Paul Nuttall to succeed Nigel Farage as Ukip leader

Kate Proctor28 November 2016
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Paul Nuttall was today elected the new leader of UKIP as he vowed to replace the Labour Party and offered to show the door to those members “fighting the battles of the past”.

The former UKIP deputy leader and MEP for the North West was the bookmakers’ favourite for the role, going up against ex-deputy chairman Suzanne Evans and former soldier John Rees-Evans.

After winning with 62.2 per cent of the vote, Mr Nuttall, 39, said: “Only unity breeds success. People do not vote, join or donate to divided parties, so those within the party who want to come together and unite, I say we have a great and successful future.

“For those who do not want to unify and want to continue fighting the battles of the past, then I’m afraid your time in UKIP is coming to the end.

“Today is the day we start to put the UKIP jigsaw back together.”

New leader: Paul Nuttall is congratulated on stage by Nigel Farage at the UKIP leadership election 
REUTERS

She quit the party altogether last Monday.

In a direct bid for Labour votes he said UKIP under his leadership would help “real working people in real working class communities”.

He appointed London mayoral candidate and Assembly Peter Whittle as deputy leader.

Suzanne Evans won 19.2 per cent of the vote with 2973 votes and Mr Rees-Evans received 2775 votes or 18.1 per cent. Of the 32,757 ballots sent out to members, only 15405 people voted - just under half of the membership.

Out-going leader Nigel Farage said he hoped this departure from the party would be his last after he was forced into returning as interim leader when Diane James quit in October without having officially signed the election paperwork.

Paul Nuttall gives his leadership acceptance speech
REUTERS

Before announcing the winner, he joked: “I am going to make sure they have signed the Electoral Commission documentation. The new leader will be signing this if necessary in blood!”

He added: “It’s not been the greatest few months for UKIP, yet it’s not really made much difference. Our support in the polls is still very, very solid.”

UKIP’s sole MP in Westminster said a new leader provides a chance for the party to reframe its image away from being a “one man band”.

Ex-Tory Douglas Carswell, who fought publicly with Mr Farage, said: “Today is the day we turn over a new page and start a fresh chapter. I think it’s the beginning of UKIP coming of age. We are no longer a one man band and are a broad based party with lots of able people who are capable of uniting and defeating the established parties in Westminster.”

The MEP for north-west England arrives to hear the result of the Ukip leadership election
PA

The party was thrown into disarray this Autumn when Mrs James gave up the top job, just 18 days after being elected to replace Mr Farage. An earlier favourite Steven Woolfe MEP, who failed to hand in his application papers to stand in the first election on time, then quit the party in October. This followed an embarrassing scuffle with fellow UKIP MEP Mike Hookem in the European Parliament.

A spokesperson for Mr Nuttall said he had not taken “anything for granted” during the election campaign but had been buoyed by the backing of the London Assembly members, the Welsh Assembly and majority of MEPs.

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