Hot on the heels of the news that over 40% of Conservative members identify most closely with UKIP, comes the revelation that Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, was offered a very safe Conservative seat shortly before the last election. According to the BBC

Mr Farage, elected UKIP leader in September, said: "There was a pretty strong approach made to me about a very safe seat that had come up, more or less at the last minute."

Presumably, a very safe seat at the last minute would probably be Howard Flight's Arundel and South Down seat, and the local party must have made the approach in a fit of pique.

Interestingly, there has been no denial from the Conservatives; their comment that "It is probably significant that Mr Farage has given the most tenuous details of this story. Anybody who is not a member of the Conservative Party can not stand as a Conservative MP" not being a denial.

THe BBC report adds that Mr Farage has

been targeting the small band of MPs currently campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union.

"If a couple of serving members came over, it would make a hell of a difference. We are trying within the House of Commons and within the House of Lords to get this to happen.

"But I do understand, sometimes, why it doesn't. It is quite difficult as a sitting MP to take the huge risk of defection to UKIP and I totally understand and respect that.

"But what I would say to sitting members is this - thank goodness at least in this parliament we have got some MPs, both Labour and Tory, that are standing up and saying we would be better off outside the European Union."

The Better Off Out campaign was launched earlier this year by Tory MP Philip Davies, and has attracted support from other sitting Tory members, including Douglas Carswell, Philip Hollobone, Bob Spink, Ann Winterton, Sir Nicholas Winterton and Labour MP Austin Mitchell.