STOKE BY-ELECTION: Polls close after high turnout as Paul Nuttall hunts Ukip victory
THE polls have slammed shut in Stoke-on-Trent Central as the voting closes on what promises to be a monumental by-election.
Turnout is expected to be around the 35 per cent mark – unusually high for Stoke which has a history of low voter mobilisation.
In Stoke Central, which Labour has held since it was created in 1950, the main challenge is expected to come from Ukip, which finished second in the constituency at the 2015 General Election, trailing by 5,179 votes.
The city voted overwhelmingly for Leave in the referendum - earning the nickname "Brexit Central" - and the party believes it could be on the brink of an electoral breakthrough, hence why party leader Paul Nuttall ran as a candidate.
However, it has been hit by a series of setbacks, with Liverpudlian Mr Nuttall being forced to apologise for a false claim on his website that he lost "close friends" in the Hillsborough disaster.
He vehemently denied a press report questioning his claim to have attended the match as a 12-year-old Liverpool fan, saying he had been the victim of an "almost evil smear campaign".
Ukip faced further difficulties when wealthy backer Arron Banks tweeted he was "sick and tired" of hearing about Hillsborough.
Labour candidate Gareth Snell has endured a tumultuous campaign, referring to Brexit as "a massive pile of s***".
He also was forced to apologise for disparaging remarks about women on TV he had made on Twitter, including calling the presenters of Loose Women "squabbling sour-faced ladies".
The contests was triggered by the resignation of Tristram Hunt, who quit to become director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.