British Prime Minister Cameron Woos UK Independence Party Voters

London:

British Prime Minister David Cameron tried today to heal a split on the right of British politics that threatens his re-election, urging voters defecting for the anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) to "come back home".

Speaking after one of his election candidates announced he was switching to UKIP ahead of a May 7 election, Cameron appealed to Conservative voters who had done the same to return to the fold.

"We've heard the message loud and clear about the things you want changed and we'll change those things," Cameron told an audience in Bristol. "But on the key choice about who has got the right team ... come with us, come back home."

UKIP took first place in European elections in Britain and poached two of Cameron's lawmakers last year. Polls show it siphons more voters from Cameron's party than the opposition Labour party.

Though Britain's first-past-the post electoral system means it is unlikely to win more than a handful of seats, its popularity threatens to split Cameron's vote.

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Cameron was speaking after Mike Whitehead, until last week the Conservative candidate for the seat of Hull West in northern England, said he was switching to UKIP after a power struggle with local Conservatives.

His defection was a morale boost for UKIP, whose support in some opinion polls has dipped after a series of racism and sexism scandals.

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UKIP, which wants a British withdrawal from the EU and lower immigration, hailed the switch as a "hammer blow" to the Conservatives, who said they had sacked Whitehead last week over an internal party disagreement.

The defection is unlikely to cause a political upset, however, as the area is comfortably held by Labour.

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Seeking to cast itself as a challenger to Cameron's party in southern England and to Labour in northern England, UKIP said Whitehead's defection proved its strategy was working.

"His move to UKIP just underlines that today, the real party of opposition to Labour in the North is UKIP," said Nigel Farage, UKIP's leader.

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Cameron said he understood the frustration that voters felt about the two issues which UKIP campaigns on - immigration and Europe - but urged them to weigh their voting choice carefully.

"This election is not a time to send a message or make a protest," he said. "This election is about choosing the government of this country for the next five years."