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| Tories must convince voters there will be EU referendum, warns Theresa May | Tories must convince voters there will be EU referendum, warns Theresa May |
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| The Conservatives must convince voters that they will be given a say on Britain's membership of the EU, the home secretary, Theresa May, said in the wake of surging support for Ukip in the local elections. | The Conservatives must convince voters that they will be given a say on Britain's membership of the EU, the home secretary, Theresa May, said in the wake of surging support for Ukip in the local elections. |
| After Ukip gained more than 130 seats in the English county elections, many at the expense of the Tories, May said it was essential voters had "greater certainty" that the Conservatives would honour their promise to hold an in/out referendum on EU membership after the next general election. | After Ukip gained more than 130 seats in the English county elections, many at the expense of the Tories, May said it was essential voters had "greater certainty" that the Conservatives would honour their promise to hold an in/out referendum on EU membership after the next general election. |
| She rejected calls from some senior Conservatives to bring forward the date of the referendum and stage it in this parliament in order to kill off the appeal of Ukip to Tory voters. | She rejected calls from some senior Conservatives to bring forward the date of the referendum and stage it in this parliament in order to kill off the appeal of Ukip to Tory voters. |
| But she did not rule out introducing legislation in the current parliament to pave the way for a referendum after the next general election – despite the tensions it would create with her party's coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats. | But she did not rule out introducing legislation in the current parliament to pave the way for a referendum after the next general election – despite the tensions it would create with her party's coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats. |
| "I am not saying that's definitely what we are going to be doing," she said. | "I am not saying that's definitely what we are going to be doing," she said. |
| May said the party should stand by David Cameron's plan to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership and then put the new settlement to the country. | May said the party should stand by David Cameron's plan to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership and then put the new settlement to the country. |
| "If you want to take a renegotiated settlement to the British people, you have got to renegotiate it," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Saturday. | "If you want to take a renegotiated settlement to the British people, you have got to renegotiate it," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Saturday. |
| "We can look at whether we can give some greater certainty in terms of the referendum. I think what we need to do is to be able to show people that we will hold that referendum, we will hold that referendum after the general election." | "We can look at whether we can give some greater certainty in terms of the referendum. I think what we need to do is to be able to show people that we will hold that referendum, we will hold that referendum after the general election." |
| The Labour shadow leader of the Commons, Angela Eagle, said it was important that the surge in support for Ukip did not allow the Conservatives to "drag the country to the right". | The Labour shadow leader of the Commons, Angela Eagle, said it was important that the surge in support for Ukip did not allow the Conservatives to "drag the country to the right". |
| "It is quite clear that the vote on the right in British politics is split down the middle," she told the Today programme. | "It is quite clear that the vote on the right in British politics is split down the middle," she told the Today programme. |
| "We mustn't let them drag the country to the right and not act in the best interests of the country because they are having a spat in the Conservative family." | "We mustn't let them drag the country to the right and not act in the best interests of the country because they are having a spat in the Conservative family." |
| She insisted that Labour had made "good progress" in its target seats in southern England, despite failing to make the sort of gains analysts believe it needed if Ed Miliband is to become prime minister. | She insisted that Labour had made "good progress" in its target seats in southern England, despite failing to make the sort of gains analysts believe it needed if Ed Miliband is to become prime minister. |
| A contrite Cameron has promised to show Ukip respect after it polled 25% of the national vote in Thursday's elections. The result led the party's leader, Nigel Farage, to claim the birth of a new and irreversible era of four-party politics. | A contrite Cameron has promised to show Ukip respect after it polled 25% of the national vote in Thursday's elections. The result led the party's leader, Nigel Farage, to claim the birth of a new and irreversible era of four-party politics. |
| Cameron, who once described Ukip as fruitcakes and closet racists, admitted his mistake, saying it was no good insulting a political party that people had chosen to vote for. "We need to show respect for people who have taken the choice to support this party. And we're going to work really hard to win them back." | Cameron, who once described Ukip as fruitcakes and closet racists, admitted his mistake, saying it was no good insulting a political party that people had chosen to vote for. "We need to show respect for people who have taken the choice to support this party. And we're going to work really hard to win them back." |
| Farage said the result would send a shockwave through the political elite. "We've been abused by everybody, attacked by the entire establishment, who did their best to stop ordinary, decent people from going out and voting Ukip. The establishment has been shocked and stunned," he said. | Farage said the result would send a shockwave through the political elite. "We've been abused by everybody, attacked by the entire establishment, who did their best to stop ordinary, decent people from going out and voting Ukip. The establishment has been shocked and stunned," he said. |
| No 10 was settling on a twin-track strategy of increasing its appeal to the right and subjecting Ukip policies to intense scrutiny over the next two years. But Conservatives have been shifting to the right for the past six months, including on Europe, immigration and welfare, and on the basis of these results have apparently not yet found a formula to stop the haemorrhage of support to Ukip. | No 10 was settling on a twin-track strategy of increasing its appeal to the right and subjecting Ukip policies to intense scrutiny over the next two years. But Conservatives have been shifting to the right for the past six months, including on Europe, immigration and welfare, and on the basis of these results have apparently not yet found a formula to stop the haemorrhage of support to Ukip. |
| Bolstering those calls for a harder line, David Davis, once a challenger for the party leadership, has written in the Daily Telegraph that Cameron needs to "break the impression of being privileged and out of touch" and stop surrounding himself with advisers who went to top public schools. Davis also said the prime minister should bring forward the EU referendum and introduce "serious tax breaks" for married couples. | Bolstering those calls for a harder line, David Davis, once a challenger for the party leadership, has written in the Daily Telegraph that Cameron needs to "break the impression of being privileged and out of touch" and stop surrounding himself with advisers who went to top public schools. Davis also said the prime minister should bring forward the EU referendum and introduce "serious tax breaks" for married couples. |
| In a sign of Ukip's impact, no established party scored over 30% of the vote, with the BBC reporting Labour at 29%, Conservative 25%, Ukip 23% and the Lib Dems 14%. Initial evidence showed that Ukip drew most support from socially conservative, older, working-class voters, especially in East Anglia, the south and south-west. | In a sign of Ukip's impact, no established party scored over 30% of the vote, with the BBC reporting Labour at 29%, Conservative 25%, Ukip 23% and the Lib Dems 14%. Initial evidence showed that Ukip drew most support from socially conservative, older, working-class voters, especially in East Anglia, the south and south-west. |
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