Ukip could back Tory government after 2015 election, says Nigel Farage

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/14/ukip-tories-nigel-farage-eu-referendum

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Nigel Farage has indicated that Ukip would be prepared to help David Cameron survive as prime minister in a hung parliament if he delivers on his pledge to hold an in/out referendum on Britain's EU membership.

In a shift of tone by Farage, who has previously been wary of a deal with Cameron, the Ukip leader said that "of course" he would offer support to the Tories if the party guaranteed a referendum.

His remarks to the Sun came as the Times published a leaked letter from the former Ukip deputy leader David Campbell-Bannerman raising concerns about the way in which the party allegedly expected aspiring MEPs to make donations to Ukip.

Campbell-Bannerman, who defected to the Tories after leaving Ukip in 2011, said the "overt [link] between financial contributions and selection to a public elected office" was "potentially very dangerous" and could amount to "cash for Euroseats".

Farage hopes to win enough seats in next year's general election to hold the balance of power at Westminster. Even if Ukip performs strongly it is more likely to deprive the Tories of seats rather than win any itself. But Farage indicated to the Sun that he was confident of success as he said he would support Cameron – outside a formal coalition – if the prime minister stood by his pledge to hold an in/out EU referendum.

"After the next election, if we find ourselves in the same position as Clegg did in 2010, we will have one priority. The people of this country have to have a full, fair and free referendum so we can decide whether we govern our own country or leave it to the people to make the rules," he said.

"It's not a coalition that interests me, but doing deals to achieve outcomes does. If David Cameron came to me and said: 'Nigel, could you help me to form a government so we can have a referendum?', of course I'd do it. Would I put the interests of the country above Ukip? Of course I would."

The remarks are likely to be designed to counter Cameron's appeal to Ukip voters in the runup to the general election. The prime minister will say that supporting Ukip would be a wasted vote because only the Tories can guarantee an in/out EU referendum. Farage is saying that a Ukip vote next year could strengthen the chance of a referendum by creating an "out" group of MPs who would use their numbers to ensure Cameron lives up to his word.

Farage's remarks to the Sun contrast with his interview with Total Politics last year in which he suggested he would prefer to reach a deal with Boris Johnson, as he likened the prospects of negotiating with Cameron to a choice between jumping out of a window or staying in a burning building.

"It's pretty stupid in life to come up and say that you would never do something, it's a stupid thing, I mean, you know, would I jump out of that window, now? Chances are I'd be dead or have a couple of broken legs at least. I'd probably be dead, but I might not. I could say to you I'll never, ever jump out of that window, but you know what, if that was on fire and the option was burning to death or jumping out of the window, I'd jump out of the window," he said.

"I'm just saying, saying you would never do something, it's just not something I'm going to say. I'd have thought David Cameron would rather go to his political grave rather than ever contemplate doing a deal with the ghastly Ukip – that's my judgment, I could be wrong."