The feeling within UKIP this afternoon is that Farage and his team are carrying out a scorched earth policy against anyone associated with Vote Leave, even targeting ‘Kippers who have not publicly endorsed his preferred campaign, Grassroots Out. Guido has been passed an email sent to all candidates by Farage’s Welsh fixer Sam Gould. It tells them they will be reported to the party if they do not back GO:

As per several emails you will have received from the party, we are 100% supporting GO Grassroots Out. As per these emails this Saturday 5th March is a national action day and we will require every branch and every candidate to be out campaigning for GO. I will be reporting directly to the party exactly which candidates have been involved in an action day this Saturday.

Add this to the sacking of Vote Leave affiliated Suzanne Evans and Peter Reeve this morning and it’s clear the party is turning the thumbscrews on its candidates. Why are they doing this? There has been considerable movement among UKIP councillors since the GO Galloway debacle, Douglas Carswell has tweeted that over 400 of UKIP’s 500 councillors now back Vote Leave. The sackings and the email to candidates are a warning shot to other ‘Kippers thinking about going the Suzanne Evans route…

UPDATE: GO-supporting David Sprason, the chairman of UKIP councillors, disputes the Carswell figure and claims 90% of UKIP councillors back GO.