North East MEP drops out of UKIP leadership race
Middlesbrough-based Jonathan Arnott believes he would only come second in the national ballot.
North East MEP Jonathan Arnott has dropped out of the running to be the next UKIP leader.
The 35-year-old made the announcement on Monday morning having concluded that he would only come second in the national ballot.
The Euro-MP had previously stated that he wanted to get a 'good deal' for the North East out of Brexit talks and improve party unity and internal reform.
He said: “There is no prize for a silver medal in a leadership contest. We are in the process of electing a new leader of the UK's third political party. This should not be taken lightly, and the only reason for standing is for a candidate to believe that they can meaningfully aim to win the ballot."
He said that his belief is that UKIP must become a grown-up political party which is capable of taking on the political establishment on their own grounds.
He continued: “I want to see a UKIP which isn't frightened to talk about the economy, a UKIP which will discuss the future of our NHS, a UKIP which champions excellence in education which goes far beyond grammar schools, a UKIP which has at its core a belief in people power and direct democracy, and a UKIP which will declare war on the crime which blights so many working-class communities.
"I want to see a UKIP which is more professional in taking the fight to our opposition in the target seats.”
2015 candidate for Hartlepool Philip Broughton is still in the running for the leadership, alongside Lisa Duffy, Bill Etheridge, Elizabeth Jones and Diane James.