Bob Spink makes a potentially fatal mistake

And I don't mean defecting to UKIP. Rather he should initiated a bye-election for Castle Point.

The risk is that he loses his seat, but the reward is to fight an election without being spectacularly out gunned by national general election campaign.

If I had been in his shoes I would have sought a new mandate almost straight away. It would have been seen as principled and would have allowed a party like UKIP to concentrate forces to have a fighting chance of success. Instead they have allowed the prospect of having an MP for up to two years to get the better of them.

Fortune favours the brave and small parties have to ride their luck - and today UKIP have failed the test.