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| Ukip's Paul Nuttall 'not going anywhere' despite Stoke byelection failure | Ukip's Paul Nuttall 'not going anywhere' despite Stoke byelection failure |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Paul Nuttall has insisted he is “not going anywhere” after Ukip’s failure to win a byelection in Stoke-on-Trent Central raised questions about his claim that his party is well-placed to steal working-class votes from Labour. | Paul Nuttall has insisted he is “not going anywhere” after Ukip’s failure to win a byelection in Stoke-on-Trent Central raised questions about his claim that his party is well-placed to steal working-class votes from Labour. |
| Asked by reporters whether his inability to take the seat meant that he should step down, Nuttall said: “No, I’m only 12 weeks in. Come on, give me a break. | Asked by reporters whether his inability to take the seat meant that he should step down, Nuttall said: “No, I’m only 12 weeks in. Come on, give me a break. |
| “We’ve unified the party, we’ll go forward. Ukip’s moving forward and this will happen. This seat was 72 on our target list, there is a lot more to come from us. We are not going anywhere – we move on. There are other issues beyond Brexit. Lots more seats will happen where we will have more success in the future.” | “We’ve unified the party, we’ll go forward. Ukip’s moving forward and this will happen. This seat was 72 on our target list, there is a lot more to come from us. We are not going anywhere – we move on. There are other issues beyond Brexit. Lots more seats will happen where we will have more success in the future.” |
| Ukip came second in Stoke-on-Trent Central, increasing its share of the vote by 2% and holding the Conservatives in the third place they took at last year’s general election. But Nuttall had gambled that standing in Stoke would show his party’s strength in a city labelled Britain’s Brexit capital because of its 70% leave vote at last year’s referendum. | Ukip came second in Stoke-on-Trent Central, increasing its share of the vote by 2% and holding the Conservatives in the third place they took at last year’s general election. But Nuttall had gambled that standing in Stoke would show his party’s strength in a city labelled Britain’s Brexit capital because of its 70% leave vote at last year’s referendum. |
| In Copeland, the Cumbrian seat taken by the Conservatives, Ukip’s vote dropped by 9% on the general election, boosting Theresa May’s hopes that the Tories can replace Nuttall’s party as the major threat to Labour in its heartlands. | In Copeland, the Cumbrian seat taken by the Conservatives, Ukip’s vote dropped by 9% on the general election, boosting Theresa May’s hopes that the Tories can replace Nuttall’s party as the major threat to Labour in its heartlands. |
| The loss comes after Nigel Farage told Nuttall at Ukip’s spring conference this month that victory in Stoke was crucial to the future of the party.“I don’t think anybody for one moment can underplay just how important, just how fundamental, that byelection is for the futures of both the Labour party and indeed of Ukip too – it matters and it matters hugely,” the former party leader said. | The loss comes after Nigel Farage told Nuttall at Ukip’s spring conference this month that victory in Stoke was crucial to the future of the party.“I don’t think anybody for one moment can underplay just how important, just how fundamental, that byelection is for the futures of both the Labour party and indeed of Ukip too – it matters and it matters hugely,” the former party leader said. |
| Targeting working-class Labour voters was a key part of Nuttall’s bid for the Ukip leadership in December, and he said during the byelection campaign that he was “facing down a Labour party that has more in common with Stoke Newington than Stoke-on-Trent.” | Targeting working-class Labour voters was a key part of Nuttall’s bid for the Ukip leadership in December, and he said during the byelection campaign that he was “facing down a Labour party that has more in common with Stoke Newington than Stoke-on-Trent.” |
| Instead, his campaign was rocked by a series of scandals, in particular an admission, after an investigation by the Guardian that he had not lost close family members in the Hillsborough stadium disaster as his website had claimed. | Instead, his campaign was rocked by a series of scandals, in particular an admission, after an investigation by the Guardian that he had not lost close family members in the Hillsborough stadium disaster as his website had claimed. |
| Arron Banks, the party’s key financial backer and a supporter of Nuttall, appeared to compound the party’s woes when he stood by comments that he was “sick to death” of hearing about Hillsborough. | Arron Banks, the party’s key financial backer and a supporter of Nuttall, appeared to compound the party’s woes when he stood by comments that he was “sick to death” of hearing about Hillsborough. |
| Two party officials in Liverpool subsequently resigned as a result of the controversies and some canvassers in Stoke said it had come up on the doorstep. | |
| Ukip has been in turmoil over the past 12 months despite being on the winning side in the EU referendum. Its most famous frontman, Farage, resigned from the leadership, only to subsequently return as a stand-in last autumn when Diane James, his successor, stepped down just weeks into the job. | Ukip has been in turmoil over the past 12 months despite being on the winning side in the EU referendum. Its most famous frontman, Farage, resigned from the leadership, only to subsequently return as a stand-in last autumn when Diane James, his successor, stepped down just weeks into the job. |
| Questions will now be raised about whether Nuttall is up to the task that he set himself. After the count in Stoke-on-Trent Central he insisted: “Ukip’s time will come.” | Questions will now be raised about whether Nuttall is up to the task that he set himself. After the count in Stoke-on-Trent Central he insisted: “Ukip’s time will come.” |