If findings like these should worry the whole political class, another aspect of YouGov's data should worry Conservatives especially and may even offer Labour supporters a little comfort. According to YouGov, Labour support among the electorate has fallen by five percentage points since the 2005 election and Liberal Democrat support has also fallen by five points — a combined loss of 10 percentage points.
On the face of it, the Tories should have gained most of those 10 points. But they have not done so.
As the figures in the chart indicate, the Conservatives have gained five of them but the various minor parties have gained the other five. The opposition to the Labour Government is thus fragmenting instead of consolidating.
No fewer than 13 per cent of YouGov's respondents say that they would vote for some party other than one of the main three at an early general election. Three per cent would back either the SNP or Plaid Cymru, four per cent Ukip, three per cent the BNP and two per cent the Greens.
These assorted small parties have, between them, had the support of 10 per cent or more of the electorate since the spring of this year.
The unpopularity of the Government is clearly not being translated in any straightforward way into support for the official Opposition. It is the unofficial opposition that is gaining in strength.
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"There is a huge vacuum in British politics because the three traditional parties do not offer the electorate a real choice," Farage said.
"UKIP is now the only Party saying what most people think. We will fill the void."
Mr Farage said he aimed to make Ukip a "truly representative party".
He said: "We have an awful lot to do. The party has always been very good at fighting elections in Europe.
"I intend to make the party a fully-fledged political party that is offering the public a real choice."
Mr Farage said Ukip would aim to field 500 candidates at the next general election.
He said it was his intention to move away from just the single issue of Europe and campaign on "lower, simpler, flatter taxes", selective education and giving Britain its own independent trade policy.
He said he wanted to give people a voice, particularly those who felt they could no longer vote for the Tories.
He added: "People may place us as being right of centre; I would place us as being in the centre of public opinion."
Election result:
Nigel Farage - 3,329
Richard Suchorzewski - 1,782
David Campbell Bannerman - 1,443
David Noakes - 851
Spoiled votes - 169
Total votes - 7,405
SUMMARY OF THE REPORT
"The question should not be whether we can afford to leave but how can we afford to stay in."
By 2007 the combined direct and indirect costs of EU membership will cost Britain close to £100,000 per minute.
Since Britain joined the ‘European Economic Community’ in 1973, Parliamentarians have time and again called for a cost-benefit analysis to prove or disprove the benefits of membership; successive Conservative and Labour governments have consistently refused on the grounds that the benefits are ‘self-evident’.Set out in the latest Bruges Group research by Gerard Batten MEP the full costs to Britain have now been calculated.The facts:
