Conservatives must make a pact with Ukip, Lord Tebbit says

[claig]

Is it over?

"The Conservatives must make a seat-swapping "pact" with Ukip if they are to have a chance of winning the next election, a former party chairman has said."

...

" He said that Mr Farage had damaged the Conservatives' electoral prospects by winning over traditional Tories who feel they have been "abandoned" by David Cameron.

"It would help if we didn't abuse former Tory voters by attacking Ukip as nutters," he added.

The Conservatives, he said, were at risk of looking like jealous shopkeepers "shouting abuse" at former customers choosing to shop in a newly opened store."

...

"Lord Tebbit made his comments as a major study of Ukip suggests that it can mobilise its support it could attract up to 30 per cent of the vote.

The academic study, which analysed the views of 100,000 voters, said support for Ukip was driven not just by Euroscepticism, but also by 'hostility' to immigration and 'intense dissatisfaction' with the three main parties."

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10691683/Conservatives-must-make-a-pact-with-Ukip-Lord-Tebbit-says.html

Wise words by Lord Tebbit, but will Call Me Dive take note?

If this wise counsel is ignored, I fear it will require all of the Bullingdon bullshit, the Oxford old flannel and the PPE poppycock it is possible to muster in order to climb out of this hole.

The "revolt of the people" has begun and they can't stop it. They're tearing their hair out, they're going nuts, they know it's over and the people have won!

Isit. You will be Aware that in Theory, the Labour Party could form an Majority Government with as little as 34% of the vote . The Conservative Party would Need 42-43% of the vote for the same no of seats. It means that Labour Start with a 35 Seat Advantage ( The System gives Lid Dems No chance ) Though with 7% of the vote , they will get, "Thank God"

. UKIP will probably cost the Conservative party at least 20 Marginal seats, in reality giving Labour a 55 Seat Start, Conservative Central Office are going to have to start speaking to UKIP . If they don't start speaking we are heading for 10 years of Labour and the completion of their ideology in destroying the United Kingdom.

Despite the rhetoric coming from Farage that many voters are labour voters, they are probably the children of the one's who catapulted " Thatcher in to power in 1979.

Motown3000….you have explained the uphill electoral struggle the Conservatives face better than I did, and I promise you I understand the math; but in my view if the collective Eaton and Oxbridge brains of the Conservative Party cannot effectively campaign on the facts/choices, neither they nor ‘the people’ deserves the next majority government to be Conservative.

With respect, what you and Tebbit aren’t getting, but Mr Farage knows only too well, is that as Ukip is not a conventional political party with solid domestic policies (and its members reflect that), there is no real option in CONTROLLING them within some electoral pact, so the Conservatives need to put all their efforts into their own campaign.

Moreover the Ukip ability to keep their voters seems to be susceptible to pre election policies emerging, and seem quite capable of shooting themselves in the foot e.g. votes won on gay marriage.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2583636/Ukip-not-oppose-gay-marriage-Farage-reveals-calls-French-style-separate-legal-religious-services.html

How many seats are Lib-Dems expected to win at General election?

A question for after the Clegg-Farage debate, maybe?

The Lib Dems had 62 seats before the last General Election, 57 after I believe, so a tight average over two parliaments - I haven't seen any recent forecasts, has anyone else?

Why would they want to even do that?

There's a website called electoral calculus that uses opinion poll data to forecast the GE result.

If Ukip now believe they are a force for change and don't have a single seat in the Commons, I guess predicting seats of their opposition is an ongoing (internal) party focus.

It's an ongoing focus for all parties contesting the GE.