Ukip civil war after Carswell quits party

Leader tells The Telegraph: Yes, we were betrayed but we are better off without him

AN EXPLOSIVE civil war broke out in Ukip last night as its only MP resigned and suggested that the party no longer needed to exist.

Douglas Carswell, who defected from the Tories in 2014, unexpectedly announced that he would sit as an independent MP from now on.

In a 500-word online post he explained that now Brexit was “certain” to happen there was no longer any reason to stay in the party.

The announcement provoked a furious reaction from Paul Nuttall, the Ukip leader, who only heard about the decision at noon yesterday in a text from a friend. Writing exclusively for

The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Nuttall launches an attack on Mr Carswell for not consulting him over the decision.

He claims that Mr Carswell has “always” been a “staunch Tory” despite being one of Ukip’s most prominent figures for three years.

Mr Nuttall writes: “When he has spoken about the need for more ‘grown-ups’ in politics, I had hoped he would do more to lead by example.”

The in-fighting escalated as Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, claimed Mr Carswell had merely “jumped before he was pushed” while Mr Carswell is also facing criticism for refusing to hold a by-election despite previously saying he would if he switched parties.

The developments intensify doubts about Ukip’s future as critics claimed it has “no purpose” after the Brexit vote. Polls suggest the party has lost around a third of its support since the EU refer- endum, while it has performed worse than expected at recent by-elections. A party that won almost four million votes at the 2015 general election now has no representation in the House of Commons and just a handful of Lords.

One of its biggest donors, Arron Banks, is also breaking away to form a new political movement aimed at unseating pro-EU MPs.

The dramatic day in the party’s history began when Mr Carswell uploaded a statement to his website announcing he was resigning.

“On Wednesday, the Prime Minister is going to trigger Article 50, beginning the formal process of withdrawing our country from the EU,” he wrote. “By April 2019, Britain will no longer be a member of the EU. After 24 years, we have done it. Brexit is in good hands.”

Mr Carswell went on: “Like many of you, I switched to Ukip because I desperately wanted us to leave the EU. Now we can be certain that that is going to happen, I have decided that I will be leaving Ukip.

“I will not be switching parties, nor crossing the floor to the Conservatives, so do not need to call a by-election, as I did when switching from the Conservatives to Ukip. I will simply be the Member of Parliament for Clacton, sitting as an independent.”

His decision to leave, which came after months of tension with other Ukip figures, was cheered by his critics.

Mr Banks, who threatened to run against Mr Carswell at the next election, tweeted a smiley face and a tick. Mr Farage, who has clashed repeatedly

with the man he persuaded to join the party, claimed Mr Carswell had been undermining Ukip for years.

“Obviously I am very, very pleased that he has gone. He has worked against us, he has undermined us wilfully for the last couple of years,” Mr Farage told The Telegraph. “I have been deeply frustrated that the party has not been wise enough to stare the truth in the face and deal with it.”

There were claims that Mr Carswell had “jumped before he was pushed” ahead of a meeting with Ukip’s national executive committee tomorrow where he was set to be grilled over allegations he had blocked a knighthood for Mr Farage. However, other figures dismissed suggestions he would have been sacked at that meeting.

Writing for this newspaper, Mr Nuttall claims Mr Carswell never really stopped being a Conservative.

“Over the last year it has become clear that he has been drifting in one direction while Ukip has been marching in another,” he writes. “He has always been and always will be at heart a Brexit-supporting staunch Tory, and with the referendum result sorted he has no reason to stay in a party that is moving into Labour’s turf rather than going in a direction that would make him feel more at home.”

Mr Nuttall also insists the party has a strong future, writing: “Ukip has always been about more than just leaving the EU.”

Tories are now calling on Mr Carswell to return to the Conservative ranks.

Andrew Bridgen, Tory MP for North West Leicestershire, told The Telegraph: “Douglas Carswell should return to the Conservatives after a period as an independent, he needs to rebuild a relationship with his local Conservative association.

“On the matter of whether he should return to the Conservatives, I don’t think he should have ever left.

“If we punished every politician who made a mistake we would not have many politicians.”