Ukip’s Carswell in secret talks to rejoin the Conservatives

UKIP’S sole MP, Douglas Carswell, has held secret talks about rejoining the Conservatives to fight the 2020 general election, it emerged last night, as his party considers expelling him in a row over a knighthood for Nigel Farage.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Mr Carswell, who defected in 2014, sought out Conservative MPs to sound out whether he would be welcomed back by his old party. The idea is said to have been given a positive reception by several of his former colleagues.

Mr Carswell’s future is in doubt after senior Ukip figures called on him to quit over his alleged attempts to deny Mr Farage a knighthood. He faces a formal investigation over the issue which could result in his party membership being cancelled.

Among his fiercest critics is Arron Banks, the businessman and Ukip

donor, who announced his intention to stand against Mr Carswell in his Clacton seat during an extraordinary row on Twitter.

After Mr Carswell poked fun at Mr Farage by tweeting “Knight night”, Mr Banks wrote: “This Carswell tweet says it all. Ukip MP or not, I’ll stand against him in Clacton next election!” He added: “We will have a high street shop in Clacton, professional agent appointed soon and I’ll be rolling my sleeves up.”

Mr Carswell is understood to be keen to avoid a by-election, which would be likely if he rejoined the Tories before a general election, but believes going back after the UK leaves the EU will allow him to explain his time in Ukip as part of a plan to secure Brexit.

However, the matter will be taken out of his hands if he is expelled by Ukip, which does not have the power to withdraw the Parliamentary whip from him – as he is effectively the leader of his own party in the Commons – but could cancel his membership.

Mr Carswell said last week he would feel “honour bound” to resign and restand if he switched parties mid-term.

His role in the Farage knighthood application was discussed “briefly” at a meeting of the party’s ruling National Executive Committee on Monday.

Yesterday Paul Oakden, the party’s chairman, met Mr Carswell as part of a formal investigation into the row.

Mr Oakden told The Telegraph that Mr Carswell could face being thrown out of the party. He said: “There is no one in Ukip who should try to block Nigel from getting the honour that he quite rightly deserves. What we need to establish is whether Douglas did or did not facilitate that.”

Mr Farage, who has been engaged in a long-running feud with Mr Carswell, said he “suspected” the party would now throw him out.

One senior Government source said they had a discussion with Mr Carswell about the plan to defect after the Ukip MP stressed his support for Theresa May during Prime Minister’s Question Time late last year. They added: “We talked about him coming back to rejoin the Conservatives at the next general election. Douglas has been voting with the Tories anyway … he’s basically counted as another Tory already.”

Mr Carswell said: “I am 100 per cent Ukip and will be staying with Ukip.

“But this is the first Brexit Government in my lifetime and I am happy to help them get a good Brexit.”

Asked why he did not simply rejoin his old party, he added his constituents were “a little electioned out” having had a referendum, a general election, and a by-election in the last few years.