"Er...great, no really, thanks, we think. Couldn't you have kept it under your hat until after the election?"
Launching their manifesto this morning, UKIP leader Lord Pearson of Rannoch has announced that not only is his party making a conscious decision not to stand in a handful of seats held by what he defined as "committed eurosceptics" in the last Parliament, but that UKIP will "actively campaign" for them.
One Labour MP seeking re-election will get this help:
•David Drew - Stroud
And six Conservative candidates will be given the same treatment, with Lord Pearson identifying the following at his press conference (I will seek the identity of the others) along with two others:
•Douglas Carswell - Clacton
•Philip Davies - Shipley
•Philip Hollobone - Kettering
•Janice Small - Batley and Spen
•Alex Story - Wakefield
He added that the Independent MP for Castle Point, Bob Spink (originally elected as a Conservative), would also get UKIP's endorsement (Pearson wrongly included Spink on his list as a Conservative).
Lord Pearson said that none had asked for UKIP's help - although I suggested in February that David Drew's attendance at a UKIP dinner meant that an electoral pact was on the cards.
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