Ukip leader will not step down
Defiant Ukip leader Henry Bolton confirmed he won’t be quitting as leader despite a string of resignations of senior party members.
The embattled leader is in a fight for his political life after his former girlfriend, from Maidstone, made offensive remarks about Meghan Markle in a string of texts.
At the weekend he lost a vote of no confidence at a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Mr Bolton made a statement at a press conference in Folkestone on Monday, reiterating his intention to continue as leader, despite more than half of his top team stepping down in protest.
He told reporters he had urged the NEC not to expose the party to the financial and political cost of removing him as leader and holding yet another leadership contest.
He said he advised them to focus on the party’s unity.
His uncompromising pledge threatens to trigger weeks of turmoil for the party, which has been split over his leadership after revelations about his private life and relationship with model Jo Marney.
NEC member Piers Wauchope, a former Tunbridge Wells councillor who was the party’s election candidate in North Thanet in 2015, said too much damage had been done.
Last week Miss Marney, 25, said she did not hold Mr Bolton’s decision to end the relationship against him, adding: “I don’t have a bad word to say about Henry. I still think he’s the perfect gentleman.”