Britains right-wing U.K. Independence Party has chosen European Parliament member Diane James as its leader, replacing the charismatic but divisive Nigel Farage.
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A former business analyst with a long career the healthcare sector, Ms James has pledged to ensure the government delivers an exit from the European Union that meets the demands of UKIP voters: namely tighter immigration controls and more free trade.
She has promised to have a “laser focus” on the Brexit negotiations, holding the Government to account for delivering on the Leave vote in June’s European Union referendum.
In a sign of the party’s problems, the former Ukip executive director Steve Stanbury said he was rejoining the Tories because “the party’s over, mission accomplished”.
At a later news conference she said that she would be “nuts” to ignore any advice Farage had to offer but that she would not let him become a “backseat” driver for the party.
She added that under the leadership of the new prime minister all the key policies in UKIP’s 2015 election manifesto were delivered in a “matter of months”.
On Friday morning, Ukip’s outgoing deputy leader Paul Nuttall issued a passionate plea from the conference stage for the party to unite or die.
“Yeah, I mean absolutely”. ‘I literally couldn’t have worked any harder, or couldn’t have been more determined – it’s been my life’s work to get to this point.
“I was anxious, losing somebody like Nigel Farage who has been a huge influence and a major game player [in] British politics – it was a worry that he was going”.
In the running along with Diane James, who recently remarked she would not be “Nigel-like or Nigel-lite” if elected, are Ramsey councilor Lisa Duffy, West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge, Elizabeth Jones and Philip Broughton.
The ballots were closed Thursday.
He said: “I’m not giving up on politics completely. It’s been a great result and I think the future for UKIP is fantastic”, he said. She said: “It’s going to take me a while to come back to Earth”.
“I think that she’s maintained her consistency and credibility since then and I think she’ll make a good leader”, she said.
“We are going to confound our critics, we are going to outwit our opponents, we are going to build on our election success that we have achieved to date and do more”, James told delegates at UKIP’s fall conference in Bournemouth on England’s south coast.
“And the animosity has spilt over in the media”.
This is again illustrated by yet another defection from UKIP to the Conservatives, as Alex Phillips (a former aide of Nigel Farage) said that the party is in a “catastrophic mess”.
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Migration spokesman Steven Woolfe was widely expected to take the party’s job but his application was rejected by the NEC after it was submitted 17 minutes past the deadline.
