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 2 Version 3
Nigel Farage: 'The Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house' Nigel Farage: Ukip leader has the last laugh as party gains over 130 seats in surge in support across the country
(about 4 hours 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 appears to have had the last laugh as Ukip tore up the political landscape and pushed Westminster closer towards a period of "four-party politics" having won over 120 seats before all of the votes had even been counted in the local election.
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 Ukip leader’s People’s army appeared to have been out in force during Thursday’s local council elections, as Farage’s party shrugged off a campaign blighted by allegations of racism from party candidates, variously described as “fruitcakes” and “loons”.
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. Senior Labour MP David Lammy insisted his comments about Romanian immigrants make it “clear he’s a racist”, dismissing his own party leader Ed Miliband’s refusal to describe him in such terms as “pedantic”.
Reacting to the first confirmed results, a "very pleased" Farage insisted Ukip are set to be "serious players" at the general election. Even a disastrous interview just a week before the poll that saw LBC presenter James O’Brien unravel Farage’s usually composed media personality after being questioned over his expense failed to dissuade many members of the public.
“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.” The party celebrated its biggest gains in Essex where it gained 11 seats in Basildon to ensure it went from Tory to no overall control. Ukip also made inroads in Labour's northern heartlands, taking 10 of the 21 council seats up for election in Rotherham.
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 Great Yarmouth, Labour lost control of of the council after Ukip gained 10 seats. Labour leader Miliband found himself facing a backlash of criticism from his own party today and was accused of leading 'unforgivably unprofessional' campaign, despite gaining over 200 seats.
The surge in support for the anti-EU party led a jubilant Farage to declare “the Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen-house” after the first confirmed results this morning.
Mr Farage had 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. And in a possible first sign of UKIP's impact, sources familiar with David Cameron's thinking told Reuters the British leader would lobby fellow EU leaders against nominating either of the two leading candidates of the mainstream EU parties as president of the executive European Commission.
“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.” This morning, Mr Cameron admitted the Tories would need to show they have "answers" on issues such as immigration and welfare reform, after conceding the public were "frustrated" with the political establishment's failure to address their concerns.
With over a third of councils having declared, Ukip had gained over 90 seats this morning - already exceeding expectations of around 80 wins. Miliband however put the results down to a "deep sense of discontent with the way the country is run" and said votes for Ukip "are an expression of this discontent" and a desire for change.
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.
"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."