The threat of expulsion came amid speculation of mass defections to Mr Farage’s new Brexit Party as opinion polls showed support for the Conservatives in meltdown. A leaked email to activists reads: “All party members, including elected representatives at all levels, are expected to fully support the party in all elections. Campaigning for or endorsement of any other political party is incompatible with membership of the party. The board will not hesitate to enforce these rules.”
A YouGov poll, commissioned by the anti-extremism campaign group Hope not Hate, shows the Tories have slumped to 13 percent in polling for the European elections next month and are on course to lose more than half their 19 MEPs.
The survey showed the Brexit Party on 28 percent and set to win 28 seats.
A Panelbase survey for the Sunday Times puts the Tories and the Brexit Party level on 20 percent, 13 points behind Labour.
The Tories are predicted to win just 24 percent of the vote in Thursday’s locals elections, 12 points behind Labour, which would equate to the loss of more than 500 councillors.
The polls revealed a general election tomorrow would see the Conservatives poll just 27 percent of the vote, nine points behind Labour, and crash to a huge defeat.
Election expert Professor Sir John Curtice of Strathclyde University told the Sunday Times: “The Conservatives are at severe risk of being punished in the local and European ballot boxes for their failure to deliver Brexit.
“Over one in five of those who voted Tory in 2017 now say that they would vote for Farage’s Brexit Party in a Westminster election.
“The figure rises to as many as one in three for the Euro election on May 23, almost all of them people who voted leave in 2016.”
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9.30am update: Scots would back independence under no deal Brexit
A majority of people in Scotland would vote for independence if there was a no-deal Brexit, polling has suggested.
The Panelbase survey for the Sunday Times Scotland found Scots are currently 53 percent to 47 percent in favour of staying in the UK.
But support for independence appears to grow in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
In that scenario, support for independence rises to 52 percent and opposition falls to 48 percent, the poll found.
