Ukip is to announce the results of yet another leadership election on Saturday as the party seeks to reinvent itself after its flirtation with the far right under Gerard Batten and somehow regain political relevance.
Ukip has nosedived in the polls since Nigel Farage, its former leader and central figure, quit to form the Brexit party, dropping from close to 10% near the end of last year to not far above zero.
The party appears to have been badly damaged under Batten, who took over on a supposedly interim basis 18 months ago but led Ukip in a far-right, vehemently anti-Islam direction, appointing the now-jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson as an adviser.
Such is the disquiet about Batten’s approach in Ukip’s national executive that he was barred from standing again, prompting a threat of legal action.
It is understood that Batten was blocked partly because the NEC felt his drive to the far right and links to Robinson had alienated voters, but also because he declined to be interviewed by NEC members before the contest.
Instead, one among four little-known Ukip activists will lead the party after a relatively low-key announcement at the party’s headquarters in Devon on Saturday. This will be Ukip’s fifth permanent leader since Farage stepped down just under three years ago.
The best known is Mike Hookem, until May a Ukip MEP, and formerly its deputy leader. His moment of greatest prominence came in 2016 when he was involved in a bizarre scuffle with fellow party MEP Steven Woolfe, after which Woolfe was taken to hospital.
Another perceived frontrunner is Ben Walker, a long-time activist and NEC member from Gloucestershire. Also standing are two London-based senior members, Freddy Vachha and Richard Braine.
While the party membership is still relatively large at 25,000, turnout is expected to be low, making predictions difficult.
Kirstan Herriot, the Ukip chair, said: “It is a new start. That’s what the overwhelming majority of the party are looking forwards to. Whoever wins this leadership election is going to provide Ukip with that fresh start.”
Not all agree with this sentiment. Braine was nominated for leader by Batten, and has promised to make him his deputy if he wins.
One senior party insider said: “If Richard wins it might not be the new start everyone wants, as he’s seen as Gerard’s man, and likely to continue in the same direction. You’d then expect some clashes with the NEC.”
When Farage stepped down as leader in September 2016 he was replaced by Diane James, who quit after just 18 days. The next permanent leader was Paul Nuttall, who left after the party’s disastrous performance in the 2017 general election.
Members then chose Henry Bolton, but he was forced out amid a crisis over his leadership skills and his relationship with Jo Marney, a party activist and model.
Batten was then installed without a contest with a brief to steady the party and rescue its finances, which he did. However, his far-right stance, and particularly his closeness to Robinson, saw a string of senior members quit, among them Farage.
