He’s gone, now he’s back. After four days in the political wilderness, Nigel Farage has returned as leader of Ukip. In a slightly bizarre statement, the party’s chairman Steve Crowther said Farage was ‘persuaded by the NEC to withdraw his resignation and remains leader of Ukip.’ So what changed his mind, after promising to resign ‘within 10 minutes’ of defeat? Speaking to those with a knowledge of the situation, I understand that Farage was genuinely ready to give up the position and the result in South Thanet came as a relief. His campaign team believe they did everything possible to get him elected but it clearly wasn’t enough — or the limits of ‘Farageism’ have been reached. Either way, he was ready for a break.
But as Farage was preparing for a quiet summer holiday, Ukip’s money men began trying to persuade Farage to stay — including £1 million donor Arron Banks – pointing out that four million voters backed the party in the election, more than ever before.
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