This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/08/ukip-will-still-have-a-future-after-brexit-paul-nuttall-insists

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Ukip will still have a future after Brexit, says Paul Nuttall Ukip will still have a future after Brexit, says Paul Nuttall
(about 3 hours later)
Ukip’s leader has insisted his party has a political future after Brexit, as he unveiled an immigration policy that would seek to impose zero net migration to the country over a five-year period. Ukip’s leader has insisted the party still has a political future despite last week’s disastrous local election results, arguing that Theresa May could not be trusted to secure a robust Brexit or properly reduce immigration.
Stressing the need for “clear water between us and the establishment parties”, Paul Nuttall argued that as well as holding Theresa May to account over Brexit, Ukip hoped to introduce radical policies in other areas. Paul Nuttall sought to draw a line under a difficult few days in which the party’s local election vote share plummeted from 22% to 5%, with the loss of 114 seats by promising a series of “radical” election pledges on areas other than EU departure.
He argued that because of its role in pushing forward the Brexit agenda Ukip had been the most influential party of the century.
He said last week’s disastrous local election performance – when Ukip won just one seat, made a net loss of 114, and took 5% of the vote – was a one-off and to be expected given the imminent general election.
He said: “We knew that these local election results were going to be difficult. We knew that they were going to be the most difficult set of elections we were going to fight.”He said: “We knew that these local election results were going to be difficult. We knew that they were going to be the most difficult set of elections we were going to fight.”
Speaking on Sunday, Nuttall’s predecessor Nigel Farage had warned that if May delivered a robust Brexit, Ukip might no longer have a political future. As he introduced Ukip’s new immigration policy, which calls for a complete ban on unskilled arrivals so as to reduce net migration to zero, Nuttall dismissed a warning from his predecessor, Nigel Farage, that a successful Brexit from Theresa May could spell the end of the party.
Nuttall dismissed this, arguing that Ukip would be needed as an “insurance policy” as the prime minister was politically incapable of delivering a suitably robust Brexit. The prime minister was incapable of matching Ukip’s Brexit demands in areas including fisheries, immigration and permitting no final severance payment to Brussels, Nuttall said.
“It isn’t going to happen,” he said. “There’s no chance that that will happen whatsoever. I’m confident that she will begin to backslide once these negotiations start.“It isn’t going to happen,” he said. “There’s no chance that that will happen whatsoever. I’m confident that she will begin to backslide once these negotiations start.
“At the moment, the prime minister is being believed on the issue of Brexit. She’s able to talk the talk. But walking the walk will begin in September, once negotiations really begin in earnest.”“At the moment, the prime minister is being believed on the issue of Brexit. She’s able to talk the talk. But walking the walk will begin in September, once negotiations really begin in earnest.”
Nuttall pointed to immigration as another fruitful area for Ukip, saying the Conservatives had “broken their promises on this time and time again”. May’s record as home secretary showed she could not be trusted to meet her renewed pledge to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, he added. However, Ukip’s immigration spokesman, John Bickley, conceded that Ukip currently faced a major challenge competing against what he termed a “Ukip-light” Conservative government.
Ukip’s immigration policy, unveiled in Westminster by Nuttall and the party’s immigration spokesman, John Bickley, includes a pledge to reduce net migration to zero over a five-year period, with no exceptions for student numbers. Bickley said a number of Ukip supporters had told him they would vote Conservative to make sure Brexit happened. “They realise that the only person who can technically deliver Brexit is Theresa May,” he said.
This would lead to an immigration commission being established to try to restrict arrivals to about 300,000 a year over five years – a figure intended to match a similar-sized outflow. The elections have prompted a bout of soul-searching within Ukip about how best to stay relevant, and whether Nuttall’s approach of more overtly hard-right policies is the correct route to plot.
Arrivals would be managed via an Australian-style points system for skilled workers, Bickley explained, with a bar on unskilled or low-skilled entrants. A series of party figures have expressed worry over the first election pledges, which targeted the Muslim population through seeking to ban full-face veils and increasing the penalties for sexual offences if the perpetrator comes from a different religion to the victim.
Some have also questioned whether Nuttall, who hesitated for some days before announcing he would fight for the Boston and Skegness seat in Lincolnshire, can escape from Farage’s shadow.
Asked about his leadership, Nuttall replied: “Am I the right man to answer these questions? Well, at the moment I’m the leader of Ukip.”
Monday’s immigration policy announcement is intended to put what Nuttall termed “clear water between us and the establishment parties”.
It is centred around a pledge to reduce net migration to zero over a five-year period, with no exceptions for student numbers. Arrivals would be managed via an Australian-style points system for skilled workers, with a bar on unskilled or low-skilled entrants.
People from overseas would need a work visa, with the one exception being the Republic of Ireland because of its open border with Northern Ireland. There would be no preferential treatment for other EU countries.People from overseas would need a work visa, with the one exception being the Republic of Ireland because of its open border with Northern Ireland. There would be no preferential treatment for other EU countries.
The other exception would be a time-limited system of six-month seasonal visas for agricultural workers, with the idea that these would be phased out once enough UK staff could be found to fill the roles. An exception would be a time-limited system of six-month seasonal visas for agricultural workers, with the idea that these would be phased out once enough UK staff could be found to fill the roles.
Asked about the farm workers’ scheme, Bickley said it would operate only in the summer – “I don’t think we’re very productive in this country during the winter months” – and the aim was to encourage Britons to take on the work over time. Nuttall pointed to immigration as a fruitful political area for Ukip, saying the Conservatives had “broken their promises on this time and time again”. May’s record as home secretary showed she could not be trusted to meet her renewed pledge to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, he added.
Asked about the farm workers’ scheme, Bickley said the aim was to encourage Britons to take on the work over time.
“We also want to encourage our own people to get back into the industry,” he said. “There used to be a time when it was a rite of passage for people going through a gap year in this country, or on their way to university or at university, to get some extra cash in fruit picking.”“We also want to encourage our own people to get back into the industry,” he said. “There used to be a time when it was a rite of passage for people going through a gap year in this country, or on their way to university or at university, to get some extra cash in fruit picking.”
Nuttall, who has already announced measures targeting the Muslim population, including a proposed ban on full-face veils, said Ukip had plans for more non-Brexit policies. The inclusion of overseas student in a zero net migration policy is likely to alarm universities, which have warned about the effect on their finances of such restrictions.
“I will say this: our manifesto will be radical, it will be forward-thinking, it will be ahead of its time in many ways,” he said. While the National Farmers Union is not commenting on any election plans, it has previously raised concerns that significantly reducing the numbers of overseas seasonal workers could harm the sector.
Asked about the party’s continued relevance, Nuttall stressed what he described as its huge influence over the political scene. The union’s deputy president, Minette Batters, has said a “competent and reliable workforce” is vital for farming, with 80,000 seasonal workers needed a year to plant, pick and pack fruit, vegetable and flower crops. In other sectors, for example poultry, pig and dairy farming, the need for both seasonal and permanent workers was “absolutely critical”, she added.
“We have been, in terms of driving the government into the position it is now on Brexit, the most influential party of the 20th century in this country,” he said, clarifying that he meant the 21st century.
Bickley made a more grandiose claim: “From a pure policy standpoint, with no one on the [House of Commons] green benches, I would say currently we’re the most successful party in the world, for actually forcing a government to do our bidding.”
While the National Farmers Union is not commenting directly on any party’s election plans, it has previously raised concerns that significantly reducing the numbers of overseas seasonal workers could harm the sector.
The union’s deputy president, Minette Batters, has said a “competent and reliable workforce” is vital for farming, with 80,000 seasonal workers needed a year to plant, pick and pack fruit, vegetable and flower crops.
In other sectors, for example poultry, pig and dairy farming, the need for both seasonal and permanent workers was “absolutely critical”, she added.