UKIP leadership challenger Bill Etheridge withdraws from race calling on the party to unite around current deputy Paul Nuttall
Paul is the 'only' person to lead party says Bill Etheridge who will not challenge him
FORMER UKIP leadership candidate Bill Etheridge has thrown his weight behind Paul Nuttall to lead the party rather than standing again himself.
The MEP for the West Midlands - a fervent supporter of Nigel Farage - says he stood in the first contest out of a desire “to preserve Mr Farage’s legacy” against people who wanted to hijack the party and turn it into something completely different.
He added: “I believe that UKIP must remain a patriotic, libertarian party standing for the individual against the over powerful state and not be tempted into cultural nationalism and the so-called centre ground on economic policy.”
And he also hit out at the “dirty tricks and dishonourable behaviour” of the first campaign that he believes scuppered his chances of becoming leader.
Throwing his weight behind Nuttall - MEP for the North West of England and deputy leader under Mr Farage - Etheridge went on: “I always said that if a candidate better suited to take this party forward emerged I would back down and support them.
"That candidate has emerged.
“Paul Nuttall is not only a personal friend and an honourable man but I believe he is the only person who can effectively unite our party after the recent well publicised problems we have suffered.”
RELATED STORIES
Mr Etheridge was hit by a series of damaging headlines when his ex-girlfriend accused him of cheating after finding Viagra in his car.
Denying the allegations of infidelity, he gave an emotional speech to a Belfast audience, saying it was “an untrue, unfair attack by a woman he loved”.
He added: “The truth is that what would have been a mildly embarrassing spat between two people going through a difficult time during their relationship turned into national news due to unscrupulous political rivals.”
He bravely used his embarrassment to highlight the reluctance of many politicians to talk about men’s issues as if they were a ‘taboo’ subject, at a time when 20 million men throughout the world have used medical treatments for erectile dysfunction and according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), one in six men suffers anxiety or depression.
“In the modern political climate, if you speak out against the establishment consensus you make yourself a target. The beauty of UKIP is that it has fought back against the politically correct liberal elite,” he said.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368
