NIGEL Farage was in a buoyant mood as he talked exclusively to the Gazette ahead of his recent appearance at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet.

Grabbing a quick sandwich and a cuppa, the Ukip leader outlined his plans for the party after a strong showing at May’s general election left it with just one Westminster seat.

In the wake of the election, Mr Farage resigned as leader, then resumed his position, but he said he had “no regrets” about the outcome of the election, claiming how Ukip was now “part of Thurrock’s political landscape”.

He said: “I don’t look back on the election with any regrets. Of course, we were disappointed here in Thurrock.

“It was incredibly close and a big surprise that the Tories took the seat, butIthink this branch’s commitment to Thurrock has gone above and beyond what is normally expected, in particular out candidate, Tim Aker.

“If you look at the results on the day, how did we do? To me, we made huge progress. In the local elections, we did stunningly well.”

Mr Farage said Ukip would be putting aside thoughts of the next general election to focus on on the in/out EU referendum promised by the Prime Minister.

He said: “Everything about the EU favours the giant corporations and not small shops.

"What’s interesting about Thurrock is there are so many self-employed proprietors and businesses. Thousands of small businesses here feel excessively burned, and as EU members there nothing we can do about it.

"Lots of people have woken up to the fact what trade deals like the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are doing is transferring power to the big corporations.

“In Thurrock, where there is a lot of heavy industry, many industries here have suffered from EU carbon levies and environmental regulations, as well as open borders.

“Why does Thurrock need foreign nurses? If you pick any engineering firm in Thurrock, they have to employ foreign workers. It’sadisaster, and this is part of the change of culture the country needs.”

Questioned about the new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Europe, Mr Farage said he had secret hopes for a Labour-Ukip alliance for the referendum.

He added: “I’d love to see it, butIknow the pressures on Corbyn at the moment, having just been elected, are huge.

“I don’t look at the EU-issue through the prism of right and left. It’s more about the basic question of whether we are successfully gaining momentum towards an EU exit.”