The United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) may seem to be the British party of choice for neo-con Bushites. It is anti-European, therefore automatically anti-French and anti-German, so surely it should be pro-USA – they do not call them freedom fries for nothing. But why should the US shy away from the Robert Kilroy-Silks of this world?

1. Ukip will only isolate the UK from Europe. As America does not have an over-abundance of European friends, if the UK parted company with their continental chums, the US would have even more problems bridging the Atlantic. European sneers at 'le poodle Anglais' probably means you are familiar with this concept.

2. Undermining one of the main pillars supporting the UK economy, the world's fourth-largest economy, may not be such a good idea. However, the damage it would cause to the euro might help prop up the US dollar for a bit longer.

3. When a Ukip press officer tells the BBC that he sees the party's arrival on the continent as merely a good opportunity to "load up on cheap fags and booze," you ought to worry. Getting a bargain on a few litres of whisky, and being able to pack your car boot with cartons of B&H, is a rather narrow view of the EU's usefulness as a political, military, social and economic ally.

4. Should you ever listen to the political views of Joan Collins?

5. Anything that makes Michael Howard look pro-European has got to make you wonder.

6. A movement that has the word 'independence' in its name usually only wants independence for themselves.

7. Joan Collins. I know I have already said it, but it bears repeating.

8. The Scots do not like the party and they are part of the UK, though this is sometimes difficult for all concerned to accept.

9. If Ukip received strong support from all sides in next year's general election, the votes leached from the large parties could cut into the next government's majority in Parliament, leaving it weak, or even reliant on a minor, radical party for support. Not exactly what the US wants in a war on terror partner.

10. It might be Robert Kilroy-Silk's new aftershave, but there is something fishy about these Ukippers.