Howard promises 'new deal' for Britain in Europe to head off UKIP challenge

Michael Howard promised to seek a "new deal" for Britain in Europe as he made a last-minute attempt to head off the threat to the Tories from the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) in today's European Parliament elections.

Michael Howard promised to seek a "new deal" for Britain in Europe as he made a last-minute attempt to head off the threat to the Tories from the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) in today's European Parliament elections.

But the Tory leader, whose campaign has been overshadowed by the unexpected advance of UKIP, suffered a setback when Tory peers who support the anti-EU party warned that Mr Howard faced a rebellion by his MPs over his refusal to adopt a more hardline approach to Europe.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch, one of five peers stripped of the Conservative whip after urging voters to support UKIP, said: "I think the executive of the 1922 Committee will take it very seriously and I would be very surprised if Michael didn't get a very serious bashing up."

Lord Pearson said he did not care which of the other parties got "a bloody nose... as long as the British people get the truth". He did not know any Tory peers who would not vote UKIP, including the chairmen and presidents of many Conservative associations.

He said a strong showing by UKIP would allow those "in the middle position in the Conservative Party to persuade the leadership to adopt an altogether tougher stance and therefore make UKIP irrelevant." He added: "That's what we are trying to do because then UKIP could come back into the Conservative fold, we think."

UKIP received an eve-of-poll fillip when a YouGov survey for London's Evening Standard showed it running neck and neck with the Tories in the capital. When people were asked how they would vote in the European elections, 26 per cent said Labour, with 22 per cent each for the Tories and UKIP, 16 per cent for the Liberal Democrats and 7 per cent for the Greens. The poll suggested UKIP could win its first seats on the London Assembly.

Roger Knapman, the leader of UKIP and a former Tory MP, told a press conference applications for membership were coming in so fast that it was impossible to keep up with them. "It shot up from 20,000 to 25,000 in a matter of days and is going on at an enormous rate. They are coming in not just from Conservatives, a huge number are coming from the Liberals and the Labour Party.''

Mr Howard also talked up the prospects of tax cuts in another pitch for the votes of wavering Tory voters. Promising to cut waste and spend less than Labour, he said: "That will enable us in due course to lower taxes."

The Tory leader insisted his commitment to "fight Britain's corner in Europe" was striking a chord with voters, and declared himself "very confident and optimistic" about the outcome of the European and local elections.

He said EU countries should be able to work together where they wanted but also opt out. "Let's have a new deal. If you want to integrate more closely that is fine. We don't want to stop you doing what you want to do, as long as you don't make us do what we don't want to do."

A Conservative Party spokesman said: "Mr Howard is relaxed about UKIP. We don't feel they are a big threat. We don't have an extreme position."