Television interview for ITN by Colin Rallings – 1st March 2013

Third place was disastrous for the Tories. The day after, there has been a backlash from some backbench MPs, calling for David Cameron to return to core Conservative values.

The Eastleigh constituency did not change hands, but the Eastleigh by-election result could change politics. The Liberal Democrat victory – weathering the dual storms of Chris Huhne’s resignation and the allegations swirling around Lord Rennard – proved that ‘Local’ really does matter. Mike Thornton retained the seat – with UKIP’s Diane James in second – picking up nearly 28 per cent of the vote, by far UKIP’s best ever result in a Westminster election. For the Conservatives, coming third in a seat they thought they could win was a humiliation. Labour came a poor 4th…view video clip here