Interview: Paul Nuttall—losing in Stoke would "dent" my leadership of Ukip

"One of two things had to happen to ensure Ukip survived, either Nigel Farage had to come back as leader, or I had to step in. He wasn’t going to come back, so therefore I had a duty to sort it out."

Paul Nuttall is leader of Ukip and also its candidate for the Stoke-on-Trent by-election, which takes place on 23rd February.

When I asked him what a loss would mean for his leadership of the party, and whether he would resign, he said: "Of course it would be a dent," but gathered himself: "It wouldn't be terminal... Stoke was not even in our top 50 target seats, so I've really taken a punt on this one."

In the EU referendum, 69 per cent of voters in Stoke-on-Trent Central voted "Leave"—the highest level of any UK city. In the wake of Labour MP Tristram Hunt's resignation, Nuttall hopes for another "vote for change. And let’s not forget, this has been labelled the capital of Brexit."

Nuttall is a charismatic politician with an eye-catching dress sense. Labour's dreadful performance in the national polls under Jeremy Corbyn, explains why Nuttall thinks Stoke could help Ukip "replace the Labour Party as the patriotic voice of working class people."

A few months ago, the prospect of Ukip mounting a serious challenge anywhere seemed far off. Towards the end of 2016, Nuttall's party descended into chaos. When Britain voted "Leave," Ukip faced a problem—its defining political purpose had been fulfilled. This was shortly followed by the resignation of Nigel Farage. The party then went through three leaders in as many months, with one, Diane James, lasting just 19 days in the post. On top of this, two Ukip MEPs had a fist-fight during a party meeting at the European Parliament, with one of them winding up in hospital.

While Nuttall conceded that Ukip was "viewed as being in disarray in the autumn," he said that after a month and a half in charge, he has now "steadied the ship," achieving unity through having "appointed people with big roles within the party from all wings."

The controversy has not gone away, however. Over recent days, it has become clear that Nuttall named his "permanent address" as a house in Stoke on his nomination form for the by-election, despite not living in the property at the time. This led to a police report being filed. When I asked him whether any formal investigation into this could derail his campaign, his normally buoyant conversational style took on a harder tone: "No, we are completely and utterly within the rules," he said. "This really is a complete and utter red herring."

The Labour candidate, Gareth Snell, has pounced on claims previously made by Nuttall that the NHS should be privatised. "I want to see £3bn a year extra put into the health service!” Nuttall insisted. “I also want to see £1.2bn a year put into social care, and we’re the only political party to tell you where that money will come from: we’ll get it from slashing the foreign aid budget, which is costing the British people 30m quid a day."

Yesterday, MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of triggering Article 50—the mechanism by which Britain leaves the EU. But there were some rebels: over 100 MPs voted against. Nuttall accused politicians who attempt to block Brexit of "trying to subvert the will of the British people," who "made it perfectly clear what they were voting for on 23rd June: not just to leave the EU but to leave the single market. This means control of borders, signing our own free trade deals, not complying with EU directives, and not paying a membership fee."

"My message is woe betide any MP who tries to subvert the will of their constituents, particularly if you are from a constituency which voted "Leave."

Despite the odd parliamentary rebel, though, Nuttall's vision for Brexit is coming to pass. In her speech at Lancaster House in January, May said that Britain would indeed be leaving the Single Market. In light of this, what use is Ukip now? "Let’s wait until these negotiations start," said Nuttall. "We know what kind of Brexit Theresa May wants, but she has a history of talking the talk but very rarely walking the walk. So Ukip... needs to ensure the government’s feet are held to the fire on Brexit."

Nuttall summed up his thoughts on the campaign: "We’re getting a great reception on doorsteps, we’re running a professional campaign here and there’s a real buzz around the place... I think we can make this the capital of change on 23rd February."