It is a boost for the UK Independence Party of Nigel Farage, just a week after the British election campaign got underway.<br /><br /> A candidate for the ruling Conservatives in the north of England has switched his support to Farage’s UKIP party.<br /><br /> Mike Whitehead was the candidate in Hull West and Hessle, a safe Labour seat.<br /><br /> The move appears to be the result of an internal row in the constituency, and there is a dispute over whether the candidate defected or was sacked. <br /><br /> UKIP and the main Labour opposition party have described the switch as a blow to Prime Minister David Cameron. <br /><br /> Two Conservative MPs had already defected to UKIP last year.<br /><br /> The election on May the 7th is expected to be one of the closest in years, with the Conservatives and Labour neck and neck in the opinion polls.
