I have written a piece for today's Observer about the frustration that Conservatives feel about having UKIP stand against us, given the well-established argument that supporting them risks letting those in Labour and the Lib Dems with a track record of supporting euro-federalism remain in Parliament over Conservatives seeking the opposite direction of travel.
With 557 candidates, UKIP is fielding ten more candidates than the Referendum Party did in 1997, a new record for a minority party at a general election.
But I have also looked at those seats where UKIP is not putting up a candidate. I'm not sure it has been noted anywhere else, but I was astounded that for all their carping about the Tory failure to adopt a sufficiently robust European policy, they have failed to nominate a candidate against William Hague, the man who would lead negotiations with Europe for a Cameron Government. George Osborne's Tatton seat is similarly left uncontested by UKIP (Click here for the Press Association's full list of candidates standing for all parties in every constituency).
On the other hand, UKIP has broken the pledge made by its leader, Lord Pearson (above), just a couple of weeks ago not to oppose the Labour MP for Stroud, David Drew.
The party is not contesting any seat in Northern Ireland and has nominated a candidate in every seat in Wales.
Here is a list of the 44 seats in England and 31 seats in Scotland which UKIP is not contesting:
ENGLAND
Aldridge-Brownhills
Batley and Spen
Bedfordshire South West
Bermondsey and Old Southwark
Bethnal Green and Bow
Bexhill and Battle
Birkenhead
Blaydon
Bradford East
Brent Central
Camberwell and Peckham
Castle Point
Clacton
Corby
Dewsbury
Ealing Southall
East Ham
Greenwich and Woolwich
Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Haltemprice and Howden
Hayes and Harlington
Hemsworth
Hexham
Hornsey and Wood Green
Huddersfield
Jarrow
Kettering
Leeds Central
Leeds East
Lewisham Deptford
Makerfield
Manchester Gorton
Newcastle upon Tyne East
Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
Nuneaton
Richmond
Rochester and Strood
Shipley
South Shields
Stroud
Tatton
Vauxhall
Wakefield
Warrington North
SCOTLAND
Aberdeen North
Aberdeen South
Airdrie and Shotts
Argyll and Bute
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
Ayrshire Central
Ayrshire North and Arran
Banff and Buchan
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
Dundee West
East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
Edinburgh East
Edinburgh North and Leith
Edinburgh South
Edinburgh South West
Edinburgh West
Glasgow North
Glasgow North East
Glasgow North West
Glasgow South
Glasgow South West
Gordon
Kilmarnock and Loudoun
Linlithgow and Falkirk East
Motherwell and Wishaw
Na n-Eileanan an Iar
Paisley and Renfrewshire North
Paisley and Renfrewshire South
Perth and Perthshire North
Jonathan Isaby
