Conservative Leicestershire County Council leader Nick Rushton has said his party needs to adopt some UKIP policies.
The senior Tory at County Hall said the party's current leadership needed to change tack to win back of the support of traditional Conservative voters who are moving over to Nigel Farage's party.
Coun Rushton made the comments to the Mercury following UKIP's recent successes in parliamentary by-elections.
Councillor Rushton, who has frequently clashed in the council chamber with former Tory David Sprason who defected to UKIP, said: "We need to appeal to the more elderly, dry right wing Tory.
"We need to adopt some UKIP policies.
"In fact they are not UKIP policies they are the policies we used to have that UKIP took from us.
"We need to encourage the leadership to adopt some populist policies. There's nothing wrong with that.
"Populist just means people like them."
Councillor Rushton added: "Let's have some popular policies. We are too busy scratching around trying to be all things to all people and trying to find the middle ground like Tony Blair did.
"We have alienated our own side - the white working class voter - the electrician and the plumber."
"At the moment they are not voting for us. Either they are not voting at all or they are voting for UKIP."
Coun Rushton said the Tories should pledge to hold an in/out referendum on Britain's EU membership on the same day as May's election.
He said: "It would shoot the UKIP fox straight away.
"We spend far too much money on foreign aid. The Government is making so many cuts to local Government funding it's desperate.
"I don't want to be sending money to India when we are having to shut down the youth service at County Hall.
"I don't want people in Brussels telling us we can't throw terrorists out of the country because of their human rights."
Coun Rushton said he was also concerned with the scale of the Conservative-led Coalition Government's cuts to the armed services.
He added: "They are old-fashioned Tory views."
Coun Rushton, who incorrectly predicted UKIP would not win "a damned seat" in last May's county elections, however said he still had concerns about UKIP.
He said: "They can be overtly racist. They say they are not but I think they are."
Coun Sprason said UKIP was not a racist party but added: "Coun Rushton may want an EU referendum but he's not going to get it because Cameron doesn't really want it so it's not going to happen.
"He is right though, Conservative voters are coming to UKIP in big numbers people don't trust the Tory leadership any more.
"The Conservative are just like New Labour.
"I think Nick needs to come and join UKIP if that's how he feels.
"I know many Conservatives at County Hall who don't believe in Cameron.
"They are nervous because they know we will take seats off them next time."
