A NORTH-EAST MEP who hopes to become leader of UKIP has said he wants to bring unity and will “work hard and get the job done”.

Jonathan Arnott launched his bid for the leadership on a day when fellow hopeful Steven Woolfe was ruled ineligible to stand in the contest to replace Nigel Farage – after he submitted his papers late.

He said he was extremely disappointed by the decision which led three members of the party’s national executive committee to quit in protest.

Mr Arnott, whose office is based in Hartlepool, has received backing from UKIP’s deputy leader Paul Nuttall who said he was committed to “building a team of all talents”.

He said: “That means seeking to put the past differences behind us and finding the issues that bring us together and not those that divide us.”

Mr Nuttall described Mr Arnott as a “peacemaker” and a man with a plan and said that a lack of planning had been one of UKIP’s biggest downfalls.

He said he had intended to sit on the side lines and watch the leadership contest but had now decided to become involved following party in-fighting.

In a speech Mr Arnott, who was UKIP’s general secretary for six years, said leaving the European Union would “give us the tools that we need to make Britain great again” and the party could make its “Brexit dream come true”.

He said: “We are the party that won’t just take power from Brussels and give it to Westminster, but we’ll take power from Westminster and give it straight back to the British people.”

The 35-year-old, who was born in Sheffield and is an enthusiastic chess player, said UKIP would stand up for Northern working class voters, get tough on perpetrators of crime and be the party of excellence in education.

He said: “We don’t need another charismatic leader who will constantly be compared to Nigel [Farage].

“We need someone who will work hard, get the job done and bring us all back together. "That’s the type of leader I’ll be.”