Ukip 'reflecting opinion' says Murdoch

By Tony Hudson

Rupert Murdoch has said Nigel Farage is "reflecting opinion" after dining with the Ukip leader on Tuesday, the party has confirmed.

The News Corp chairman took to Twitter to praise Farage following a dinner the two men had together at Murdoch's London home, in what is said to be their first meeting.

During the meeting, Farage reportedly suggested to Murdoch he would be willing to form an electoral pact between his party and the Conservatives following the 2015 general election on the condition that David Cameron would no longer be the leader.

The news will not come as a surprise to many as the prime minister has long had a somewhat adversarial relationship with the eurosceptic  party, once famously referring to its members as "fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists" in an interview with LBC radio back in 2006.

Murdoch is believed to share Farage's distrust of Cameron, but is still very supportive of other members of the Conservative party.

On Twitter he drew comparisons between the UK and Italy, saying there were "new leaders emerging on distant horizon", before calling London mayor Boris Johnson and education secretary Michael Gove "excellent, frustrated ministers".

The meeting came a mere five days following Ukip's very strong performance in the Eastleigh by-election, when they pushed the Conservative candidate into third place.

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