Labour and Ed Miliband ... have no such clarity over Ukip. The Labour
leader and his aides believe that Ukip gains are still, on balance, in Labour’s
interests because they hamper a Tory election win. But a growing number of MPs
and activists worry that this relaxed approach allows Ukip to eat into Labour’s
working-class base, voters whose waning loyalty was demonstrated in Scotland
when they defied the leadership to vote in droves for independence.
After his bad party conference season, losing a northern seat like
Heywood to Ukip would [have been] disastrous for Mr Miliband; it might even [still] be enough to
raise genuine doubt about his survival until next year’s general election. “We
should win it, but God help us if we don’t,” [had] said one Miliband-supporting
frontbencher. James
Kirkup. 
