Ukip figures insist the party would carry on if Nigel Farage left , and that there are future leaders waiting to 'put their hats in the ring ' . Mr Farage has vowed he would stand down as leader if he fails to win the parliamentary seat he is contesting in Thanet South . A private poll , paid for by a Ukip donor but carried out by experts ComRes put the Conservatives on course to retain the seat by a small margin . UKIP MEP Diane James ( right ) has insisted the party would carry on if Nigel Farage failed to become an MP . But Diane James , an MEP and the party 's justice and home affairs spokesman , insisted the show would go on without him and that Ukip was 'not at all ' a one-man band . She said : 'Nigel stated categorically a few weeks ago that if he were not to be elected to the House of Commons he would stand down , that 's fact . 'We 've got a very , very high-calibre of individuals within Ukip… There are people there waiting . When the leadership race is announced then I 'm sure individuals will put their hats into the ring . ' Miss James who recently stood down as a parliamentary candidate for family reasons , said she had said she 'no aspirations ' to lead Ukip , but named three possible successors to Mr Farage – deputy leader Paul Nuttall , economics spokesman Patrick O'Flynn and deputy chairman Suzanne Evans , who are all standing as MPs in May . The poll put the Conservatives on 31 per cent , Ukip on 30 per cent and Labour on 29 per cent in the seat , where Tory MP Laura Sandys – a moderate , pro-European - is standing down . The Labour vote has shot up in the past month triggering fears in Ukip that Mr Farage could finish in third place . A poll in February , heavily publicised by Ukip , put him on course to win . Ms James named Ukip MEP Patrick O'Flynn , MP Douglas Carswell and deputy chair Suzanne Evans as potential future leaders . Mr Farage said in his recent autobiography : 'The consequences of me failing to secure a seat for myself in the Commons would be significant for me and the party . It is frankly just not credible for me to continue to lead the party without a Westminster seat of my own . 'Am I supposed to brief Ukip policy from the Westminster Arms pub ? No – if I fail to win South Thanet , it is curtains for me . I will have to step down . ' The Ukip vote across the country has dropped in recent months , having shot up after they topped the poll in last year 's European elections . Pundits now predict it will win a maximum of five seats in Westminster including that of Tory defector Douglas Carswell in Clacton , Essex . At least six Tory MPs will defect to Ukip if David Cameron tries to form another coalition with the Liberal Democrats , Nigel Farage has claimed . The Ukip leader said many Tory backbenchers will rebell if there is another power-sharing deal with Nick Clegg . He told Mr Farage told Sunday Times that he had had conversations with 'more than a handful ' of Tories about joining Ukip if the Prime Minister caves into Lib Dem demands on the terms of an EU referendum . Mr Farage said the possible defections were 'potentially very exciting stuff ' . He said : 'If Cameron comes back as prime minister in a coalition deal with Clegg and the terms of the referendum are on Clegg lines , not Farage lines , then you may very well see a more serious fracture in the Conservative party than you 've seen thus far . 'There is the potential in the next parliament , if there are a decent number of Ukip MPs , that resolve could be stiffened all round . '
Diane James has vowed to stand down if he loses in Thanet South . A private poll by Ukip has put the Tories on course to retain the seat . But Ukip figures insist the party would carry on if Mr Farage left . MEP Nigel Farage said 'there are people there waiting ' to take over .