UKIP members 'must stop knocking lumps out of each other'
Favourite Paul Nuttall was one of several candidates who spoke about perceived infighting at UKIP's first leadership hustings.
Tuesday 1 November 2016 22:56, UK
Paul Nuttall, the favourite to become UKIP's next leader, says party members "must stop knocking lumps out of each other and take on the enemy instead".
He was speaking at UKIP's first leadership hustings in central London, attended by all four candidates vying to replace Diane James, who stood down as leader after 18 days.
Mr Nuttall, who served as Nigel Farage's deputy for six years, is standing against ex-deputy chairwoman Suzanne Evans, London Assembly member Peter Whittle and retired businessman John Rees-Evans.
The party's perceived infighting was one of the evening's recurring topics following public spats between UKIP's only MP Douglas Carswell and millionaire backer Arron Banks, as well as
Mr Rees-Evans is proposing a root and branch restructure of the party allowing members a greater say through a system of online policy consultations.
He said: "UKIP is sick. We have financial problems and management problems and we have to implement a plan which takes us into the future."
Ms Evans advocated less radical reform, and referenced her own treatment when she was suspended by the National Executive Committee after accusing another party member of homophobia.
"There are times when the rule book has been thrown at some and not at others," she told the packed Emmanuel Centre in Westminster.
Mr Nuttall agreed, saying: "We have to be singing from the same hymn sheet when we go out into public."
The discussion also touched on migration control, political correctness, and the post-Brexit economy.
Mr Whittle suggested every school should showcase a Union Jack and photograph of the Queen while Mr Nuttall said all immigrants should commit to speak English within a year of arriving.
Ms Evans told party members that radical Islam was Britain's "next big battle", while John Rees-Evans said the country needed to be underpinned by its founding Judeo-Christian values.
The evening was punctuated by applause, especially when candidates advocated the immediate repeal of the 1972 European Communities Act as a means of speeding up Brexit, rather than the two-year Article 50 process.
Mr Nuttall was most vocal in his desire to end the perception of UKIP arguing its way into irrelevancy.
"I've watched with growing incredulity as the party which I love and the party which I've helped grow from nothing begins to fall to pieces," he said.
"We must not forget how close this infighting has taken us to the edge of a political cliff."