Ukip’s leader-in-waiting Steven Woolfe vows his party can beat Labour

UKIP’s leader-in-waiting vowed yesterday to give his party a new goal – to replace Labour as the workers’ champion.

Steven Woolfe wants to “fill the vacuum” left by Jeremy Corbyn and his warring factions.

The 48-year-old barrister is favourite to take over from Nigel Farage in a leadership race which starts in earnest today.

And he believes the “earthquake” Ukip helped create in politics by taking Britain out of the EU will seem nothing if he can attract fed-up Labour voters.

Mr Woolfe told The Sun on Sunday: “Some 17.4 million voted for Brexit.

“We now have a brilliant chance to steal the mantle of the Labour party and set a new course in politics.

“I want to link working families across the country with those in the shires who voted to leave as well.”

Nominations close today and voting will take place during the first two weeks in September.

Manchester born Mr Woolfe, who had a black grandfather and a Jewish grandmother, was brought up on a council estate and says he knows what is needed to help the poor get on in life.

He will campaign to bring back grammar schools and provide more starter homes to boost social mobility.

He said: “We’ve had the earthquake in politics.

“Now I want to go further a create an asteroid strike – something so huge that we will change the face of politics.

“They said we couldn’t get us out of the EU – so who’s to say we can’t organise an even bigger upset?”