause with some success.

2. The case for leaving isn't about Bulgarian chicken slaughterers or Romanian cleaners. Nor is it about border controls, Muslims or the shape of bananas. We need to leave because the revolutionary idea of European co-operation has evaporated and, as Kafka said, "left behind the slime of a new bureaucracy". However, people who support our continued membership are not traitors corruptly taking the Commission's silver to prosecute their personal interests - they're just folk with a different (and I think wrong) view on the European Union

3. It is a fact that, if you want out, the only game in town is to vote Conservative. No other party with a prospect of government proposes an 'In/Out' referendum. I know the Greens and Ukip offer such a choice but the truth is that neither party - and Nigel Farage acknowledges this - will be in government this side of hell freezing over.

I know lots of you want to have a kick at the government, to make the point about power to people in Westminster. And I guess if you do so not much harm will have been done. However you will have elected people who want the Europe debate to be about how "Britain is full up", who want to make people coming here for work unwelcome and who will make cheap capital (and as we found with Geoffrey Bloom, cheap laughs) from attacking gay rights and women working.

So I urge you to make two positive crosses  - a vote for Conservatives in the European Parliament and a vote for a Conservative to represent you on Bradford Council.

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UKIP. Prejudiced? Yes. Illiberal? Certainly. Racist? No. Should you vote for them? Absolutely not.

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UKIP launched some posters. As cynical political campaigning goes they are premier league. Indeed, they have achieved exactly what UKIP wanted - best captured by Dan Hodges, top grumpy, lefty cynic:

It would be wrong to call Ukip’s brand of racism subliminal. There’s nothing subliminal about giant billboards claiming 26 million “Europeans” are about to arrive on our shores in the hope of stealing the jobs of every honest, hard-working Brit.

Now I'm pretty sure there's a fair smattering of racists supporting UKIP. But then I met a couple of ex-BNP Labour supporters recently. They were pretty racist.

The reality here is that, just as has always been the case with effective political communications, there is no room for nuance or subtlety. We 'say it like it is' meaning that we strip out any qualification, remove any caveats and say that there are 26 million unemployed Europeans and they could come and get your job.

This is rubbish, has no evidence to support it, is prejudiced and reveals again that (like all our political parties these days) UKIP see illiberalism as the way to get votes. The posters are only 'racist' if you believe that wanting to reduce levels of immigration is 'racist'. I simply don't accept that argument and Hodges' secondary argument that we'd think it was racist is the posters said Asian or African is equally daft - the posters are for an election to the European Parliament so focusing on things that are, in part, a consequence of EU membership seems reasonable (even when what is said is utter twaddle).

UKIP is a prejudiced party - making sweeping judgement and generalisation about EU residents coming to work in the UK. I think they're wrong but I don't think their policy is racist.

UKIP is an illiberal party - for all the tabloid libertarianism of Farage's rhetoric, UKIP's immigration policy, response to same sex marriage and economic policies are deeply illiberal. But they are not racist.

I detest the EU. It is anti-democratic, controlling, interfering, unaccountable, lying and unjust. I will vote to leave with enthusiasm when I get the chance to do so. And I will argue the case against from an absolute belief in free trade, free speech and free enterprise. So I won't tack along with UKIP's prejudiced illiberalism. Indeed, if we want that referendum, that chance to leave, then the very last thing we should do is vote UKIP.

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