UKIP leader Paul Nuttall upbeat despite party's local election wipeout
Paul Nuttall says UKIP had been caught up in a Conservative "tidal wave" but that he thought his party would bounce back.
Saturday 6 May 2017 16:41, UK
UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has made his first public appearance since his party's devastating local election results - which saw more than 100 councillors swept away as voters shifted to the Conservatives.
During a visit to the Boston and Skegness constituency he will be contesting on 8 June, Mr Nuttall acknowledged the party was now facing a fight for survival, claiming the goal was now to "stay on the pitch".
"We knew that these local elections were going to be the most difficult we've ever fought. But of course Theresa May performed a massive U-turn, called a General Election and made them doubly difficult for us" he said.
The UKIP leader was warmly received by some residents of the sleepy Lincolnshire town of Burgh Le Marsh, including the local fishmonger who raised the issue of EU fishing regulations, and the town butcher, who while selling him sausages told Mr Nuttall he had voted Leave in the referendum.
But after losing all 14 of the UKIP councillors in Lincolnshire, Mr Nuttall acknowledged he was not the favourite in the battle for the parliamentary seat, despite being up against a Tory incumbent candidate who voted to remain in an area where more than 70% of voters chose to exit the EU.
Instead he claimed the goal for UKIP was now to cling on to some of its vote share so that it is positioned to claw back support once the "wheels come off" Brexit negotiations.
"UKIP just has to stay on the pitch, hold its ground and people will come back to us," he said.
"I think Theresa May will start to barter things away.
"I think fisheries will go, I think there will be some sort of movement on immigration and freedom of movement, I think she might buckle on that. And I think she will certainly buckle on the divorce bill..
"When people are angry, when people feel they have been let down, when people feel they aren't getting the Brexit they wanted and they voted for on June 23, where are they going to go? They are going to return to UKIP. The future of UKIP is very bright indeed."
But the local election results prompted previously supportive figures to criticise the party.
Former donor Arron Banks declared UKIP "finished as an electoral force", while one time leadership contender Steven Wolfe MEP told the BBC he would cast a vote for the Conservatives rather than UKIP.