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Douglas Carswell Might Not Be The Last: 6 Tories Who Might Follow Him To Ukip

6 Tories Who Could Follow Carswell And Join Ukip
The Huffington Post UK
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Tory MP Douglas Carswell's shock defection to Ukip has ramped up speculation about whether other Conservatives may follow him.

See also: Tory MP Douglas Carswell Defects To Ukip And Triggers By-Election

Ukip leader Nigel Farge triumphantly suggested that further defections from the Tory ranks could follow the eurosceptic backbencher's defection.

"There are backbench Conservatives and some Labour who feel very, very strongly in support of what UKIP are trying to achieve," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Rounding up the speculation, HuffPost UK presents six Tories who could one day be tempted to follow Carswell to Ukip.

6 Tories Who Could Follow Douglas Carswell And Join Ukip
John Redwood (01 of06)
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The arch Tory eurosceptic recently called on Ukip to "unite and fight" with Conservative eurosceptics to get Britain out of the EU, so he might be persuaded to work even more closely with Nigel Farage's party. (credit:Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images)
Daniel Hannan (02 of06)
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Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, who has consistently argued for an electoral pact between the Tories and Ukip, recently insisted he would not defect but admitted he did agree with as much of their views as he did for his own party. (credit:Dominic Lipinski/PA Archive)
David Nuttall(03 of06)
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The Tory MP already backs a pact between Ukip and his party, saying: "I would have no qualms about that as someone who believes that we would be better off out of the European Union". Nuttall, who is chairman of the Better Off Out Group, has already said he will "continue to make the case for the UK leaving the EU – something I agree with Douglas and of course UKIP about". He insists he intends to stay in the Tory party, but could that change as 2015 dawns?
Nadine Dorries (04 of06)
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Dorries has suggested she could run on a joint Ukip-Conservative candidate. Although she insists she won't defect, could she reconsider as Ukip takes off? (credit:PA/PA Archive)
Philip Davies (05 of06)
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Ukip already like Tory MP Philip Davies so much that they don't stand against him, so they would unsurprisingly love to have the prominent eurosceptic backbencher join their flock, even if he insists he won't be defecting. (credit:House of Commons)
Jacob Rees-Mogg(06 of06)
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Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has backed an electoral pact between his party and Ukip, and suggested "winning back our friends in UKIP" was his party's first priority. Could he decide to follow his ex-colleague Carswell by joining Ukip? (credit:Ben Pruchnie via Getty Images)
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