The UK Independence Party (UKIP) has made stunning gains in the local elections, winning at least 42 seats so far.
In the biggest surge by a fourth party in England since World War Two UKIP, headed by Nigel Farage, is averaging 26 per cent of the vote in the wards where it is standing.
UKIP won 16 seats in Lincolnshire, 10 in Hampshire, nine in Essex, three in Gloucestershire, three in Somerset and one in Dorset. It is the first time the party has made gains in these areas.
But what is the UK Independence Party and what does it stand for? The basics
UKIP describes itself as a "libertarian, non-racist party seeking Britain's withdrawal from the European Union".
Formed in 1993 to campaign for the UK's withdrawal from the EU, the party also calls for an end to "the age of mass, uncontrolled immigration". In its 2013 local elections manifesto it claims "open door immigration is crippling local services in the UK".
It also says: "Today, local communities are under attack. The Government is taking money away from local councils, but continuing to give more and more away to the EU, and foreign aid".
UKIP's manifesto centres on immigration, foreign aid and the EU. These are, as James Ball of the Guardian points out, "three issues no local council can do anything about".
UKIP also opposes the move to legislate for same-sex marriage. Membership
UKIP achieved the highest number of monthly membership applications in the first three weeks of last month. There were 2,000 applications, taking the overall membership to more than 25,000.
The party has some 20,000 Twitter followers and more than 30,000 'Likes' on Facebook. Voting
UKIP's early days were overshadowed by the much higher profile and well-financed Referendum Party, led by Sir James Goldsmith, which was wound up soon after the 1997 election.
UKIP made gains at successive European elections, winning its first three seats in 1999 with seven per cent of the vote.
In 2004 the party built on its earlier success, winning 12 seats and pushing the Lib Dems into fourth place. In 2009 it took 16.5 per cent of the national total, claimed 2.5m votes, forced Labour into third place and won 13 seats.
UKIP won a 3.2 per cent share of the vote in the 2010 General Election, up from 2.3 per cent in the 2005 General Election.
Professor of politics at Strathclyde University John Curtice says around 16 per cent of Tory supporters at the last election say they would now vote UKIP. This compares with eight per cent for the Liberal Democrats and four per cent for Labour.
Support for UKIP, currently an average of around 12 per cent, started to rise after George Osborne's so called "omnishambles" budget of last year, according to Curtice in a paper on the local elections for the Political Studies Association.
It appears UKIP's wider policies have struck a chord with disenchanted voters from the "big three" parties. UKIP priorities Priority 1: Leave the EU
UKIP wants the UK to withdraw from the EU "not because we hate Europe, or foreigners, or anyone at all; but because it is undemocratic, expensive, bossy – and we still haven't been asked whether we want to be in it".
The party says: "We believe in the right of the people of the UK to govern ourselves, rather than be governed by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels (and, increasingly, in London and even your local town hall)". Priority 2: Curb immigration
UKIP calls for "an end to the age of mass, uncontrolled immigration".
The party says it would introduce a five year freeze on immigration for permanent settlement "(with some exceptions) until we regain control of our borders, put in effective immigration controls, and deal with the issue of illegal immigrants".
UKIP says immigrants would not be able to apply for public housing or benefits until they had paid tax for five years, and to "any future immigration for permanent settlement must be on a strictly limited and controlled basis where that can clearly be shown to benefit the British people as a whole and our economy".
Overstaying a visa would become a criminal offence and there would be no general amnesty for illegal migrants, the party adds.
Daniel Trilling of the New Statesman says UKIP's "core positions on immigration and on cultural diversity appeal as far as they can, within the boundaries of acceptable language, to racism.
"For instance, the 'threat' of immigration from Romania and Bulgaria is inflated to ludicrous levels, implying that millions of citizens of these two countries are poised to descend on the UK; Islam has been portrayed as extremely antagonistic to British life, as in 2009, when Ukip's then leader, Lord Pearson, invited the Islamophobic Dutch politician Geert Wilders to parliament". Priority 3: Foreign Aid
In its latest manifesto UKIP claims: "While our membership of the EU costs £53m a day – and another £23m a day goes out in foreign aid – jobs, services and benefits are being cut here.
"UKIP believes that we should save that money to help rebuild our debt-ridden economy".
But the Guardian's James Ball points out while the figure for foreign aid is correct, based on an aid budget of around £8bn a year, "the EU figure is questionable: it's based on the UK's gross contribution to the EU budget, of around £19bn – but the UK gets plenty of money back: in regeneration projects, farming subsidies, the rebate, and more".
The Guardian Datablog recorded the UK net contribution to the EU in 2011-12 as £6.97bn, or £19m a day - less than half the UKIP value. UKIP controversy
As local elections have drawn near we've seen a number of revelations about UKIP's candidates.
Anna-Marie Crampton, a candidate in East Sussex, was last month suspended after reportedly posting antisemitic comments on a conspiracy theory website.
And Alex Wood, a Somerset candidate, was suspended after a photo of him apparently making a Nazi-style salute appeared on his Facebook page.
Meanwhile John Sullivan, the party's candidate for the Newent division of Gloucestershire County Council, was last month accused of making anti-gay comments on Facebook.
He is alleged to have referred to the Victorian belief physical exercise "released tension and thus avoided homosexuality".
And in December 2012 a candidate running for election in Kent was shunned by the party after suggesting the abortion of foetuses with Down's syndrome or Spina Bifida should be compulsory.
Meanwhile UKIP leader Nigel Farage last month admitted some of the party's local election candidates could be BNP members or have criminal records.
Farage said candidates that he would "rather not have had" could be standing in the elections because UKIP lacked the means to fully vet them. 'A force to be reckoned with'
Many have acknowledged UKIP is no longer just a marginal party. They have emerged from the fringes to become a force in the British political landscape, tapping into the disenchantment with Britain's three main political parties.
Many warn UKIP cannot be dismissed as 'clowns' or 'closet racists'.
What's more, today's results "show UKIP could split the centre-right vote at the next national election, making it harder for Cameron to defeat Labour", says Reuters.
Martin Kettle of the Guardian notes: "If the cards fall UKIP's way over the next two years – and they well may – the party will significantly shape both the 2015 election and the politics of Britain and Europe in the generation to come".
