Chairman of Conservative thinktank tells members to vote UKIP

The Chairman of the Bow Group, the oldest Conservative Party thinktank in existence, has told Conservatives to vote UKIP in places where the Tories can't win.

Benjamin Harris-Quinney said that "few in the Conservative Party will acknowledge the reality" that the Conservatives are unlikely to get a majority and called on Conservatives to vote UKIP "who are best placed to beat Labour in many areas".

In response, the Tories have rolled out three former ministers and an MEP to tell Conservatives to vote Conservative at all costs, even if it means handing Labour a victory.