UKIP’s new leader is already struggling with questions over diversity

Nigel Farage’s number two has been elected to succeed him as leader of UKIP.

MEP Paul Nuttall defeated former deputy chairwoman Suzanne Evans and ex-soldier John Rees-Evans to win the leadership ballot with more than 62 percent of the vote.

The 39-year-old is the party’s third leader this year after Diane James quit just 18 days after being elected leader in September this year. Nigel Farage has stood in as interim leader of the party since.

Mr Nuttall, who was the party’s deputy leader for six years, told the BBC he wanted to bring the party together after a turbulent couple of months.

He said: “I’ve never been part of any faction in the party, I generally get along with everyone.

“I you know what happened the other month in Strasbourg, when we had the altercation between the two MEPs, was probably in the long run the best thing that happened to the party, because everyone woke up and smelled the coffee and realised that this now was an existential crisis.

“And it was my duty to step in, stand in this election, win it and bring the party together and that’s what I intend to do.”

However, just hours into his leadership, Mr Nuttall was already on the back foot over diversity in his new UKIP team.

When asked about the makeup of his all-male early appointments, he replied:

“Oh come on, that’s splitting hairs I’ve literally appointed three people.

“If you want diversity, Peter Whittle, my deputy, is an open homosexual, if you want diversity they will be lots of women who will be announced in my new team over the next 72 hours.”

Meanwhile Mr Nuttall has already come under attack from Labour MPs for previous comments he made about favouring more privatisation in the NHS.

https://twitter.com/JonCruddas_1/status/803223828604198913

After his election the new UKIP leader appeared to preempt some of the attacks against him by tweeting a number of policy pledges including more investment in the NHS.

https://twitter.com/paulnuttallukip/status/803213170278105088

Across the punditocracy and Twittersphere, news of Mr Nuttall's ascension to the UKIP throne received a mixed reception. Some people predicted he would cause Labour problems with his ability to communicate with voters the party is losing touch with.

It being Twitter, others just took the piss.

https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/803224678378532864 https://twitter.com/davidschneider/status/803233722610970624 https://twitter.com/JamesMelville/status/803219644098248704 https://twitter.com/mattforde/status/803215123808518144 https://twitter.com/Jason_Spacey/status/803213528589103104 Catch up with this week's episode of Football Friday Live