Ukip may prop up minority Tory government in exchange for EU referendum

Nigel Farage has said his party would prop up a minority Conservative government if it agreed to a "full, free and fair referendum" on Britain's EU membership.

The Ukip leader told BBC1's Sunday Politics:

It means the eurosceptic party would agree to a confidence and supply arrangement, where it backs or abstains on budget and legislative programme votes.

Labour's Chuka Umunna has called on Ukip to address "racists" in its ranks after allegedly receiving abusive tweets from supporters of the party.

Asked about the messages on Sky News, the shadow business secretary said: "Of course there are racists in Ukip - that is unfortunate and that is something they need to address.

"They say terrible things about women, they say terrible things about different parts of our society."

Umunna said the party understood that immigration was a "concern" for many Brits - and a key campaign issue for Ukip - but insisted he would not say "I agree with Nigel" [Farage] on leaving the European Union and thus preventing freedom of movement into Britain.

"Europe is our biggest trading partner. Europe provides jobs. Our links with Europe provide jobs in this country and [Ukip] want to walk off with their bat and do nothing," he said.

Any Conservative-Ukip pact ahead of next year's General Election would look to voters like a "stitch-up", Boris Johnson has said.

Appearing to rule out the move, the Mayor of London said: "The whole point of this great movement against Westminster politics is that everybody thinks it's a stitch-up.

"How is it going to help if we all go round trying to stitch things up [...] I don't see how that works, no."

Boris Johnson has made an appeal to "kippers" thinking of voting for Ukip - saying "it doesn't seem to me there's a lot between us".

The Mayor of London said Douglas Carswell, a Conservative defector who became Ukip's first MP appeared to be a "doppelganger" with whom he agreed on most subjects.

He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "What do you want? You want a low-tax economy - what Douglas stands for - you want global free trade, you want a libertarian approach on the economy [...] socially progressive? Go for the Conservatives."

"We're the only party, by the way, that will deliver what the Ukip people want: a referendum on Europe."

He said the Conservatives should campaign to leave Europe should reforms of Britain's relationship with the EU not take place as hoped by the party, and called for a "points-based" system of immigration.

Harriet Harman insists there has not been a "wobble" in the Labour party over flagging poll ratings.

Labour's Deputy Leader told The Andrew Marr Show: "There is no problem within the Labour ranks."

"We are not going to have a wobble or a leadership change," Harman said.

Asked whether Ed Miliband could be replaced as leader before the 2015 General Election, Harman replied: "No, absolutely not."

The UK Independence Party's first elected MP has compared the Conservative party to HMV music stores, describing it as "defunct".

"It's a little bit like HMV music. Once ubiquitous when it came to buying music. The way the Tory party is retailing politics is like the way HMV retailed music - it is a defunct retail model," Douglas Carswell told the BBC's Andrew Marr show.

Carswell, who won the Clacton by-election with a huge majority last week, said he argued that "we needed to Spotify" the Tory Party, but found too much opposition to change.

He also played own suggestions Ukip could gain 25 MPs at the next election, saying: "Let's keep a sense of perspective....I don't like bravado talk and Ia'm not going to use it."

Carswell he was hopeful fellow Tory defector Mark Reckless would win the upcoming by-election in Rochester, saying a win would show that British politics is becoming "fundamentally different".

Private polling analysis seen by The Sunday Times puts the party on course to win 25 parliamentary seats at the next election.

While far less than predicted in a study for the Mail on Sunday, this is still far higher than previous predictions.

Ukip could stand to win 128 seats in Parliament if the results of a recent poll are repeated in the general election, an expert has told the Mail on Sunday.

John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said that these kinds of ratings would result in the following break down of parliamentary seats:

• Labour 253
• Conservatives 187
• Ukip 128
• Lib Dems 11
• Other parties 71

Support for Ukip has surged to 25% according to a new poll for the Mail on Sunday.

The research puts both Labour and the Tories on 31% while the Liberal Democrats get the backing of just 8% of respondents.