Paul Nuttall
Paul Andrew Nuttall (born 30 November 1976) is a British politician who served as Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2016 to 2017. He was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate, and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England between 2009 and 2019, sitting in the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group. He left UKIP in December 2018, criticising the party's association with far-right activist Tommy Robinson, and joined The Brexit Party in 2019.
Paul Nuttall | |
|---|---|
Nuttall in 2014 | |
| Leader of the UK Independence Party | |
| In office 28 November 2016 – 9 June 2017 | |
| Deputy | Peter Whittle |
| Preceded by | Diane James |
| Succeeded by | Henry Bolton |
| Leader of the UK Independence Party in the European Parliament | |
| In office November 2015 – 3 January 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Roger Helmer |
| Succeeded by | Ray Finch |
| UKIP Spokesperson for Education, Life Skills and Training | |
| In office 24 July 2014 – 17 September 2016 | |
| Leader | Nigel Farage |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | David Kurten |
| Deputy Leader of the UK Independence Party | |
| In office 8 November 2010 – 16 September 2016 | |
| Leader | Nigel Farage |
| Preceded by | David Campbell Bannerman & The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley |
| Succeeded by | Peter Whittle |
| Chair of the UK Independence Party | |
| In office 8 September 2008 – 8 November 2010 | |
| Leader | Nigel Farage The Lord Pearson of Rannoch Jeffrey Titford (Acting) |
| Preceded by | John Whittaker |
| Succeeded by | Steve Crowther |
| Member of the European Parliament for North West England | |
| In office 14 July 2009 – 1 July 2019 | |
| Preceded by | John Whittaker |
| Succeeded by | Claire Fox |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul Andrew Nuttall 30 November 1976 Bootle, England |
| Political party | Brexit Party (2019–) |
| Other political affiliations | None/Independent (2018) UK Independence Party (2004–2018) Conservative (Before 2004) |
| Alma mater | North Lincolnshire College Edge Hill University Liverpool Hope University University of Central Lancashire |
| Signature | |
| Website | Official website |
Nuttall was a Conservative Party candidate in a council election in Sefton before joining UKIP in 2004. He became deputy leader of UKIP, deputising for Nigel Farage, in November 2010 and the party's spokesperson for education, life skills and training in July 2014. He was elected party leader in the November 2016 leadership election. Nuttall stood unsuccessfully for UKIP six times in parliamentary elections between 2005 and 2017, of which his best result was finishing second in the 2017 Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election. He resigned as party leader after coming third in Boston and Skegness in the 2017 general election, with his party losing most of its electoral support.
A prominent eurosceptic, Nuttall has also called for the establishment of an English parliament. He favours a ban on wearing burqas in public places, has shown support for the reintroduction of the death penalty, and opposed Labour's 2015 plans to include LGBT-inclusive sex and relationship education in schools.