UKIP have shortened to as short as 1/10 to be left empty handed in June's General Election.
UKIP’s rise to fame has been littered with controversy, with plenty of high and low-points but last night could turn out to be their darkest hour. Paul Nuttall’s party lost all thirty seats that they occupied in the local elections, failing to win a single contest. The party lost ten seats in Lincolnshire, a further eight seats in Hampshire and six in Essex. Even though UKIP’s Lisa Duffy admitted it was “very disappointing”, she didn’t acknowledge the results were a “disaster”.
The results have put the party in a bleak situation ahead of the General Election; following a morale-sapping night they’ve moved out to a massive 750/1 to win the most seats in June’s vote. Even worse, Paul Nuttall’s party have shortened to 1/10 not to win a seat at the General Election, implying a 90.9% chance they’ll walk away empty handed.
Since the announcement that UKIP has lost all thirty seats, 92% of bets have been on them not to win a seat in the General Election. Despite the odds suggesting they’re in for a tough couple of months, the party are still competitive in a few constituencies. Their best chances of winning a seat are listed below:
Thurrock: UKIP representative, Tim Aker narrowly lost the vote in the 2015 General Election. His party claimed 31.7% of the vote, just 2% behind conservative member Jackie Doyle-Price. Aker is running again this year and is second favourite to take control of the region at 4/1, while Doyle-Price remains favourite at 1/6. Despite a troubling few days for his party, UKIP’s Thurrock nominee has actually shortened in odds, with Aker priced at 5/1 just a couple of days ago.
Heywood and Middleton: UKIP politician, John Bickley, finished 11.1% behind Labour representative, Liz McInnes, in Heywood and Middleton’s election back in 2015. Labour are favourite to win the largest share of the vote again, however UKIP are priced as short as 4/1 to win the vote in the area.
Clacton: Douglas Carswell of the UKIP party won the 2015 Election in Clacton by claiming a massive 44.4% of votes. This year, Jeff Bray has been chosen to represent his party in the General Election and despite their overwhelming victory just two years ago they’re 5/1 to win the vote again. The Conservative party claimed 36.7% of votes last time round and their nominee is as short as 1/10 to take victory in June.
Other constituencies where UKIP will be targeting a win are Boston and Skegness (6/1), Hartlepool (5/1) and South Thanet (8/1).
Theresa May’s Conservative party were the big winners from yesterday’s local elections. Her odds shortened even further to be Prime Minister following the general election to as short as 1/18, implying a 94.7% chance of winning.
