Though the United Kingdom maintains its own currency, it has otherwise been a member of the European Union since 1973. Rising discontent among its citizens with the policies of a common Europe have led to a growing underbelly of euroskepticism. Euroskeptics oppose European integration, claiming it weakens the sovereignty of each member state of the E.U.
Such feelings led to the formation of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) in 1994. The party grew from modest beginnings — just six people meeting together at the London School of Economics as part of the Anti-Federalist League — to its current status as the U.K.'s fourth largest party. While the UKIP holds firmly to its founding edict — the belief that the U.K. should withdraw from the European Union — it has since expanded to champion a variety of issues in order to gain more popular support.