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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Tories struggle to maintain coherent stance over Ukip threat | Tories struggle to maintain coherent stance over Ukip threat |
| (5 months later) | |
| The Tory leadership is struggling to maintain a coherent stance on the Ukip threat after William Hague said the party had a "clownlike aspect" while David Cameron refused to criticise his opponents. | The Tory leadership is struggling to maintain a coherent stance on the Ukip threat after William Hague said the party had a "clownlike aspect" while David Cameron refused to criticise his opponents. |
| On the final day of campaigning ahead of Thursday's local elections, the foreign secretary dismissed Ukip as a "fringe party" and echoed the claim by Kenneth Clarke that the party is a "collection of clowns". | On the final day of campaigning ahead of Thursday's local elections, the foreign secretary dismissed Ukip as a "fringe party" and echoed the claim by Kenneth Clarke that the party is a "collection of clowns". |
| But the prime minister told ITV's Daybreak: "I'm not calling anybody anything. What I'm doing is talking about what the Conservatives offer at the local elections. And in the end it's people who will go and vote and people who will choose." | But the prime minister told ITV's Daybreak: "I'm not calling anybody anything. What I'm doing is talking about what the Conservatives offer at the local elections. And in the end it's people who will go and vote and people who will choose." |
| The confusion in Tory ranks over how to respond to Ukip was highlighted on Sunday when Clarke attacked the party while Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, said he was not "worried about Ukip at all". | The confusion in Tory ranks over how to respond to Ukip was highlighted on Sunday when Clarke attacked the party while Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, said he was not "worried about Ukip at all". |
| In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Hague tried to concentrate on the key Tory message: local authorities controlled by the party keep council tax down. But asked whether he agreed with Clarke's description of Ukip, Hague said: "It is not my style to use those particular terms but when you look at the financial commitments you can see why a former chancellor thinks they have a clownlike aspect. I think we can put it that way." | In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Hague tried to concentrate on the key Tory message: local authorities controlled by the party keep council tax down. But asked whether he agreed with Clarke's description of Ukip, Hague said: "It is not my style to use those particular terms but when you look at the financial commitments you can see why a former chancellor thinks they have a clownlike aspect. I think we can put it that way." |
| The foreign secretary said voters should not complain if they vote for Ukip or "any other fringe party" and find that council taxes rise sharply. | The foreign secretary said voters should not complain if they vote for Ukip or "any other fringe party" and find that council taxes rise sharply. |
| The prime minister had more success in concentrating on his main message on council tax. He told Daybreak: "With a day to go I think it's still important to talk about what the choice is at this election. And most people sitting at home face a choice either between the Conservatives running their local council or Labour running their local council, and if Labour get in – as we've heard from Miliband over recent days – they believe in more spending, more borrowing, more of the things that got us into this mess in the first place. And that's the same in the town hall as it is in government. So I hope people will stick with the blue team, who can deliver good services at low costs and can keep your bills down." | The prime minister had more success in concentrating on his main message on council tax. He told Daybreak: "With a day to go I think it's still important to talk about what the choice is at this election. And most people sitting at home face a choice either between the Conservatives running their local council or Labour running their local council, and if Labour get in – as we've heard from Miliband over recent days – they believe in more spending, more borrowing, more of the things that got us into this mess in the first place. And that's the same in the town hall as it is in government. So I hope people will stick with the blue team, who can deliver good services at low costs and can keep your bills down." |
| The prime minister also highlighted the so-called differentiation strategy in the coalition, as the Tories and Liberal Democrats seek to flag up differences ahead of the 2015 election, when he said he was seeking to secure a "Conservative-only government". | The prime minister also highlighted the so-called differentiation strategy in the coalition, as the Tories and Liberal Democrats seek to flag up differences ahead of the 2015 election, when he said he was seeking to secure a "Conservative-only government". |
| He said the coalition has taken important steps in which the deficit has been cut by a third, 1.25m more private sector jobs have been created and immigration is down. | He said the coalition has taken important steps in which the deficit has been cut by a third, 1.25m more private sector jobs have been created and immigration is down. |
| But he added: "I am going to try and show people between now and the next election that a Conservative-only government will be able to act on these things further and faster and get more done in terms of turning our country round in a way that people want." | But he added: "I am going to try and show people between now and the next election that a Conservative-only government will be able to act on these things further and faster and get more done in terms of turning our country round in a way that people want." |
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