Is Tommy Robinson a political martyr? Some Ukip supporters think so, and want the former English Defence League leader to be allowed to join their party. A motion set to be debated at Ukip’s conference this month could now decide the issue, with the party’s ruling body debating this weekend whether it should be up to its members to have the final say on whether Robinson should be welcome in Ukip’s ranks.
If the ban on Robinson’s membership is lifted, then the smallest fig leaf separating the party from the EDL will have finally been removed. Under Ukip’s latest leader, Gerard Batten, this seems to be the direction in which the party is travelling. Batten is a man who put his name to a code of conduct calling on Muslims to sign a document promising not to carry out acts of terrorism. He has also spoken out frequently in support of Robinson. Yet Batten isn’t alone in this fondness for Robinson within his party: members of Ukip’s youth wing, Young Independence, are pushing hard for Robinson to join, believing him to be in a tradition of “anti-establishment rebels” dating back to Robin Hood.
But if Robinson is allowed to join, the party will have to radically rewrite its own rule book. Ukip’s
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