Ukip activists should train to become teachers in order to influence what children are taught in schools, a contender for the party’s leadership has suggested.

Suzanne Evans - currently deputy chair of the party - also called for entryism into the NUT by teachers who are sympathetic to Ukip’s beliefs to ensure children have more contact with “good ‘kippers”.

Ms Evans, who is seen to be one of the frontrunners to be the party’s leader, told a leadership hustings event that “young minds are formed in schools”. As such, more party activists should consider becoming teachers, according to The Independent.

Responding to a question about how she would promote patriotism among the country’s public, Ms Evans said: “I think I’d like to start, actually - because young minds are formed in schools - with our national curriculum. 

“It doesn’t teach you to be proud of Britain anymore. It doesn’t teach you about the great advances that we’ve made as a country. It seems to teach about the negative stuff.

“It talks about the slave trade but forgets to talk about the amazing role that Brits had in actually abolishing it and getting rid of it. It doesn’t talk about the wonders of the industrial revolution, it doesn’t talk about how we built railways all over the world, it doesn’t talk about some of our great British people like Shakespeare … in a sense that they are British. It seems to treat him as some global playwright who came from nowhere in particular.

“I do think it starts with education, very definitely. Paul [Nuttall] talked earlier about getting rid of the Labour party - somehow I think we need to start getting good ‘kippers into teaching and into the NUT as well.”

Another leadership candidate and London Assembly member Peter Whittle, told the audience that the law should be changed so “every school has a union jack and a picture of the Queen”.

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