Win or lose, the new leader is trapped in 'Bongo Bongo Land'
Websites of politicians standing for parliament do not go down for ‘scheduled maintenance’ a week before an election. When that politician is a party leader, it’s even less plausible.
But when that party is UKIP, it makes perfect sense, and points to UKIP’s dirty little secret.
Former leader Nigel Farage’s bluster and relative hygiene protected the party against the stream of revelations about councillors, candidates and activists.
But with Paul ‘Nutty’ Nuttall at the helm, the smell of the rotting hull is more more difficult to conceal.
Because the truth about UKIP is that it is, in fact, a complete shower. A ramshackle outfit of disgruntled Tories of the old style. A party of fights and racist ‘outbursts’ and Victorian policies. A home for every reactionary view on sexuality, gender, race, Europe, crime and punishment.
In short (as someone once said) a party of ‘fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists’.
Farage knew where the line was on what he could say about immigration, for example, or the role of women in society, and could build in enough deniability to make bigotry sound like common sense.
His successor (but one – we musn’t forget Diane ’18 days’ James) is not so lucky.
Nuttall’s record of falsehoods about his CV, his past statements about abortion, the death penalty, and privatising the NHS, and his contested claims about Hillsborough, leave him exposed and vulnerable, like a boiled egg in the sun.
He’s not helped himself by putting together a shadow cabinet of kooks, from a welfare spokesman who was once caught watching pornography on a council laptop, to a home affairs spokeswoman being sued for suggesting MPs covered up child sex abuse in Rotherham.
To paraphrase what was once said about Britain, UKIP has won a referendum but not found a role.
What other juicy information could have been tucked away on Nuttall’s website we might never find out. But the nature of his party and his politics are catching up with him.
Win or lose in Stoke Central next week, Paul Nuttall will find himself trapped in ‘Bongo Bongo Land’.
Adam Barnett is staff writer for Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter @AdamBarnett13
See: Paul Nuttall didn’t lose ‘close personal friends’ at Hillsborough – but won’t admit he lied about it
See: Dear Stoke-on-Trent: Here’s what Paul Nuttall really stands for
5 Responses to “Paul Nuttall’s website ‘maintenance’ reveals UKIP’s dirty secret”
Pete Stephens
Paul Nuttall has indeed come out with many falsehoods. The greatest and most despicable, for those of us who live in Merseyside, is that he was present at Hillsborough in ’89. This has been condemned by a former teacher at his old school and also by Margaret Aspinall who led the campaign for an independent inquiry. He is, par excellence, a master of ‘alternative facts’.
howard Latham
its all still there ! https://web.archive.org/web/20161123125809/http://www.paulnuttallmep.com
John Reid
A labour website quoting a Tory PM as an example of telling the truth about another party, is desperate ,if we (Labour) can’t even have our own example which is true to knock Ukip
You could be into something about, the fact that one ex Ukip,who was expelled something stupid, unfortunately Labour Party had turned a blind eye to so many examples, from Karen Bucksaying the Tories don’t want the poor to breed 5 years ago,and she being allowed to keep her job, Emily thornberry soon came back after her sneer at a white van man.
And Half the anti Semite quotes have been let of with verbal warning,
Regarding being sued, remind me john Mcdonnel, being sued by his predecessor Terry dicks, for slander, or his time in the galactic being sued,and. The Ukip lady, is vi testing being sued,and watching porn is legal,and having a council laptop at your home for additional work is not illegal, as for you calling them kooks, that’s ok, but wait till they start calling us the loony left again(with evidence) you can’t scream that’s unfair then
Thankfully no on in labour has ever said a racist outburst.. And as for the website, you saying that no one in. The Labour Party knew about the child abuse in Rotherham?
patrick newman
Has anyone got any idea what J Reid is semi literatively ranting on about? Like most UKIP leaders and apparatchiks there is always something dodgy in their past. UKIP made them seem almost respectable apart from some chumps like the councillor who was convinced that Cameron’s introduction of gay marriage upset god who caused floods in the west country! Paul Nuttall is someone I would steer clear of in a pub!
rob carter
Libel defence was that as comments were made in a speech to a UKIP conference facts did not matter , UKIP in a nutshell