Policy Focus

Ukip leader hits back at leadership challenge claims

The leader of the UK Independence Party has rubbished reports that the party is at the centre of a "brutal" power struggle.

Reports in the Independent newspaper at the weekend said MEP Nigel Farage faced a challenge to his leadership of Ukip.

The London-based paper said there was disquiet over his “centralised, top-down” style and the way he runs the party’s finances.

And a source has told TheParliament.com that there was “widespread” dissatisfaction with the leadership “for all sorts of reasons”.

But Farage said today that there was no challenge brought up against him during the party’s annual conference held in Bournemouth last Friday and Saturday.

He admitted the party may have been subjected to “severe aggravation” but said this was no different to that which took place “in every political party”.

“Some people are undoubtedly opposed to me but I can assure you that very few of them were in Bournemouth,” he said.

The same press reports said that the infighting had been partly caused by some party members, allegedly with links to the far-right British National Party (BNP).

Farage said, “If there are any BNP sympathisers in the party – and if there are I think they are very few in number – I can tell them that we will find them and get rid of them.”

He said this year’s conference had been marked by a “changing of the guard” in the party, with the election of a new chairman, 31-year-old Paul Nuttall, and a 27-year-old general secretary.

Turning to next year’s European elections, Farage voiced optimism that the party, which currently has 10 MEPs, had the potential to be as successful as the last elections in 2004.

He said, “We can be every bit as successful but we need to raise money and get organised.”