If U.K.I.P. is such a small threat to the Conservative Party why have you devoted half a page to analysing that threat? U.K.I.P. have clearly got the Conservative Party rattled.
If the Conservatives announced that they would leave the E.U. as soon as they form a government ,then they would win the next election with a big majority. It is obvious that they are not going to adopt such a policy because they are dominated by eorophiles. U.K.I.P. is the natural home for euro-sceptic Conservatives( and Labour and Lib-Dems ).

Eric Wilson, Hartlepool,

Good try Mr Riddell. You've always been a europhile and the one question you don't want posed is, 'what is the point of the European Soviet Union?'. So you write articles like this trying to take Euope off the agenda. You know perfectly well that a tactical withdrawal from Europe would be Cameron's victory vote winner. But you write like this pretending that he can will already so he doesn't need his trump card. The psephology for a Tory victory for the past ten years has always been to win back the no-voters not to suck up to the socialists.

Philippa Pirie, London, England

If what Riddell says is true, then God help us. We are doomed to become not a banana state but a banana province of the most anti-democratic, totalitarian, collectivist state that the mind of man has ever devised.

David Carr-Allinson, Oxford,, UK

Riddell appears ignorant of hard facts. In the constituency of Somerton and Frome, the Lib Dem winning margin over the Conservatives in the last three elections has been less than the votes cast for UKIP; similarly, in Taunton, the Lib Dem majority at the last election - a gain from the Conservatives - was fewer than the votes cast for UKIP. It seems probable that most UKIP voters are lapsed Tories. How widely this applies elsewhere in the UK, I do not know. However, to dismiss UKIP as irrelevant because it is unlikely to win any seats, is to overlook rather stupidly the impact of its votes in marginal seats. In a tight election 1.5%, a figure that ignores the geographical distribution of those votes, could be highly significant to Cameron's prospects. His foolish jibes at UKIP and arrogant failure to withdraw them, may yet come back to harm his party.

Peter Rogers, Woking, UK

Peter Riddell is way out of date on UKIP.

People are so fed up with the controlling antics of Farrage MEP and his cohorts that they are leaving UKIP In droves. Only in the last few weeks the very active Plymouth and West Dorset branches have been disbanded with total resignations.

The only threat of UKIP is when they stand against EU sceptic MP's in Labour or Tory and there is a slim majority.

I am not convinced that the leadership of UKIP is serious about pulling out of the EU . Just there to sop up opposition to the EU whilst they take huge benefits and salaries.

Janet Girsman, St Albans, Hertfordshire

The views of the current posts are exactly why the Tories lost the last 3 elections. Apparently the Tories should adhere to "Tory policies tried and tested through the years"-they've been there and done that. Those policies were indeed tried and tested: and they failed multiple times.

And as for the EU scaremongering: it's nowhere near being a federal European state. Enlargement's effects (which brought in large numbers of independent-minded Eastern European countries), increasing nationalism in France, and increasing worries about economic underperformance, mean that creating a federalist monolith is well down everyone's priority list.

What people in the UK care about is the economy, taxation, healthcare, crime and education. Cameron's on the right track- don't let him be diverted by the EU obsessives!

Jonathan, London, UK

Peter Riddell ignores the real point here which is that there are a large number of traditional conservative voters who feel sufficiently strongly about this single issue either to vote UKIP or not to vote at all (one statistic he did not quote was how low the percentage of the electorate actually turning up to vote has been in recent years).

The reality is that there is widespread disenchantment with the conservative party, not just from its failure to apologise for having fallen for the Bush/Blair line and voted for the war in Iraq rather than opposing it, not just from their failure to come to terms with the issue of withdrawing from what is clearly about to become a federal European state which nobody in Britain ever voted for, but also from their failure clearly to differentiate themselves from labour on a single policy issue.

Added to which, there seems to be a secret clause in the party constitution which bars the election of any leader who might actually win an election ...

Guy Fraser-Sampson, London,

I agree with the previous poster except more so. If you are a leader - lead, preferably by example. No more biking to work with the jag following with the brief case (how stupid can you get) and stunts like that. It is no good mingling with the down and out or poor people, he doesn't know anything about that. Stick with the Tory policies tried and tested through the years. He also needs the military vote which is traditionally Tory, so joint the TA or something, even royals do a bit (but not very convincingly). Personally I prefer David Davis, he hasn't got such a floppy gob.

m wilson, bidache, france

Mr Cameron in common with most modern political leaders spends more time trying to avoid stating his true aims than he does giving a clear and unambiguous vision of the way forward,. His attempts to avoid making any hard policies and therefore possibly alienating one group or another makes him sound like New Labour mark two. I, like most of the people I know are sick and tired of our polititians talking like New Age healers ( All meaningless sound bites and vague promises) and attempting to please everyone and in the process disappointing all. Mr Cameron needs to either stand up and say exactly how he will confront the huge issues facing this country and the European Union and give the electorate something to vote for other than the narrow UKIP line. Mr Blair has had rings run round him at each and every E.U. meeting of any importance, the Prime Minister of britain should have a clear mandate for a clearly defined policy based on what is good for the people of Britain and the other E.U. states.

Huw Williams, Milford Haven, U.k.

After several years in UKIP - I quit in the late 1990s! At first UKIP seemed a fairly broad-based, EU-critical organisation, with a large number of 'open minds'. It was even led by Dr Alan Sked, a former Liberal. Immigration was not an issue; I even remember a Muslim member of UKIP speaking at an early conference! Different days, indeed. However, by the mid/late 1990s the 'open minds' in UKIP had closed. With an influx of New Britain Party members it changed. It is essentially now a kind of 1960s/1970s Tory Party, Mark II, reactionary and intolerant and uneducated. I'm glad I joined Labour a few years ago and returned to the modern world!

Graeme Kemp, Telford, UK

What Peter forgets, or perhaps chooses to ignore, is that whilst UKIP may have little voting support as a proportion of the overall popuation, it does provide an increasingly atractive alternative for the previously loyal activists who are the backbone of the Tory party.

Far more politically astute than the general voting population these people are deserting the Tories in droves. Each one is worth a dozen or more votes as it is they who do the footwork day in day out both before and during election campaigns. Tories may try to take comfort in the idea that UKIP only counts for a very small numberv of voters, but the people who are switching support are the very ones that the Tory party simply cannot afford to lose.

I expect Cameron and his core support to get a ery nasty shock in elections over the next year or so as they reaslise they have allowed the party activists to slip away and they no longer have a local structure they can rely upon.

Richard Tyndall, Newark, England

Cameron is scared stiff to state his policy on Europe.When he does have to define his policies and many others his problem will begin.At the present time he is happy to " Snow Job" the electorate with hype and spin.Unfortunaley the public are willing to go along with him on this at the moment but over a time he will have to come off the fence,smiling and hugging will become "cheesey".

Bill Rees, Pieusse, France

Mr Riddell,
If the Sunday Times YouGov poll of the week before last is anything to go by then your complacency is ideal for the UK Independence Party. In that poll UKIP were given 5% across the country and 7% in the Midlands. Given the number of marginals that the Tories have to win in the Midlands to even have the chance of forming a Government then the UK Independence Party hoovering up 7% in the region is something Tory strategists really should be concerned about. If they listen to you with your 'steady as she goes' message then they play into the hands of the smaller party. You must also remember that this is a 100% increase since Farage became leader, and what is more is at a time when the EU is hardly being mentioned in public debate. However when the EU, and Tony Blair, confirm there demands for a constitution in March, even a slimmed down Constitution, then the EU jumps up the agenda,. This of course will do nothing to harm UKIP's position.
Still feeling complacent?

Elaib, Brussels, Belgium

As a long term member of the Conservative Party, I will definitely be supporting David Cameron at the next election – the desire to see the back of this disastrous Labour Government is stronger than any reservations I have about the direction in which David Cameron is taking the party. However, I do expect serious action to be taken by a future Conservative Government to curb immigration (both legal and illegal) and to push hard for more devolved decision making within the European Union. I shall judge where to place my “X” at the subsequent election based on how a Cameron Government performs in its first term. I don’t want to see a liturgy of wasted opportunity as happened under Blair (whatever happened to “think the unthinkable”?).

Richard Marriott, Kidderminster, England

Well, I have just read something that I hoped I never would: "If the BNP continue to do well". It is a little difficult to swallow that a bunch of racists are gaining followers in this country. We need to wake up and smell the coffee, things are not that bad here, and never will be.

John, Telford,

In my opinion UKIP will eventually metamorphose into a English Party (English Radicals)? In any case to say the Tories have nothing to fear is nonsense. The only thing that UKIP lacks is a truly recognisable figure, given that all else will fall into place.

Peter Bolt, Redditch, UK

I disagree. The Tories can make no progress in the midlands and north if the BNP continue to do well,m and the number of seats they gain in the south could be severely reduced by similar success for UKIP or BNP candidates; BNP & UKIP candidates cost the Tories at least 25 seats in 2005; it will be more serious next time.

greg, brighton, uk

Like many, many former Consevative voters I know, I will probably not be voting for anyone at the next election. I mean, what's the point, when all the main parties will have virtually identical policies (assuming Boy Cameron has some by then). It is the combined UKIP and stay -at-home vote that the Tories need to worry about.

Paul, northants,