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The rise of UKIP has - with the Scottish Referendum - been one of the biggest stories in British politics in 2014.

Gazette reporter James Cain has been looking at the party's progress on Teesside over the last year.

Just four years ago, UKIP on Teesside were struggling.

The party trailed in fifth - behind the British National Party - in Middlesbrough and the idea of it ever securing a Tees foothold looked more than a little unlikely.

Now all that has changed.

In September, leader Nigel Farage told the party’s conference in Doncaster - Ed Miliband’s constituency - that UKIP were not just interested in taking on the Tories in the south - and were also now targeting Labour voters.

The party’s populist eurosceptic, anti-immigration message now appears to be securing increasing support outside its traditional heartland.

And UKIP - who recently secured their first MPs after by-election victories - now say they are on brink of winning a Teesside seat at next year’s General Election.

Guisborough former maths teacher Jonathan Arnott was elected as UKIP’s MEP for the North-east this year.

In May’s elections, UKIP topped the polls in Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar & Cleveland.

Mr Arnott said the result was evidence of the party’s growing popularity on Teesside.

“Redcar is an area in which we are doing very well," he added.

“There have been two consultations that showed UKIP third in Stockton South and in a recent poll we showed a strong second place in Redcar.

“In general I think we will see a lot of seats where UKIP becomes the main challenger and I think we will emerge as the main opposition to the Labour Party.

"As a long-term target I expect to see UKIP replace Labour in the North-east.

“Given our recent rise in popularity, I think it’s possible that we may do something in terms of taking seats.”

Mr Arnott said UKIP was attracting voters in Teesside due to “complacency” by Labour.

“Some seats on Teesside have been Labour for decades,” he said.

“But our message really does appeal to traditional working class voters.

“Part of this is because Labour has been so complacent in the North-east.

"If you look at the opinion polls for a General Election, we currently double the Lib Dem vote.

“There have been parties that have been a flash in the pan before - the Greens had a surge in the '80s which lasted a couple of months.

“What’s different with UKIP is that we have seen surges in 2004, 2009 and 2012 and we have maintained this.

"Our membership has pretty much trebled since 2010 and the North-east was our fastest growing region in 2013.”

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Responding to claims that UKIP harbours what Prime Minister David Cameron described as “closet racists”, Mr Arnott said: “It’s the sort of claim people make when they’re trying to avoid thinking about the issue.

“We can’t control immigration while we are in the EU and that is something that the other parties are not prepared to tackle.

“The coalition is not just missing its immigration target, it’s missing it by 300,000 people.

“Missing a target is one thing but missing that target by that margin is quite another.”

Polls indicate that UKIP is set to benefit from a collapse in support for the Liberal Democrats, while also appealing to Tory and Labour voters.

In May, a leaked Lib Dem poll showed the party could be pushed into third place by UKIP, with Labour forecast to regain the seat.

And in Tory-held Stockton South, two separate polls have shown gathering support for UKIP - although the party remains third behind the Conservatives and Labour.

Mark Chatburn became UKIP’s first Teesside councillor after defecting from the Conservatives last year.

Cllr Chatburn, who represents Yarm and Kirklevington on Stockton Council, said: “UKIP has seen a boost, not just in support, but also in our membership which proves UKIP is not just a protest vote.

“In my experience, protest voters don’t fill in membership forms and pay £30.

“Labour have been hit with being out of touch with the very people they claim to represent.

"Some of their MPs and councillors have taken their wards for granted.

“We’re not in it for power or office for the sake of it.

"We are standing because we believe what we say we believe in - if people agree and want to come along, fantastic.”

UKIP prospective parliamentary candidate for Redcar, Chris Gallacher, echoed Mr Arnott’s views.

Mr Gallacher said: “We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response in Redcar.

“Labour have done nothing for the people of the North-east.

"They take it for granted that they will get guaranteed votes.

“They have resorted to lying about our policies and claimed we want to privatise the NHS. We do not want to privatise the NHS.

“We will win in Redcar, I’d even put a bet on myself - and I’m not a betting man.”

Want to read more about UKIP on Teesside?

Here's what Teesside's MPs had to say about the party and here's an academic's view on its successes in 2014.

Also, here's a short summary of the party's main policies.