The more you attack UKIP the more successful they will be

Some in the Conservative Party want to set the attack dogs on UKIP. But the more you attack UKIP the more successful they will be. The oxygen of publicity is essential to a Party which has no roots and no policies other than populist ones. Farage, in my view, was 100% right on Syria. But I don't think that his position was based on anything other than responding to the public mood. The fact that his Party actually wants an increase in Defence expenditure is the same. The people that he thinks will vote for him are nostalgic for the days of Empire when the atlas was pink and true Brits carried the white man's burden! 

The Conservatives need a credible, consistent and honourable set of policy proposals and leaders who can convince. In David Davis they have a John Major type who would not I think be persuaded of anything just because it would marginalise UKIP. He would have created a Manifesto the content of which would be there because he believes it, The Tories rejected him for slightly different reasons that Labour rejected the similarly decent and electable Alan Johnson. They were both wrong. 

UKIP has popularity because it is led neither by a Toff nor a Geek. Nor by a slimy hypocrite either. But the Farage appeal is shallow and vulnerable. He cannot make progress if he is ignored. That's what the Tories should do. It's what Labour is doing, and they are right!