Ukip runs double-page Daily Telegraph ad as paper prints front-page attack
Ukip has paid for a double-page ad in the Daily Telegraph on the same day the paper’s front page claimed that voting for the party was like writing a “suicide note” for Britain.
The advert, across pages 2 and 3, was headlined “one thing affects everything” above an image of dominoes – with the first, ready to fall, branded “European Union”.
On page 3 of Tuesday’s paper was an open letter to Telegraph readers from party leader Nigel Farage, warning voters against support for either David Cameron or Ed Miliband.
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He said: “In just two days’ time you’ll have the opportunity to vote on the makeup of the House of Commons. I use that wording intentionally, because I think most people have by now accepted that neither the Conservatives nor Labour are going to have a majority in parliament.
“Despite what Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband would have you think, this actually presents you with an opportunity to vote for change rather than the threat of one or the other.
“It presents you with the chance to put some MPs in the Commons not just because you want their party to form a majority but because you actually believe they’ll stand for something in there rather than just be at the behest of party whips.”
Farage added: “So when you go into the polling station on 7 May, think about the direction you want for this country.”
The Ukip advert appears alongside a front-page splash headlined “A vote for Ukip is a suicide note for Britain”, based on comments from work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
It reads: “Voting for UKIP is like writing a ‘suicide note’ which will ‘not be forgiven’ if it denies Britain the chance to vote on whether to remain a member of the EU, Iain Duncan Smith warns today.
“In a heartfelt intervention just 48 hours before polling day, the former Conservative leader urges those considering voting Ukip not to jeopardise a decades-long campaign he has waged to change Britain’s relationship with Brussels.”
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The work and pensions secretary describes a vote for Ukip as “unfathomable” as it risks allowing a weak minority Labour government – backed by the SNP – to seize control of Downing Street.”
Elsewhere in the papers, the Sun produced a tactical voting guide advising voters in 40 constituencies on the best way to prevent Labour victories.
It warns against voting Ukip in 26 seats, including tight marginals such as Chester and high-profile seats such as Esther McVey’s Wirral West, telling its readers they must vote Tory to help Cameron.
In 14 seats the paper recommends its readers vote Liberal Democrat – despite last week endorsing the Conservatives. The seats, which include Simon Hughes’ Bermondsey and Southwark and Nick Clegg’s Sheffield Hallam, are key Labour–Liberal Democrat battlegrounds.