UKIP could pull off a surprise election win in Stoke-on-Trent if party leader Paul Nuttall throws his hat into the ring.
Odds of UKIP winning the seat, which was recently vacated by Tristram Hunt, have been slashed from 11/4 to 9/4, with Nuttall is 15/8 to be UKIP’s name on the ballot paper, close up in the betting to market leader Mick Harold at 13/8 and Tariq Mahmood at 7/4.
Labour remain favourites at 4/6 to retain the traditionally left-leaning constituency, with the Lib Dems at 6/1 and Conservatives 10/1.
Betway’s Alan Alger, said: “A Brexit hotbed with a shrinking Labour majority arguably makes Stoke-on-Trent look like low hanging fruit to the UK Independence Party.
“We’re wary of UKIP’s chances, especially if leader Paul Nuttall is on the ballot paper, and we’ve cut their odds from 11/4 to 9/4.
“Nuttall is currently third in the betting at 15/8 to stand for the seat, in a very tight market headed by Mick Harold at 13/8.”
Stoke could prove to be fertile ground for UKIP after it was dubbed the ‘Brexit’ capital of the country after recording the highest proportion of those who voted ‘leave’. A total of 323,000 people within Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle, Staffordshire Moorlands and Stafford voted. Of those, 207k voted to leave, against 116k to stay.
The latest results confirm suspicions that Brexit buyers remorse is a myth. After several local election wins, this could be a daunting sign of things to come as the party looks to add to its solitary MP in the House of Commons.
Stoke-on-Trent Central By-Election Winning Party:
| Labour | 4/6 |
| UKIP | 9/4 |
| Liberal Democrats | 6/1 |
| Conservatives | 10/1 |
UKIP candidate for Stoke-on-Trent by-election:
| Mick Harold | 13/8 |
| Tariq Mahmood | 7/4 |
| Paul Nuttall | 15/8 |
| Bill Etheridge | 25/1 |