How does a party go from topping the European elections in 2014 to scraping just over three per cent of the vote, and losing every single MEP, within five years? Just ask Ukip, whose staggering decline is one of the most interesting subplots from this year’s elections.
Some may quibble with the ‘Ukip wipeout’ analysis. They will say that the real Ukip – both its heart and structure – was rolled over to the Brexit party along with its former leader, Nigel Farage. And they’re partly right: in the last few years, all but three of Ukip’s 2014 MEPs quit the party. But the fact remains that Ukip still mounted a full slate of candidates and took these elections seriously. And it failed miserably.
Ever since the 2016 referendum, Ukip has failed to articulate its purpose in British politics. After Leave voters flocked back to the main parties in 2017, its new leader, Gerard Batten, began a one-man mission to rebrand and revitalise the party.
Batten’s initial plan was to try merge Ukip with the Tommy Robinson movement, a loose network of protest groups opposing the ‘Islamification’ of Britain.
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