Britain's Conservatives worried about rise of UK Independence Party
Tories worried Eurosceptic UK Independence Party could deny them victory in 2015 election
British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party is increasingly nervous about the threat posed by the eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), which could split the centre-right vote and deny the Tories victory at the 2015 general election.
The Conservatives have long been plagued by internal tensions over Europe, but much of the talk at their annual conference in Manchester, northwest England, is about the external menace from UKIP.
"They are a real threat," Conservative lawmaker Bill Cash said after a bruising encounter with UKIP's charismatic leader Nigel Farage at a fringe meeting.
Cash is one of the party's most eurosceptic MPs, but Farage dismissed him as "out of touch" when he suggested UKIP back the Tories to prevent handing power to the opposition Labour party. Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson repeated the warning, albeit in his usual jocular style: "UKIP if you want to - David Cameron's not for kipping."
UKIP has no MPs but it came third in local elections in May and is polling at 11 per cent, ahead of the Liberal Democrats, the junior partners in the Conservative-led coalition.
The challenge it poses has come into sharp focus ahead of the European Parliament elections, which are in May, when UKIP has a chance of winning the biggest share of the vote with its anti-immigration, anti-European message.