James, a former business analyst and the party’s deputy chairwoman, said she would work to ensure that the Conservative government did not negotiate a soft Brexit.
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After again failing to win a seat in Westminster in the 2015 General Election, he quit as leader for three days before “unresigning” so he could led the party into the 2016 EU Referendum.
Nigel Farage stated that UKIP’s role after the United Kingdom referendum on Europe was to ensure there was “no backsliding or betrayal” on the vote to Leave.
The UK Independence Party (Ukip) has elected Diane James as its new leader on Friday (16 September).
Diane James has been elected as the new leader of Ukip after Nigel Farage stood down following the European Union referendum.
Ms James insisted that Brexit must mean “100 per cent European Union exit” and said UKIP’s “people’s army” must keep up the pressure on Theresa May’s Government.
Bill Etheridge, Lisa Duffy, Liz Jones and Phillip Broughton also contested the election. “It seems a weird way to unite the party”, he said.
“We’re going to confound our critics, we’re going to outwit our opponents, we’re going to build on our the electoral success we’ve achieved to date and do more and I’ve said we are the opposition party in waiting so watch out”.
There remains persistent speculation that Farage could make an attempt to return as leader in the coming months or years.
“Ukip has not been a happy camp for over a year”, said Nuttall, who had been tipped to run for the leadership, but is instead stepping down from Ukip’s front rank. The party is “handicapped by a flawed, morally bankrupt first-past-the-post [electoral] system”, James said.
UKIP’s most famous face also used the hours ahead of the party’s new leadership announcement to reiterate that while he will be supporting the victor of the race, he is “not going away”.
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.
Banks could deal UKIP a potentially fatal blow if he decides to withdraw his funding – another headache for new leader James. Pitt felt it was a “difficult time” for the party and that Farage was an “impossible act to follow”, but said she thought James would “grow into the role”.
However, James has also voted against LGBTI rights measures in the European Parliament and previously defended homophobic politicians within the party.
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Nigel Farage is said to have spent his last night as Ukip leader skinny dipping on Bournemouth beach with one of Ukip’s millionaire donors.
