Paul Nuttall says Tory advance is a price he’s ‘prepared to pay’ for quitting the EU as his party faces total annihilation in council vote
The Ukip leader said drastic losses overnight showed they were the 'victims of our own success'
THE FUTURE of Ukip hung in the balance today as the anti-EU party were wiped out in local council elections - but the party leader said it was a price worth paying for us finally leaving the bloc.
Paul Nuttall said drastic losses overnight showed they were the "victims of our own success".
As of 1pm the party had lost more than 60 seats - and have only held ONE so far. That puts them on the same number as the Rubbish Party - who won a seat in Scotland.
They were annihilated in councils across Britain including in leave heartlands such as Essex and Lincolnshire.
This morning former Ukip MP Douglas Carswell, who recently quit the party, said it was "over" for them.
He told the BBC he was "delighted" with today's results - which seemed to point for a thumping majority for Theresa May next month.
Mr Carswell said: "Thousands of Ukip supporters out there realise the only way to make sure we get the [Brexit] deal we need to is to make sure Theresa gets a mega mandate."
He went on: "We get a lot of straight switches from Ukip to the Conservatives - I hope that gets replicated in the General Election."
And he said that the party could have continued to succeed, but had failed to adapt since winning the EU vote.
"We didn’t change gear, we didn’t change our tone, that window of opportunity has closed," he said today.
This morning Mr Nuttall said that seeing his party lose seats was a price he was willing to pay - for quitting the EU.
He explained: "County council seats that were in natural Tory territory have gone back to the Tories.
"If the price of Britain leaving the EU is a Tory advance after taking up this patriotic cause then it is a price UKIP is prepared to pay.
"We are the victims of our own success and now we pick ourselves up and go on to further success in the future."
And former Ukip donor Arron Banks - who was due to stand to be an MP in Clacton before he chickened out, said Ukip had "crashed its car at the first bend of the race" and was "finished as an electoral force".
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Ukip leader Paul Nuttall's statement today
It's been a difficult night. In the local elections yesterday many excellent UKIP representatives lost their seats on county councils despite campaigning hard for re-election.
Frankly, there is nothing they could have done in the face of a big national swing to the Tories. Each one of our former councillors should be immensely proud of the contribution they have made not only to their local communities but also to the cause that our party was set up to achieve: the restoration of the United Kingdom as an independent, self-governing country.
Our electoral success over recent years was a key driver in forcing the Conservatives to embrace our cause under a new prime minister who was campaigning for a Remain vote in the referendum a year ago. Mrs May's public dispute with the EU in recent days – which led to her speaking about standing up to Brussels in an eve-of-poll statement in Downing Street – was particularly fortuitously timed for the Conservatives. And county council seats that were in natural Tory territory have gone back to the Tories.
If the price of Britain leaving the EU is a Tory advance after taking up this patriotic cause then it is a price UKIP is prepared to pay. UKIP's decision to target our general election effort in a group of seats where we are very strong on the ground is clearly the right one and we remain excited by our prospects in the best of these.
Our members will know that politics is a long game and that as well as keeping up the pressure for Brexit, UKIP is now laying down its big agendas for the future; including taking a muscular approach on social integration, campaigning to bring down immigration and arguing for a switch of resources away from foreign aid and into the NHS and other public services.
Alongside that, we must remember that voters from across Britain made their way to polling stations last night to give their vote to UKIP.
As a result of our outdated electoral system those voters are once again left without a voice. We will now focus our minds, energies and efforts into giving that voice back to them on June 8th.
We are the victims of our own success and now we pick ourselves up and go on to further success in the future.