Clegg Accuses Farage Of 'Siding With Putin'

Farage v Clegg: Debate Goes On In Kent Village

Updated: 12:56pm UK, Thursday 27 March 2014

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

St Margaret-at-Cliffe is the closest English village to mainland Europe. From its beach the continental coastline sweeps into view and mobile phones welcome you to France.

The stretch of water that divides this community from the mainland is just 21 miles (33km) long, but it represents a deepening political divide.

Recent polling from Ipsos MORI found that over one quarter of Britons want out of the EU.

Four out of 10 want to stay in the long run - but only if powers are reduced.

And 18% are happy with the status quo while the rest want to strengthen the relationship with Europe In this coastal community the tangled relationship that Britain has with the EU is tangible; and the views just as divided.

Sky News brought together four residents to see how they reacted to the debate.

Pro-Europeans Phil Lowry, a 37-year-old beer consultant, and PhD student Eske Van Gils began the night agreeing strongly with Nick Clegg.

Peter Haslam, 82, a retired policeman who has lived in the village for eight years, backed Nigel Farage.

He said the UKIP leader spoke to people's real concerns about immigration.

Anthoni Zubik - a gardener from Poland who moved to Britain nine years ago - was the least sure.

He said he wanted the UK to stay in a reformed EU, admitting that Brussels bureaucracy is out of control.

Eske was the most animated during the debate, flinging her hands in the air as Mr Farage made his arguments.

"Turkey isn't in the EU," she spat out at one point. The UKIP leader was wrong, wrong, wrong, she said.

Peter, meanwhile, nodded in agreement with Mr Farage.

It was Mr Clegg's "statistics" that lost him, he said, and failed to address the concerns he and others had about the number of unskilled migrants turning up in this coastal community.

At the end - as the start - he disagreed with Mr Clegg.

Phil described himself as a "European mongrel" with an Italian mum, Swiss gran and Dutch partner.

He said it was quicker to drive to Cologne in Germany than Sheffield in northern England. Europe was in his blood.

Mr Farage was an impressive debater, he admitted, but he disagreed with all the UKIP arguments.

"It's worrisome," he said, that the politician's persuasive style might convince others.

As for Anthoni - he shook his head at one point and said: "They both lose."

His biggest fear was a referendum on the issue of European Union membership.

People needed educating for that, he said. But the debate tonight had failed to inform him.

At the White Cliffs Hotel those who arrived agreeing with Mr Clegg, left even more convinced.

And those who were fans of Mr Farage said their views were unchanged. In St Margaret-at-Cliffe, the debate goes on.

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