The rise and fall of Ukip in a nutshell

ONLY two short years ago, Ukip seemed like an unstoppable force poised to upset the proverbial apple cart of Britain’s two-party state. It boasted an impressive 3.8m votes in 2015, earning itself two MPs and wall-to-wall media coverage.

The following year, Ukip broke new ground by tripling its vote share (to 12.5%) at the Welsh Assembly elections and picking up seven seats. In the aftermath of an extraordinary Brexit referendum dominated by disinformation and pandering to populist prejudices, the party’s appeal is on a remarkable downward trajectory with no plausible hope of recovery in sight.

Nigel Farage’s resignation as leader precipitated a leadership election in which Diane James was crowned as heir to the party throne, lasting only 18 days before resigning and then leaving the party altogether. Another leadership election was called, this time putting Farage’s right-hand man, Paul Nuttall, in charge. Within only months it was discovered that Nuttall had told a number of brazen lies, bringing his integrity under much scrutiny. When the snap election was called his party cobbled together a truly mortifying excuse for a manifesto which included banning Muslim face coverings on the foundation of a laughable notion that the entire basis of Daesh recruitment is radicalisation of people who are vulnerable to Vitamin D deficiency.

During the recent snap election, Ukip received fewer than 594,000 votes and lost their deposits in about 90% of contested seats. Nuttall decided to quit after this deeply disappointing result, and yet another Farage crony (Steve Crowther) is in charge as caretaker leader at the time of writing; it has since transpired that inveterate party MEP Roger Helmer is retiring amid an investigation into alleged fraudulent activity which may soon extend to colleagues including Nuttall.

Even the supposedly untouchable Farage is squirming on a hook as his surprising role in alleged collusion between Donald Trump and the Kremlin during the US presidential election campaign has now earned him the dubious distinction of becoming a “person of interest” to none other than the FBI. Before long, the only trace of Ukip’s transitory existence will be a well-worn dog whistle! Daniel Pitt Mountain Ash