UK Independence Party
Historical Background
• Founded in 1993 by Alan Sked and other members of the cross-
party Anti-Federalist League
• Stood in the 1997 general election, but were overshadowed by the
Referendum Party
• After Goldsmith’s death (leader of the Referendum Party), there
was a influx of new UKIP supporters
Alex Sked
• Sked resigned after the election and Michael Holmes won the
leadership election
• 1999 elections to the European parliament: gained 3 seats and 7%
of the vote
• 2000 - Power struggle between Holmes and the party’s National
Executive Committee (NEC) -> ordinary members forced the
resignation of Holmes and the entire NEC
• Jeffrey Titford was then elected as leader
• 2004 - Roger Knapman elected as leader
Michael Holmes Jeffrey Titford
• 2005 General Election, they fielded 495 candidates and won 2.3% of
the total votes cast in the election
• 2005 G.E – did not win any seats
• Best performance was in Boston & Skegness, Richard Horsnell came
3rd with 9.6% of the vote
• 2006 – Farage was elected leader of UKIP with 45% of vote (20%
ahead of his nearest rival)
• 2009 – Farage announced he would be resigning as leader to stand
for Parliament against the speaker
• 2010 – Farage re-elected as leader (more than 60% of votes)
Ideologies
1. Return power to the UK
The withdrawal from the European Union and to recover power
over national life.
2) Protect Borders
Points-based visa system and time-limited work permits.
Immigrants must be financially independent for 5 years.
3) Rebuild Prosperity
Give British workers first crack at the 800,000 jobs the UK
currently advertises to EU workers
Ideologies
4) Safeguard Against Crime
No votes for prisoners and prevent foreign criminals from
entering the UK. Remove the UK from the European Court of
Human Right
5) Care and Support for all
Creation of new grammar schools. Benefits only available to
those who have lived here for over 5 years.
6) Free Speech and Democracy
Law of land must apply to all. No to Political Correctness, as it
stifles free speech.
2010 General Election
• Fielded 572 candidates
• Lord Pearson asked some prospective candidates to stand
down in favour of Eurosceptic Conservative and Labour MPs.
(“putting country before party”)
• The party polled 3.1% of the vote, an increase of 0.9% on the
2005 election.
• Took no seats, party with the largest percentage of the
popular vote to win no seats in the election
• Buckingham – seat of the Speaker John Bercow : Farage came
third (17% of the vote)
• Farage’s result was the best of all UKIP candidates that the
party put forward
2010 General Election
• UKIP was third in three other constituencies – North Cornwall,
North Devon and Torridge and West Devon
UKIP campaign bus
2015 Manifesto
• No tax on the minimum wage
• Inheritance tax will be abolished
• Make cuts to foreign aid by 9 billion pounds per annum
• New migrants will not be eligible for any welfare benefits until
they have been paying tax and national insurance for 5 years.
• Condition of entry to Britain ( health insurance that the NHS
recognises)
• Students from the EU will pay the same student fee rates as
International students
• Withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights
• Not give prisoners the vote
Membership
• Increased from 2002 to the time of the 2004 European
Parliament election
• Late 2000s: around 16,000 mark
• July 2013: grew to 32,000
• 7th May 2014: 37,000
• 19th May 2014: 38,000 (3 days before the 2014 European
Parliament election)
• 2014: 40,000 (doubled since 2012)
Election of Leaders
Election for the post of Party Leader is by postal ballot of all paid
up members of the Party “in good standing”.
The Leader’s term of office shall run for 4 years. It may be
extended when deemed necessary by the National Executive
Committee. In such an event, the period of extension shall be for
no more than one year.
Nigel Farage
Election of Leaders
• A leadership election will be called:
In the event of the Party Leader’s death, incapacity or
resignation
On the passing of a vote of no confidence in the Party Leader
by the NEC if endorsed by an Extraordinary General Meeting
of the Party
Upon the Party Leader’s completion of his term of office
Nigel Farage
Divisions and Splits
Defections from UKIP
• 2011 – David Campbell Bannerman defected to the Tories
( said UKIP was beset by “internal fighting”)
• 2013 – Marta Andreasen defected to the Tories (described
Farage as “a Stalinist” who was “anti-women”)
Defections to UKIP
• 2011 – Roger Helmer defected from the Tories (“increasing
disillusion with the attitudes of the Conservative Party”)
• August 2014 – Douglas Carswell (MP for Clacton) defected
from the Tories won the by-election, FIRST UKIP MP
Divisions and Splits
• September 2014 – Mark Reckless (MP for Rochester and
Strood) defected from the Tories
• September 2014 – Richard Barnes (Deputy Mayor of London
until 2012) joined
• October 2014 – Alan Craig (leader of the Christian Peoples
Alliance from 2004-2013) applied to join
• December 2014 – Ian Luder (former Lord Mayor of London)
joined
Douglas Carswell Mark Reckless
Divisions and Splits
Removals and Suspensions
• 2012 – Olly Neville ( interim chair of Youth Independence) was
fired for suppoting same-sex marriage
• 2013 – Mike Nattrass failed a candidate asessment test in
2013 and was deselected for the 2014 European election. He
resigned.
• December 2014: UKIP’s General Secretary Roger Bird was
suspended due to impropriety in relation to candidate
selection
Mike Nattrass Roger Bird
