The 56-year-old almost secured a seat in Parliament in 2013, and would have become UKIP’s first MP, but lost by fewer than 2,000 votes to the Liberal Democrats.
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Speaking at Ukips annual conference in Bournemouth, Farage described Britain voting to leave the European Union – which he said was the culmination of his lifes work – felt like a fairy-tale that had come true.
“I am truly honoured to take on from Nigel and I am immensely grateful for what you betrothed on me”.
She said “We are the political changing movement, we can’t take our eye off the 2017 general election and Brexit”.
Mr Gill, who sits as a UKIP MEP and an independent AM in the Senedd, is one of her key supporters in the party.
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.
The MEP admitted the party has been “breaking down” behind the scenes but said he had been “biting my tongue” since the general election because he wanted to focus on winning the European Union referendum.
“I had a very good feel for why the United States model is quite frankly failing and the pitfalls that are there if the UK doesn’t get it right”, she told local newspaper the Southern Daily Echo in 2013.
Meanwhile, the party’s only MP will take to the conference stage as the bitter divisions in the party showed no sign of healing under new leader Diane James.
“Professionalism.will be top of my agenda”.
She added: “She has written some good stuff for her campaign and she has been with the party that she has built up from the time that she stood for the Eastleigh by-election… that’s when UKIP started to get noticed because she did so well in that”.
She told BuzzFeed News: “I think she’ll bring a certain experience, I think she’s very articulate, I think she has a good presence and I think that she’s well informed, I think she gave a good speech her acceptance speech and I think she’s done quite well in her campaign”. “It is going to be because change is necessary and justified”.
“Just remember where the best ideas – that you steal – where they came from and in all likelihood where they will come from again in the future”, James said.
“Diane has a lot of positives, in particular her ability to portray policies in a positive way which will appeal beyond UKIP’s core demographic”.
It set out three criteria by which the success of the government’s Brexit negotiations should be judged: whether Britain is outside the single market and free from European regulation, whether it has control of fishing rights in its territorial waters, and whether it has got rid of EU passports.
“The threats to the referendum outcome are increasing by the day”, she said, adding she would reject “Brexit-lite”.
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“And I’m very, very grateful and I appreciate all of the other countries now looking to Britain and hoping to emulate what we have done here in their own countries”.
