This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nigel-farage-the-ukip-fox-is-in-the-westminster-henhouse-9422507.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Nigel Farage: 'The Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house' | Nigel Farage: 'The Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A jubilant Nigel Farage has declared “the Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house”, after two of the largest parties in Westminster began losing control of councils as a result of gains for the Ukip leader’s “people's army”. | A jubilant Nigel Farage has declared “the Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house”, after two of the largest parties in Westminster began losing control of councils as a result of gains for the Ukip leader’s “people's army”. |
| The surge in support for Ukip led Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander to comment the country appeared to have entered a period of "four-party politics" as Farage’s party shrugged off a campaign blighted by controversies to win seats in Conservative and Labour strongholds. | The surge in support for Ukip led Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander to comment the country appeared to have entered a period of "four-party politics" as Farage’s party shrugged off a campaign blighted by controversies to win seats in Conservative and Labour strongholds. |
| In a sign the party could do well in elections to the European Parliament too, Ukip won more new seats than any other party in local elections in England, according to partial results from around a quarter of councils. | In a sign the party could do well in elections to the European Parliament too, Ukip won more new seats than any other party in local elections in England, according to partial results from around a quarter of councils. |
| Reacting to the first confirmed results, a "very pleased" Farage insisted Ukip are set to be "serious players" at the general election. | Reacting to the first confirmed results, a "very pleased" Farage insisted Ukip are set to be "serious players" at the general election. |
| “There are areas of the country where now we have got an imprint in local government,” he said. “Under the first-past-the-post system we are serious players.” | “There are areas of the country where now we have got an imprint in local government,” he said. “Under the first-past-the-post system we are serious players.” |
| Mr Farage predicted his party could hoover up 200 extra council seats by the end of the day - and said European election results due Monday could be even better following what he described as “a very good night for Ukip”. | Mr Farage predicted his party could hoover up 200 extra council seats by the end of the day - and said European election results due Monday could be even better following what he described as “a very good night for Ukip”. |
| In a forceful message, he warned his opponents that over the course of the summer Ukip will choose constituencies to target, and “throw the kitchen sink at them”. | In a forceful message, he warned his opponents that over the course of the summer Ukip will choose constituencies to target, and “throw the kitchen sink at them”. |
| Mr Farage told Sky News: “This idea that the Ukip vote hurts the Tories – I think it’s going to be blown away by these results. | Mr Farage told Sky News: “This idea that the Ukip vote hurts the Tories – I think it’s going to be blown away by these results. |
| “Without wishing to count any chickens before they are hatched, it looks pretty good. My colleague Winston McKenzie said that the Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house and it does feel a bit like that.” | “Without wishing to count any chickens before they are hatched, it looks pretty good. My colleague Winston McKenzie said that the Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house and it does feel a bit like that.” |
| With over a third of councils having declared, Ukip had gained over 90 seats this morning - already exceeding expectations of around 80 wins. | |
| But the Education Secretary Micheal Gove told Good Morning Britain people have voted for Ukip "in order to send a very clear message" for the Conservatives. | But the Education Secretary Micheal Gove told Good Morning Britain people have voted for Ukip "in order to send a very clear message" for the Conservatives. |
| "They want to make sure that the Government delivers on the policies of controlling immigration, making sure that we reform our welfare state, making sure that we get a proper referendum in Europe and the instructions from the electorate are loud and clear. | "They want to make sure that the Government delivers on the policies of controlling immigration, making sure that we reform our welfare state, making sure that we get a proper referendum in Europe and the instructions from the electorate are loud and clear. |
| "We appreciate and understand why people have voted Ukip, and in government we will make sure that we deliver on the priorities that people have clearly set out." | "We appreciate and understand why people have voted Ukip, and in government we will make sure that we deliver on the priorities that people have clearly set out." |