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Senior Tories urge 'radical response' to UKIP Tories 'can win back votes from UKIP', home secretary says
(about 2 hours later)
Senior Conservative MPs are urging the prime minister to consider a more radical response to the party's losses in council elections in England. The Conservatives can win back voters who have deserted them in favour of the UK Independence Party, Home Secretary Theresa May has insisted.
The UK Independence Party made gains as the Tories lost control of 10 councils. UKIP made gains in local elections as the Tories lost control of 10 councils.
Former leadership contender David Davis said "more conventional Tory policies" including tax cuts were now needed. Senior Tory David Davis is calling for a planned referendum on the European Union to be brought forward to counteract the UKIP threat.
He also called for a planned referendum on the European Union to be brought forward, a move party deputy chairman Sarah Newton said should be considered. Mrs May dismissed the idea, but said the public needed "greater certainty" that a referendum would happen.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Davis said the Conservatives must break the impression that they are "privileged and out of touch" if they are to stand a chance of winning the next general election. UKIP, which campaigns for the UK to leave the EU, averaged 25% of the vote in the wards where it was standing in Thursday's elections and won more than 140 seats.
He said "We have to start convincing the people that we care about the things that matter to them". Its leader, Nigel Farage, said it had taken its "first substantial step towards a party that can credibly win seats at Westminster".
'Simplified Tory manifesto' 'More straight talking'
"So no matter how uncomfortable it makes our metropolitan elite, we have to deal properly with fears over immigration. Mr Davis, who lost the contest to become Tory leader to David Cameron in 2005, said UKIP's policies on law and order, immigration, taxation, foreign affairs, and Europe "mimic a simplified 1980s Tory manifesto".
"We have to do more to help conventional families through the hard times, including serious tax breaks for married couples. We should start cutting taxes to regenerate the economy, indeed we should have started years ago when it had more chance of working before the election." Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said the Conservatives must break the impression that they were "privileged and out of touch", "deal properly with fears over immigration" and urgently take steps to cut taxes.
UKIP, which campaigns for the UK to leave the European Union, averaged 25% of the vote in the wards where it was standing in Thursday's elections and won more than 140 seats. There must be "more straight talking and fewer focus groups; more conventional Tory policies, not because they are Tory, but because they work; less pandering to metropolitan interest groups; and please, please, no more Old Etonian advisers".
And its leader Nigel Farage said the party had taken its "first substantial step towards a party that can credibly win seats at Westminster". The prime minister has pledged to hold an in-out referendum on the EU during the early part of the next parliament - by the end of 2017 at the latest - if the Conservatives win the next general election.
Mr Davis said UKIP's policies on law and order, immigration, taxation, foreign affairs, and Europe "mimic a simplified 1980s Tory manifesto". But he has first vowed to renegotiate the UK's position within the EU.
He said the Conservatives needed to be "more straight talking and fewer focus groups; more conventional Tory policies, not because they are Tory, but because they work; less pandering to metropolitan interest groups; and please, please, no more Old Etonian advisers". Mr Davis, however, said the vote should be held ahead of next year's European elections, "otherwise Nigel Farage will characterise those elections as 'the referendum the Tories wouldn't let you have'".
Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will call a referendum to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Brussels if the party is re-elected in 2015. Mrs May told the BBC the party would learn lessons from the local elections and would work hard to bring back those voters who left the Conservatives and voted for UKIP.
But Mr Davis called for this to be held ahead of next year's European elections. Asked about the prospect of bringing forward the referendum, she said she believed the original timing was right, but added: "Now we [can] look at whether we can give some greater certainty in terms of the referendum but the whole question is [about] actually having a referendum on the basis of a renegotiated settlement...
"We should give the people a say over Europe, ideally before the Euro elections. Otherwise Nigel Farage will characterise those elections as 'the referendum the Tories wouldn't let you have'." "I think what we need to do is be able to show people that we will hold that referendum and we will hold that referendum after the next general election."
'No doubt' Earlier, Sarah Newton, the Conservative Party deputy chairman, said the government should consider bringing forward the legislation in this parliament that would guarantee a referendum would be held, "so people can be in no doubt".
Meanwhile, Sarah Newton, the Conservative Party deputy chairman, acknowledged that the party will have to listen more to voters. Asked about such a move, Mrs May said: "I'm not saying that's definitely what we're going to be doing."
She told the BBC: "MPs will be sitting down with their activists learning the lessons, making sure that we can redouble our efforts to get out on the doorsteps, out into our communities, really listening to people and really telling them about the really good things the government have done." Greater scrutiny
Asked if UKIP's success would lead to Mr Cameron reviewing his plans for the EU referendum, Mrs Newton said: "I think we should really consider bringing forward the legislation in this parliament that would enable the referendum. So people can be in no doubt." BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the Tory leadership believed any damage could be limited at the next general election.
Earlier on Friday, responding to the success of UKIP in the elections, Mr Cameron said: "We need to show respect for people who have taken the choice to support this party and we are going to work really hard to win them back." They intended to subject UKIP's policies to greater scrutiny, said our correspondent.
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the Tory leadership believes any damage can be limited at the next general election. Asked about the surge in voters opting for UKIP, Labour's Angela Eagle told the BBC: "I think they are probably saying 'None of the above.'"
They intend to subject UKIP's policies to greater scrutiny, said our correspondent. The shadow leader of the House of Commons continued: "There's not a lot we can do about what's going on on the right. We'll leave them to it.
"But we must not let them drag the country to the right - and not act in the best interests of the country - because they're having a spat in the conservative family."
Contests took place in 27 English county councils and seven unitary authorities, as well as in Anglesey. About 2,300 council seats were up for grabs in England, in a major mid-term test for the coalition government.Contests took place in 27 English county councils and seven unitary authorities, as well as in Anglesey. About 2,300 council seats were up for grabs in England, in a major mid-term test for the coalition government.
The BBC's projected national share of the vote put Labour in the lead with 29% of the vote and the Conservatives in second place with 25%, UKIP in third place with 23% of votes and the Lib Dems fourth with 14%. Labour gained 211 county councillors and won the South Shields by-election, but
An estimate from a BBC sample of key wards suggests that average turnout was 31%, down 10 points from the last local elections in 2009.