When Nigel Farage voiced his ambition to build the UK Independence Party into a credible political force this week through annexing town halls he was unabashed about admitting he was hoping to ape the Liberal Democrats.

The UKIP leader would do well to look at Watford and Three Rivers as a blueprint for a small party hoping to rise from nowhere to oust established parties and turn councils into a political fortress.

Three decades ago, Watford and Three Rivers were controlled by Labour and Conservative administrations respectively.

Both are now in the grip of substantial Liberal Democrat majorities.

The party’s rise to power in Three Rivers was most pronounced in the 1980s, where the Conservative group’s control was steadily eroded until, in 1986, the Lib Dems became the largest party – albeit with no overall majority.

That came briefly from 1987 to 1990 then again in 1999 and has been held ever since.

Today the party holds 28 council seats to the Conservatives’ 14 and Labour’s six.

Watford is another success story for the Liberal Democrat town hall invasion strategy.

In 1991, there were three Lib Dems on a Labour-controlled council. Today the party holds 24 of the 36 seats – and has held the powerful elected mayoralty since 2002.

Three Rivers’ Liberal Democrat top brass are not particularly secretive or modest about how they have achieved these successes.

In fact, group leader Councillor Ann Shaw helped produce a how-to guide for other Lib Dem groups hoping to affect similar take-overs in other areas. I am sure such a document would make fascinating reading for Mr Farage and his strategists.

According to Councillor Shaw’s manual, the key is communication; with council officers, with the press, and with the electorate.

This is something Mr Farage may want to spend considerable time reflecting on, after UKIP’s identikit campaign literature and mixed messages from candidates did little to impress south west Herts voters in May.

Another factor, according to the document, is the Liberal Democrats’ reluctance to disagree openly in meetings.

This is apparently not done through group whips but by debating issues thoroughly at group meetings so disagreements don’t spill out into the public domain.

In May, the electorate in south west Hertfordshire had its first chance to vote for a substantial number of UKIP candidates.

And although the debutant party garnered a respectable share of the vote, it could not win a single seat.

Its campaign was the opposite of the Lib Dems’ strategy, being devoid of a serious local substance, confused and ill-organised.

On the current evidence, Mr Farage has a long way to go to turn his motley political militia into a disciplined fighting force that has a hope of capturing our town halls.

However, it is interesting to note the Lib Dems have not been able to translate their local election success into victory at General Elections.

In Watford last time out, the party came just 1,425 votes behind Tory Richard Harrington.

Yet in the South West Hertfordshire constituency, which covers most of Three Rivers, the Lib Dems are still nowhere near threatening David Gauke, who enjoys an overwhelming 54 per cent majority.

If UKIP is planning to emulate the Lib Dem strategy, it may not be the route to the Parliamentary success the party ultimately craves.

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