Farage aims to turn Ukip into Right-wing Momentum

Former leader, now considering fourth stint, wants party to copy tactics of hard-Left group

NIGEL FARAGE has called on Ukip to emulate the dynamism of Jeremy Corbyn’s hard-Left activist group Momentum to rebuild its fortunes.

The former Ukip leader is considering a return to front-line politics after Paul Nuttall quit as leader following the party’s disastrous election results.

He told The Sunday Telegraph he was “50-50” about whether to go for the leadership and would decide in the coming days.

Discussing how Ukip needed to change, Mr Farage said a planned rebrand should be ditched in favour of a restructuring that would empower party members.

“In some ways Labour has done that with Momentum, its campaign group,” Mr Farage said.

“Labour is exceeding in online engagement in the same way. Ukip needs to go in that direction.”

He believes Ukip members should each be given a vote on whether the party should adopt certain policies in the future.

The idea has been floated by Mr Corbyn’s team, who are keen on “democratising” the Labour Party to keep its hundreds of thousands of members engaged.

Mr Farage indicated the move could help circumvent the party’s executive committee, which he has criticised previously for making it harder for the leader to govern.

“If there was a big policy debate and you were leader, you could put it directly to the members, saying ‘I want to go this way: will you support me or not?’” Mr Farage said.

“Currently you have to go through a one-month debate with a series of willing volunteers [on the National Execu- tive Committee] who do not understand politics.

“The party has no professional management. But if a leader can reach out directly to the membership, you would expect him to win.”

Mr Farage also sees the Five Star Movement in Italy, founded by Beppe Grillo, a comedian, as a source of inspiration. Mr Farage would be interested in “mimicking” the group’s membership model, which tapped into a grassroots uprising against the political establishment and gained 25.5 per cent of the vote in the 2013 Italian parliamentary elections.

Ukip got just 1.8 per cent of the vote in the election – a dramatic drop from its 12.6 per cent in 2015 – as the party paid the price for helping secure Brexit.

Mr Nuttall, who took up the leadership only after others refused to, failed to win the Boston and Skegness seat. His party also secured no MPs. A lead-

‘Labour is exceeding in online engagement with Momentum. Ukip needs to go in that direction’

ership election is now under way – the party’s third in a year – as Ukip goes through its most tumultuous period for more than a decade.

Party sources blamed the Tories and Labour’s support for Brexit for their sudden decline in support.

Mr Nuttall’s departure came despite reassurances during the campaign that he would not quit as leader if he failed to win a seat. He had also lost a by-election earlier this year. He said in his resignation speech it was clear “Ukip requires a new focus and new ideas” but was confident it had a “great future”.

“The Prime Minister… must know that if they begin to backtrack or barter things away, then they will be punished at the ballot box and that will only happen if Ukip is electorally viable and strong. We are in effect the country’s insurance policy on Brexit,” Mr Nuttall said.