Tory MPs call for Ukip pact after local election losses

Three Conservative MPs have called for a pact with Nigel Farage as their party lost control of at least eight councils because of a surge in votes for Ukip.

Douglas Carswell, Peter Bone and Jacob Rees-Mogg, who are all on the right of the party, argued there should be a deal to avoid Tory MPs being ousted at the general election in 2015.

David Cameron will come under pressure to explain how he will woo back voters after the Conservatives lost control of councils in Basildon, Brentwood and Maidstone, among others, because of a strong Ukip vote. If the Conservatives come third behind Ukip and Labour in the European elections, he is likely to face further calls for some sort of deal with Farage's party.

By 6am on Friday, with 100 of the 172 councils up for election in England and Northern Ireland still to declare, the Tories had lost 93 seats, Labour had gained 74, the Lib Dems had lost 72, Ukip had gained 84, the Greens had gained one and other parties were up seven.

The results of the European parliament elections, which also took place on Thursday, will be announced on Sunday.

Farage has already said he would consider allowing Tory general election candidates to run on a joint Ukip ticket in certain local areas if they were of a similar anti-EU mindset.

Writing on his Telegraph blog, Carswell, the MP for Clacton-on-Sea, said: "If David Cameron is as serious about an in/out vote in 2017 as he says he is, and if Nigel Farage is as serious about 'Brexit' as he claims, the two of them need to do a deal.

"The law already allows joint candidates. We have a list of MPs on both sides of the House who in October 2011 showed that they are serious about securing an EU referendum.

"If the alternative is Ed Miliband as prime minister, and no chance of a referendum, surely a pact is worth considering?"

However, Grant Shapps, the Conservative party chairman, dismissed the idea, telling the BBC: "We're not going to have a pact or joint candidates, or whatever. It can't happen on a technical basis because we do not allow joint candidates to stand … It's not going to happen because we're the Conservative party. We are the best chance to offer an in/out referendum, the only chance."