Ukip chairman: It may take decades to win a by-election
UKIP MAY have to wait 20 years or more before they manage to win another by-election, the party’s chairman has said, after leader Paul Nuttall failed to take Stoke-on-Trent Central from Labour.
Paul Oakden insisted the membership was fully behind Mr Nuttall’s fledgling leadership despite his “disappointing” defeat – but he acknowledged that the party could face a long haul if it was going to increase its tally of one MP at Westminster.
His comments come as former Ukip leader Nigel Farage claimed he is living like a “virtual prisoner” and is “frightened” to leave his home because of the way the media has “demonised” the party.
In an interview for Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, the MEP accused the press of highlighting some members of the party with controversial views to try to discredit Ukip as a whole.
“I’ve had to live years, frankly, of being frightened of walking out into the street all because the media picked out these people. And because of these people, attempted to demonise me and give me a bad name,” he told the programme.
“And you’re surprised three years on, when I have to live like a virtual prisoner, that I’m not happy about it? Will I ever forgive the British media for what they’ve done to me? No.”
Ukip leader Paul Nuttall lost the Stoke Central seat to Labour candidate Gareth Snell by 2,620 votes.
This is despite the city being dubbed “Brexit-central” after seeing the biggest support for leaving the EU in last year’s referendum.
The Liverpool-born MEP had initially been confident of his chances, declaring that a victory in Stoke could “open the floodgates” to success for the party.
However, his campaign has been plagued by questions regarding claims he was present at Hillsborough during the 1989 disaster and lost “close” friends in the incident.
Mr Oakden acknowledged Mr Nuttall had endured a “difficult” campaign that had seen him “targeted by various unpleasant elements”. But in an interview with the BBC, he insisted Mr Nuttall had the full support of the party.
“I think it was incredibly courageous of him to put his head above the parapet and stand to be the candidate for our party,” he said. “Politics is a long game. It took us 23-odd years to win a referendum to get Britain out of the European Union. It may take that long for us to get a seat in Westminster via a by-election.”