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I respect Nigel Farage, says George Osborne I respect Nigel Farage, says George Osborne
(35 minutes later)
Chancellor George Osborne has said he "respects" Nigel Farage, but added that the UKIP leader did not have "answers to the country's future". The chancellor says he respects Nigel Farage but the UKIP leader does not have "answers to the country's future".
UKIP gained 155 seats in Thursday's council elections and some Tory MPs have suggested a pact between the parties at the next general election. George Osborne told the BBC the Conservatives had to listen to the "anger and anxiety" of those who voted for UKIP in Thursday's local elections.
Mr Osborne told the BBC UKIP's vote had been due to public "anger and anxiety". UKIP gained 155 seats but Mr Osborne said the general election would be a choice between Labour and the Tories.
But the next general election would be a choice between Labour and the Conservatives, he added. Labour, which gained almost 300 councillors, has defended its campaign amid some criticism from its own ranks.
He promised that his party would work "incredibly hard" to win an outright parliamentary majority in 2015. 'Good progress'
The Conservatives lost 201 seats in the local elections in England and the Liberal Democrats 284. Labour gained 292 and the Greens 17.
Some Tory MPs have suggested a pact between the Tories and UKIP at the next general election but Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected the idea.
On Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Osborne said: "The choice at the election is do you want Ed Miliband and the Labour Party in Downing Street, or do you want David Cameron and the Conservatives in government?"
He added: "We take very seriously the fact that people have voted UKIP. We respect that fact. We have to listen to people who voted UKIP. We have to listen to their anger and their anxiety."
Pressed on whether his respect for UKIP voters extended to Mr Farage, the chancellor said: "I respect Nigel Farage and the other leaders of Britain's political parties, but it doesn't mean that I agree with him. I don't think he has the answers to the country's future."
He also promised that his party would work "incredibly hard" to win an outright parliamentary majority in 2015.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has also faced criticism for his party's performance on Thursday, as it lost some seats to UKIP, despite gaining control of 11 councils,
Michael Dugher, shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, said Labour was making "extremely good progress" but that its members were "not complacent".
He told the BBC: "I'm pleased that we won in those key battleground seats.
"I'm realistic but I'm also aware that, in some of or heartland areas, we did lose seats to UKIP and that is an area where we're going to have to work much harder."