FIGHT HOSPITALIZES WOULD-BE LEADER OF BRITISH PARTY
FIST FIGHT
LONDON • Feuding in Britain’s fractious, right-wing U.K. Independence Party reached new heights on Thursday as Steven Woolfe — favoured to be the party’s next leader — suffered seizures and fell unconscious after a fist fight with a colleague.
The incident, which left Woolfe hospitalized with a head injury, occurred during a meeting of party lawmakers at the legislative building in Strasbourg, France.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Woolfe was initially in serious condition and “things were pretty bad.” But he said Thursday afternoon that Woolfe was “in a much better place than he was a few hours ago.”
Farage said he was launching an inquiry into the violence, which he said “shouldn’t have happened.” He declined to identify the other party member involved in what he termed “an altercation.”
According to media reports, Woolfe was punched by another lawmaker, hit his head and collapsed a little while later.
UKIP said Woolfe had two “epileptic-like fits” and lost consciousness. An image published by ITV News showed a man resembling Woolfe apparently unconscious on a walkway inside the Strasbourg building, just outside the parliament chamber.
Several hours later, Woolfe reported that he was conscious and recovering. He said in a statement that a CT scan had revealed he did not have a blood clot in his brain.
“I am feeling brighter, happier and smiling as ever,” he said. “The only consequence at the moment is a bit of numbness on the lefthand side of my face.”
A lawyer of mixed English, Irish, Jewish and African-American heritage, Woolfe represents his home region of northwest England in the European Parliament and is considered one of UKIP’s rising stars.
A small party full of forceful personalities, UKIP has a long history of clashes between senior members — though they are usually verbal rather than physical.
Woolfe, who turned 49 on Thursday, annoyed some party colleagues when he said recently that he had considered joining Britain’s Conservative Party because he was “enthused” by new Prime Minister Theresa May’s commitment to social reform.
Founded in 1993 with the aim of removing Britain from the European Union, UKIP has moved from the fringes of British politics to a position of serious influence.
UKIP was instrumental in getting Britain to hold a referendum on EU membership, which ended in a June 23 vote for the U.K. to leave the 28-nation bloc.
Longtime leader Farage stepped down after the June referendum and was replaced by Diane James. She quit Tuesday after just 18 days, citing personal reasons — leaving Farage as interim leader.