So who does want to succeed Nigel?

THERESA MAY FAN

STEVEN Woolfe found out the hard way that, in politics, timing is everything. The Ukip immigration spokesman and MEP was disqualified from the last contest after he handed in his nomination papers 17 minutes late.

Mr Woolfe, 49, grew up in the infamous Moss Side area of Manchester, but won a scholarship to private school and became a barrister.

He said yesterday he had considered defecting to the Tories under Theresa May, but decided ‘only Ukip can guarantee Brexit is delivered in full’.

NIGEL’S BITTER RIVAL

SUZANNE Evans, 51, took charge for an even shorter time than Mrs James, becoming leader for three days after the last election. She lost the job when Mr Farage ‘unresigned’, leading to a bitter feud between the pair.

After defecting as a local councillor from the Tories three years ago, the former BBC journalist became one of the party’s media stars. But she was suspended for six months in March for ‘disloyalty’ for criticising a candidate who advocated ‘gay cure’ therapies.

MAVERICK OUTSIDER

BILL Etheridge, 46, was seen as an outsider for the Ukip leadership this summer. His chances were further diminished when his fiancée, Lorraine Chew, took to Twitter to accuse him of infidelity.

The West Midlands MEP quit the Conservatives after he and his former wife posed with their collection of knitted golliwogs on Facebook as part of the Campaign Against Political Correctness. Mr Etheridge also sparked controversy by praising Hitler’s ‘magnetic’ speaking style and describing his ‘great’ achievements.

SURPRISE CONTENDER

LISA Duffy, 48, was known by few when she entered the previous leadership race earlier this year. But she finished second to Mrs James, taking more than a quarter of the votes.

The mother-of-six worked at TK Maxx before becoming a leading figure in Ukip’s behind-the-scenes operation. Yesterday as she revealed she was considering standing again, she claimed Mrs James’s heart had never been in the job.