By Daniel Hordon
Ever since the EU referendum and the resignation of the long serving leader Nigel Farage, UKIP has lost its direction and cause. Following a string of different leaders and the latest being seemingly on the edge of being pushed out, the party is losing the political impact it once had and needs to revitalise itself if it wishes to carry on.
Ever since the EU referendum and the resignation of the long serving leader Nigel Farage, UKIP has lost its direction and cause. Following a string of different leaders and the latest being seemingly on the edge of being pushed out, the party is losing the political impact it once had and needs to revitalise itself if it wishes to carry on.
On the 29th of September 2017 at party conference, Henry Bolton was elected with 29.9% of the vote and the backing of Nigel Farage - something which is vital in UKIP leaders despite Farage having failed to stand for the party in June 2017’s General Election. The new leadership came with a new brand and direction for the party as members voted on a new logo. Of course, the controversy around the new logo on the day of its launch should have been a political insight into the reign of Bolton as leader.
Henry Bolton’s leadership came with the aim to give the party a new direction, aiming to get on with the “core task” of Brexit while distancing itself from the anti-Islam image portrayed by leadership candidate Anne Marie Waters who described the religion as “evil”. The previous leader Paul Nuttall, who resigned after UKIP failed to win a seat in the 2017 General Election, had also caused controversy by calling for a ban on Burkas in public places. With the odds stacked against Bolton in retaining his position as leader, it is widely believed that he has failed in these goals, especially concerning racism.
The leadership has recently come into question after text messages were exposed appearing to show Bolton’s then girlfriend, Jo Marney, making racist remarks towards Meghan Markle. Considering one of Bolton’s leadership election promises was regarding the “integration of all immigrant communities”, his dating someone with racist views not only appeared hypocritical but un-ministerial. This led to Bolton losing a unanimous vote-of-no-confidence however he insists he will not resign as party leader and may, in fact, get back with Marney.
This latest round of controversy could not have come at a worse time for UKIP which requires, dare I say it, strong and stable leadership if it wishes to regain its political relevance. The issue with UKIP among many voters was that their policy, on the surface, appeared to only stretch to Brexit and nothing else. Of course the party did have other policy but this was sidelined by a pressure-group like campaigning strategy which was effective in the short term but did little to build a long term reputation for the party.
In 2017 UKIP won only a vote share of 1.8% meaning for a 10.8% drop since 2015. The party had failed to engage the electorate in its new policy and failed to win a single seat with 57% of its 2015 voters going to the Conservatives and 18% going to Labour. These voters turned from what was seen as a single issue party to those with a more distinct broad policy. While Henry Bolton’s aim was to bring these voters back to the party, he has failed to do this and is now more likely to be knocked off the top spot.
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With Nigel Farage, as recently as last week, ruling out forming a new party focussed on Brexit the possibility of him coming back to lead the party for a third stint is greater than ever before. The massive gains made by UKIP in the 2015 election were in part down to the relatable personality of Farage who was unlike any other politician on offer. In a way, this has had an effect across the whole political landscape from Brexit to Trump to Corbyn.
Whether UKIP will succeed in revitalising itself depends on whether it can first get over this period of infighting and find a new leader who can captivate the electorate like their much loved Nigel Farage was capable of.
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