THE man who wants to replace Nigel Farage as the leader of UKIP came to Bolton to officially launch his campaign.

Euro MP Jonathan Arnott was at the Macron Stadium as he set out his vision to move UKIP on from its Brexit success and to unite what appears to be an increasingly fractured party.

And in a major boost for the 35-year-old’s hopes, current deputy leader Paul Nuttall came out of his self-imposed political break to back his long-time friend’s campaign in Horwich and label him as the ‘man with the plan’ for the future of UKIP.

Mr Nuttall, who declined to stand for the leadership when Mr Farage quit following the Brexit vote in June, had not yet declared his backing for any candidate, before yesterday’s Bolton event.

In a speech, he was highly critical of the “in-fighting and threats” that he said had dogged the leadership battle and said Mr Arnott could bring peace and order back to the party.

He said: “The next leader must seek immediately to put back together a party which is increasingly fractured and must seek and commit to leading a party of all talents.”

“Jonathan Arnott is my friend and one of my oldest political confidantes and I believe he has the skill and vision to deliver a party for the future.”

Mr Arnott, 35, is an EP for the North East and UKIP’s former general secretary.

He said he chose to launch his campaign in Bolton because the local party had shown how UKIP can have success at a council level — something he wants to build on.

He added: “There are many areas in the country where we are starting to make a breakthrough in local government and Bolton is one of them.

“If you want to win seats in Westminster then you start at local government level, on the ground knocking on doors and speaking to people about their concerns — isn’t that what politics is supposed to be about?

“We have got a Labour party that has forgotten what it stands for and no longer stands up for working people and we are not frightened to be honest and talk about the things that matter to people.”

He accepted that he will never be able to match former leader Mr Farage in terms of Charisma, adding: “Nobody is as charismatic as Nigel, and while you may not see an awful lot of charisma from me you will see a lot of passion.

“It is not always about being that media figurehead but being prepared to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

“Different people are right for different times and what we need now is a uniting force.”

Mr Arnott will face-off in the leadership battle against fellow candidates Bill Etheridge, Diane James, Lisa Duffy, Phillip Broughton and Elizabeth Jones.

Former leadership favourite Steven Woolfe will not be on the ballot after it was ruled that he submitted his papers too late.