Act more like Farage and less like a public school toff, Cameron is told by his former Tory council leader Keith Mitchell said 'out of touch' PM needed to reconnect with the public Claimed Cameron and George Osborne come across as public school toffs David Cameron needs to start behaving less like a "public school toff" and more like Nigel Farage, his former Tory council leader warned yesterday. In a stinging open letter, Keith Mitchell said the "out of touch" Prime Minister needed to reconnect with the public in order to reverse the rise of Mr Farage's UKIP. Mr Mitchell - leader of Oxfordshire County Council until he stood down last week - also said grassroots activists were "close to extinction." Polls apart: UKIP Leader Nigel Farage (left) smokes a cigarette and drinks a pint of beer while David Cameron (right) has been told he needs to start behaving less like a 'public school toff' In the letter posted on his blog, Mr Mitchell said the Tories" woes were not all about policy, or even Europe. He said the Tory leadership needed to change its style - urging Mr Cameron and others to take a leaf out of Mr Farage's book. "I am afraid the UKIP leader has a style and a manner of speaking that connects with ordinary mortals much better than professional politicians," he said. He is unafraid to be filmed with a pint of beer and a cigarette in his hand when all of our media training tells us to eschew either image. He also uses soundbites that appeal to Conservatives. His warning came as figures revealed UKIP enjoyed a 51 per cent surge in members during the past 12 months, with many of them defecting from the Conservative Party. Keith Mitchell, leader of Oxfordshire County Council until he stood down last week, said the 'out of touch' Prime Minister needed to reconnect with the public in order to reverse the rise of Mr Farage¿s UKIP Membership of the anti-EU party surged from 17,220 to 26,097 in the year to April. Conservative Party membership is thought to have fallen to around 130,000 from a peak under Mr Cameron of more than 400,000. Some MPs say they have lost more than a quarter of their members in the last year alone. In words aimed at the Prime Minister, Mr Mitchell added: "You and George [Osborne], in particular, have been portrayed as public school toffs. Mr Mitchell said Mr Cameron and George Osborne have been portrayed as public school toffs` You have to work out how to be one of us without affectation or silly gimmicks and to speak the language of Joe Public. I understand how hard this is and the conflicting pressures on you, but people want a clearer and stronger style of leadership that speaks the language of conviction and leadership. He said Mr Cameron had the "capacity" to lead the Tories to victory, but added: "It will take the charisma of Churchill and the conviction of Thatcher to deliver." And he urged Mr Cameron to be "clearer about the limitations of coalition" and spell out areas where the Liberal Democrats were blocking reform. Meanwhile, Tory MPs spent more than an hour grilling party chairman Grant Shapps last night over the Conservatives" failure against UKIP. Many told ministers it was essential to take a tougher line on an EU referendum. MPs are pushing Mr Cameron to support backbench proposals for legislation this year, enshrining in law his pledge to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU in 2017. In a further blow last night it emerged that Mr Cameron is struggling to build the support in Europe needed to block a £9.5billion increase in this year's EU budget. Brussels sources said he faced defeat as early as next week in a vote which will cost the UK an extra £769million. Chancellor Mr Osborne was urged to ignore "siren calls" to change course on the economy last night as IMF inspectors flew in to rake over Britain's finances. The plea from business leaders came as unions warned the Coalition's austerity drive had led to "a lost decade for growth." The IMF is expected to reiterate warnings that the Coalition's strategy to cut debt is too aggressive and hinders recovery. Nadine Dorries: In from the cold Outspoken MP Nadine Dorries has been welcomed back into the Conservative Party fold after almost half a year in exile - amid fears she would defect to UKIP. Mrs Dorries was suspended from the party last year for competing in ITV's reality TV show, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, in Australia. She also drew the wrath of government whips when she described David Cameron and George Osborne as "arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk." But she was reinstated as a Tory MP yesterday after apologising for swapping Westminster for the jungle during parliamentary term time. Her acceptance back into Conservative ranks follows a weekend of speculation that she was about to be lured to UKIP. Leader Nigel Farage this weekend signalled he would take Mrs Dorries into his party if the Conservatives did not, warning: "Cameron's loss would be our gain." Sources close to Mr Osborne last night insisted he had no problem with Mrs Dorries being re-admitted into the party and had not held any grudges against her. She told the Daily Mail: "I am delighted to be back in the fold. The Whip has been restored with no conditions other than those which apply to any MP.