[UK] UKIP leader will not fight Chris Huhne's former seat

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Exclusive: Nigel Farage will not fight Chris Huhne seat

• Nigel Farage will not contest the Eastleigh by-election, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

The leader of the UK Independence Party has decided instead to concentrate on improving the party’s standing nationally in the May local elections.

The prospect of Mr Farage personally fighting for Chris Huhne's seat, who formally resigned as an MP at lunchtime on Tuesday, on the south coast of England had intrigued Westminster watchers.

The view was that, with both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats so unpopular, Mr Farage could come through the middle on a protest vote.

Nigel Farage: Why I will not fight the Eastleigh by-election

I stood in Eastleigh back in 1994, famously beating Screaming Lord Sutch by 169 votes. It was UKIP’s first electoral fight, and the idea of standing again has its romance.

But today Ukip is no longer a small group of idealists. We are becoming a serious player in British politics. As leader I am responsible for what is in the party’s best interests.

In May Ukip will be fighting its greatest yet campaign in the English County Council elections. I will be leading from the front and travelling around the country to bring our message of local democracy and accountability, and to demonstrate why we are the real alternative vote.