Paul Nuttall 'not going anywhere' as Farage questions Stoke strategy

Paul Nuttall has dismissed the idea he might step down after a disappointing result in his first byelection as Ukip leader, as Nigel Farage and other senior figures questioned whether he was distinctive enough on immigration.

Nuttall said he was “not going anywhere” after failing to unseat Labour in Stoke-on-Trent Central, where he finished just 79 votes ahead of the third-placed Conservative candidate.

In Copeland, the Cumbrian seat taken by the Conservatives in another byelection, Ukip’s vote dropped by 9% on the general election, bolstering Theresa May’s hopes that the Tories can replace Nuttall’s party as the major threat to Labour in its heartlands.

Asked by reporters whether he was thinking about quitting, Nuttall said: “No, I’m only 12 weeks in. Come on, give me a break.”

However, the result has reopened splits within Ukip, which under Nuttall has sought to moderate some of its policies and stances, part of his ambition to challenge Labour.

Farage, the longtime leader who has since attached himself ideologically to Donald Trump, told Sky News the Stoke result was disappointing, and the party “could have been clearer on immigration”.

The theme was echoed by Bill Etheridge, one of Ukip MEPs for the West Midlands region, who said Nuttall had been poorly advised in seeking to take Labour on their ideological territory, rather than keeping the party’s reputation as a radical voice.

Etheridge said he hoped Nuttall would pursue a “Farage-ist approach” from now on, saying he was disappointed at the Stoke result.

“I’m 100% supportive of Paul continuing as the leader, but I believe there is room for us to be more of a challenging, radical, rightwing party, with libertarian values at the forefront, which I think have got obscured of late,” he said.

“Maybe some of Paul’s advisers have led him down a dead end on this. We are all going to back Paul, but hopefully we’ll win the argument for the party to get back to its real roots, of challenging authority and a sort of Farage-ist approach to the future.”

Nuttall’s team in Stoke included Suzanne Evans, Ukip’s head of policy, Patrick O’Flynn, another MEP, and Lisa Duffy, a former leadership candidate, all of whom are on the wing of the party pushing for a more modern outlook.

Diane James, who succeeded Farage last year before quitting after 18 days, said the party was united but also criticised Nuttall’s team.

“Now I think he has got to face the decision which is that maybe some of those individuals need to be moved aside, moved to different roles, so that a repeat of what happened in Stoke – which did represent very, very high potential for the party to do well – doesn’t happen again,” she told Sky News.

The comments illustrate how the top of Ukip remains split between modernisers, keen to challenge Labour on issues such as NHS spending, and more traditional elements, who prefer a robust approach on areas such as immigration and crime.

Added to this was the pressure from some to follow Farage in embracing the more brash tone and hard right policies of Trump.

Another senior Ukip figure, who asked to not be named, said: “You’ve constantly got people pushing that kind of idea. And it’s difficult to get away with, as Nigel is saying this on a daily basis.”

They said that while Nuttall could have done more to dampen expectations about Stoke, he was not under threat as leader. “There’s no appetite for challenging Paul, not least as we’ve got no one else to replace him.”

Nuttall remained defiant after the Stoke result, saying: “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.”

Farage had 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,” he said.

Nuttall’s 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.

Two party officials in Liverpool resigned as a result of the controversies and some canvassers in Stoke said it had come up on the doorstep.