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Diane James quits Ukip Diane James quits Ukip
(35 minutes later)
The former leader of Ukip, Diane James, has quit the party. Diane James has quit Ukip to sit as an independent member of the European parliament, just weeks after her 18-day tenure as leader of the party came to an end.
James became leader of the rightwing party in September and resigned 18 days later, saying she did not have the “authority or support” to continue. Explaining her decision to leave the party, James said her relationship with Ukip colleagues had become difficult since she declined to take up the role of leader.
She will become an independent MEP, joining Steven Woolfe, another senior Ukip member who left the party last month. In a statement, the former Ukip parliamentary candidate, who came close to winning the Eastleigh byelection in 2013, said: “My decision to retire from the election process and not complete it was very difficult personally and professionally, given that Ukip has dominated my life and all my efforts for the last five years.
“In recent weeks, my relationship with the party has been increasingly difficult and I feel it is time to move on.”
James won the Ukip leadership after a contest in September, triggered by Nigel Farage’s decision to step aside following the EU referendum. However, she declined to formalise the position after 18 days, having signed her official forms with a note saying “under duress” in Latin.
She later released a statement saying it had become clear that she did not have sufficient authority or the full support of her colleagues to overhaul the management structures of the party.
Farage took back over as interim leader while the party ran a new race, which was further plunged into turmoil by a fight between the frontrunner, Steven Woolfe, and another MEP, Mike Hookem. Woolfe withdrew from the contest and resigned from the party as well.
Paul Nuttall, the former deputy Ukip leader, is now the favourite to win, with Suzanne Evans, the former deputy chair and policy chief, another leading contender.