Steven Woolfe, the Ukip leadership frontrunner, has quit the party, saying that the party has become ungovernable and is in “a death spiral” without Nigel Farage at the helm.
The MEP said he had reconsidered his ambitions to lead the party after a public altercation with fellow Ukip MEP Mike Hookem outside a meeting in Strasbourg and subsequent seizures that left Woolfe hospitalised.
He said he had come to the conclusion that Ukip was ungovernable without Farage leading it and the referendum cause to unite the party. He also told the BBC that Ukip had entered a “death spiral, of their own making”.
With the backing of the major Ukip donor Arron Banks, Woolfe had been the favourite to take over the party after Diane James – who succeeded Farage – lasted just 18 days in the job.
He said that without someone to wrestle it into shape very quickly, Ukip would see “the loss of the party, their influence, the goodwill that the public have with them”. But Woolfe had been under pressure to withdraw after the fracas in Strasbourg, which was triggered by the revelation that he had considered defecting to the Conservatives.
The Ukip leadership contest is now wide open, but there are serious doubts about its viability as a political force without Farage, the exodus of supporters to the Tories, and questions about whether Banks will continue to back the party financially.
The declared candidates include Raheem Kassam, Farage’s former chief of staff, Bill Etheridge, a Midlands MEP, and Peter Whittle, a London assembly member. However, Paul Nuttall, a former deputy leader of the party, and Suzanne Evans, a former deputy chairman who clashed with Farage, may also decide to run.
In his statement of resignation, Woolfe said he had come to the conclusion that Ukip could not be held together without the uniting power of Farage.
He said the incident in Strasbourg, combined with the “infighting and toxicity since the summer”, meant the party was in trouble and he did not want to lead it.
In the statement, Woolfe said: “It was because of the support from party members that I put my name forward to lead the party in the summer, and again two weeks ago following Diane’s resignation. However, I could not have foreseen the events that would follow.
“The events at the meeting in Strasbourg led to me later being treated by doctors for two seizures, partial paralysis and loss of feeling in my face and body.”
He said: “Since then, I have spent some time considering my personal and political future. It is with deep sorrow and regret that I am aborting my leadership campaign and announcing my resignation from Ukip with immediate effect.”
“The way I was treated by members of my own party during the summer’s leadership campaign and the events that have led up to resignation have all contributed to me coming to this conclusion. The party is riddled with infighting, proxy wars between rival camps and is run by an NEC (national executive committee) that is not fit for purpose.”
His criticisms echo some of those made by James when she revealed she would not formally take up the post of Ukip leader because she did not have the support of colleagues for the necessary reforms she said the party needed.
Despite reports that police were not involved in his Strasbourg fracas, Woolfe said he had made a formal complaint about Hookem and that he was also seeking legal advice about Ukip’s investigation into the incident.
Hookem has strongly denied landing a blow and is also threatening legal action against Woolfe for defamation, suggesting he staged a photograph that showed him passed out after having a seizure. Hookem responded to the resignation news, saying it was clear Woolfe’s career in Ukip was already over once it emerged he had “shown disloyalty” by considering a defection to the Conservatives.
All eyes will now be on whether Nuttall or Evans, who were not in the last leadership contest, decide to throw their hats into the ring.
Kassam, one of the declared candidates, said he thought Woolfe had been “under a lot of pressure from people negatively campaigning against him inside the party” and felt he had been “effectively pushed out”.
He said: “What some people have turned Ukip into is unacceptable, and it has led to a good, decent man having to withdraw from the leadership race and the party. They should hang their heads in shame.”
Steven Woolfe
