Ukip civil war as lone MP storms out in row over EU

UKIP was embroiled in a new civil war last night after Nigel Farage accused his only MP of having ‘residual loyalty to his old friends in the Tory party’.

Douglas Carswell walked out of Ukip’s conference after a row with his leader over which Out campaign the party should support in the EU referendum.

In a speech, Mr Farage said the ‘tide had turned’ and that he believed for the first time that Britain would vote to leave the EU. But his words were overshadowed by a row that came after he announced the party would be backing Leave EU – a group run by multi-millionaire Ukip donor Arron Banks – to be the official Out campaign.

Mr Carswell, who had not been told of the decision, is on the board of the rival For Britain campaign, run by TaxPayers’ Alliance founder Matthew Elliott, which has the backing of many Tory MPs. Both groups are vying to be recognised by the Electoral Commission as the official crossparty Out campaign.

At the conference in Doncaster, Mr Farage said: ‘Ukip will now stand hand in hand with Leave EU. We are together, we are united and I believe that the tide has turned. I believe we’re on course to win the most historic and the most important political victory in any of our lifetimes.’