Jeremy Corbyn a 'Gift' for UKIP in Brexit-Friendly Britain - Farage

By-elections can be boring, but they can also be a litmus test for the popularity of a party at a time when the rest of the country isn't going to the polls. And this time, it's the by-election in Stoke-on-Trent that's getting Labour supporters hot under the collar and UKIP members excited.

The parliamentary seat has been vacated by Tristram Hunt, former shadow education secretary and open critic of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and there's little surprise in who's hoping to fill it.

Former UKIP leader, turned broadcaster, Nigel Farage, is backing UKIP's frontman Paul Nuttall to win the seat.

"So much of life is being in the right place at the right time," Mr. Farage told ITV, suggesting that Mr. Nuttall would connect with voters in Stoke-on-Trent because he's "from a working class background, from the north of England (and) plain speaking."

Nigel Farage was then asked by reporters whether a success for UKIP in Stoke-on-Trent would see Corbyn stepping down as leader of the Labour party.

And with his typical oratorical response, Nigel Farage said he hoped Jeremy Corbyn would remain as Labour leader.

"I want Corbyn there forever. He's a gift because he represents a sort of north London intellectual Labour Party," Farage said.

"…UKIP does well in Stoke-on-Trent and Corbyn's Labour does well in Stoke Newington [north London]," Mr. Farage added.