Paul Nuttall defends resumption of Ukip campaign with manifesto launch

The Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, has said his party is facing a “difficult election” but defended his decision to launch its manifesto on Thursday after an election campaigning suspension following the Manchester Arena bombings.

Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have said they will not resume national campaigning until Friday, but local campaigns will continue after the minute’s silence at 11am to remember the 22 killed in the bombing.

“We took the decision that the best way to show these people they will be beaten and they will not win is to get back into the saddle and launch our manifesto,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “The one thing they hate more than anything is our democracy and the democratic process should continue.”

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Ukip had been due to launch its manifesto on Wednesday morning in central London. Nuttall was also supposed to appear on BBC1 the previous evening for a rolling series of interviews with party leaders, but these were also put back.

Nuttall will stand for Boston and Skegness in the June election, after losing the Stoke-on-Trent Central byelection in February.

The Ukip leader has faced calls to resign following his failure to take the seat, but Nuttall said he wanted to take the party beyond the general election to “restructure, professionalise and rebrand”.

Nuttall conceded, however, that his party had fallen back, slumping to just 2% in some polls. “We are still strong. We took a hit in terms of the polls, we know that, but what we’ve learned from 2015 is that a vote share isn’t everything. We got 4m votes and one seat,” he said.

“This time we are targeting sensibly, drilling down in local communities, delivering leaflets and knocking on doors. Hopefully we’ll get over the line and win the seats.”

Nuttall said Ukip was “only about 1,000 members down since the referendum” and his party would act as the “guard dogs of Brexit” during the negotiations with Brussels. “Ukip is more important now than it has ever been. It’s the insurance policy for the country,” he said.

The manifesto is expected to consolidate the party’s change of direction to focus on Islam and immigration. It has already announced its intention to ban face coverings, subject girls at risk of female genital mutilation to medical examinations, and have a “one in, one out” policy on immigration.

“We are certainly not racist,” Nuttall said. when challenged by the presenter John Humphrys. “What we believe in is an immigration system fair to everyone, anAustralian points-based system where people should be able to come to this country if you can add to our economy, if you have the skills this country needs, come here and work regardless of your colour and religion.”