By Martin Banks - 7th October 2009
I stand by my decision because there is no way I can continue to do both jobs
Nigel Farage
Outgoing Ukip leader Nigel Farage has thrown his weight behind businessman Malcolm Pearson as his successor.
Farage says the British peer, who defected to Ukip from the Conservatives, is "by far" the best qualified for the job.
He also resisted calls by Nikki Sinclaire for him to reconsider his decision to stand down as the leader of the national party in the UK.
Sinclaire, one of three declared candidates for the job, asked Farage to rethink, saying he was the best person to lead the party in the UK.
She said a leadership campaign could be divisive for the party on the eve of an election in the UK.
Farage, who will remain leader of 13 Ukip MEPs and joint leader of the eurosceptic group to which they are aligned in parliament, said, "I stand by my decision because there is no way I can continue to do both jobs."
Gerard Batten, one of the few Ukip MEPs who served in the last parliament, is the other candidate.
Pearson, said Farage, was best suited to replace him, not least because the wealthy businessman was the "one most likely to raise the funds the party needs".
He added that Pearson was the only candidate who is based in Westminster - "a big advantage" - and, of the three, was the one most "highly regarded" as a political figure.
Pearson was expelled from the Tory party in 2004 after he came out and backed Ukip in the 2004 European elections. He joined Ukip in 2007.
He was made a life peer in 1990 and has tabled several unsuccessful bills in the Lords demanding the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
He courted controversy when he invited Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders to show an anti-Islam film in the House of Lords.
The result of a ballot of Ukip members will be known at the end of November.
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