And replacing Nigel Farage is...
LONDON: Nigel Farage will stay on as Ukip’s leader, despite announcing that he would stand down after failing to be elected as an MP in last week’s election.
His resignation was “unanimously rejected” by Ukip’s national executive committee after it had canvassed the views of party members, who “overwhelmingly” wanted him to remain in place.
Farage has now withdrawn his resignation and would continue as leader, the party said last night.
It comes just days after saying he was “a man of my word” when he confirmed he was standing down after losing the South Thanet constituency.
In March, when he originally pledged to stand down if he failed to enter Parliament, he said it would be “frankly not credible” to continue to lead the seat if he was not an MP, and said Ukip would lose its credibility if he continued to lead the party without a Westminster seat.
Sources close to Farage claimed that it took “a lot of convincing” for him to change his mind.
Ukip chairman Steve Crowther said part of the reason for keeping him on as leader was because of the Conservative Party announcing that it was to press ahead with plans to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU.
“The referendum campaign has begun and we need our best team to fight that campaign, led by Nigel. He has, therefore, been persuaded to withdraw his resignation and remains leader of Ukip,” a statement from Crowther said.
However, as soon as the Uturn was announced, Farage received a barrage of negative comments on Twitter, with many saying that Ukip – as he had warned – had now lost a great deal of credibility, while others said it would boost the argument for remaining in the EU. – The Independent