Ms James, now a member of the European Parliament, was announced as the party’s new head at its annual conference in the southern English coastal town of Bournemouth after a ballot of UKIP’s 40,000 members.
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Mr Carswell, who did not back any candidate in Ukip’s leadership election to replace Mr Farage, pledged his “110 per cent support” to Ms James.
She was announced as the new leader at the party’s annual conference, in Bournemouth. Entry should be allowed based on skill requirements, she added.
She promised that “whoever you are in this country, you will have the backing of the UK Independence Party – winning machine”.
Ms James said it was now the job of the party to make sure they were “race ready” for the 2020 General Election and appealed for the party to come together to deliver a credible manifesto, attractive to voters.
Her victory will worry the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), traditionally a home for opposition to Farage’s leadership; she has previously called for a radical overhaul of the body. He had led a campaign dominated by concerns over migration and impassioned speeches on claiming back British sovereignty.
James quickly emerged as the bookmakers’ favourites after Woolfe’s exclusion.
He will tell delegates that Mr Farage remains the real focus of power in Ukip. The party is “handicapped by a flawed, morally bankrupt first-past-the-post [electoral] system”, James said.
However, James has often been perceived as a reluctant candidate.
But later, James apologised, saying her comments were not supposed to be a “generalisation against every single individual born with a Romanian passport”.
This leadership campaign has perfectly illustrated the obstacles UKIP will face over the next few months.
And he warned out of office he would become even more outspoken.
Many UKIP members have been exposed to have extremist homophobic, biphobic and transphobic views.
A second problem is the lack of long-term objectives.
He said he was “four-square” behind UKIP but cautioned the party must be “healthy and strong” to hold the Government to account over Brexit.
“The opportunities are there, today is a breakwater in the history of this party”.
Banks could deal UKIP a potentially fatal blow if he decides to withdraw his funding – another headache for new leader James.
Ex-UKIP chief Nigel Farage’s right-hand woman has defected to the Tories after Prime Minister Theresa May’s apparent commitment to deliver Brexit made her question the objective of UKIP.
The 56-year-old previously caused controversy when she defected to UKIP soon after being voted in as an independent Waverley Borough Councillor representing Ewhurst in 2011. They won’t deliver unless UKIP is fighting hard. The party is now facing an unprecedented identity crisis that must be addressed if it wants to maintain momentum.
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The party’s deputy chairperson will replace outgoing leader Nigel Farage.
