The UKIP 'earthquake'

So the UKIP are having a reasonable night in the British local elections (in that they are doing better than the Greens, though not actually winning any councils outright, inspite of having been trying for 21 years).

Nigel Farage inevitably described this as an 'earthquake.'

Really, Nigel?

Earthquakes are dreadful. They kill people, destroy property, businesses and disrupt lives. I wouldn't go about associating my party with them.

Elsewhere, he's claiming, "The Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen house," which suggests he's either drunk or doesn't know the difference between local and general elections.

It might also be worth noting that the UKIP success is generally in areas that haven't experienced high levels of immigration.  London has largely resisted Nigel's advances.

This suggests two, non-mutually exclusive possibilites.  First, that the support of the UKIP is the result of fear and paranoia, rather than actual experience; and that people voting for the UKIP are largely Tories who have jumped ship.

Whether they stay jumped is, of course, a matter upon which much depends.