UKIP’s rise could spark unplanned but welcome constitutionalreform

UKIP’s rise has caught the establishment by surprise, with the main parties doing all they can to prevent the further rise of the right-wing populist party. However their success is likely to be limited by the difficulty that new parties have in breaking into a House of Commons distinguished by its continuing use of First Past the Post and a House of Lords which doesn’t hold elections at all. Stephen Barber argues that UKIP’s rise could spark unplanned constitutional reform to correct these undemocratic anomalies.