This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/07/ukip-nuttall-resigns-tommy-robinson
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Ukip resignations plunge party into further turmoil | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The resignation of three MEPs from Ukip over the appointment of far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson as adviser, has plunged the party into turmoil, forcing its leader to pull out of his European party group. | |
| Ukip leader Gerard Batten announced his resignation from the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group (EFDD), after an exodus of senior figures from the party including the EFDD president Nigel Farage. | |
| Batten said he cannot remain in the EFDD when Farage “launches continual attacks on me and Ukip in the UK media”. | |
| On Friday, Ukip’s former leader Paul Nuttall announced that he was quitting Ukip, as did David Coburn, its leader in Scotland and Nathan Gill, a Welsh MEP. | |
| Several other leading Ukip figures have also quit in recent weeks over the party’s lurch to the far-right. They have included former leadership candidate Suzanne Evans and MEP Patrick O’Flynn. | |
| Nuttall, who led the party during the 2017 election, said Batten’s appointment of Robinson was a catastrophic error that would tarnish Brexit. | |
| On Tuesday, Farage quit the party, saying it had a fixation with the anti-Muslim policies of its leader, Gerard Batten. | |
| The latest resignations mean more than half of Ukip’s 24 MEPs elected in 2014 no longer represent the party. | The latest resignations mean more than half of Ukip’s 24 MEPs elected in 2014 no longer represent the party. |
| Nuttall, the MEP for North West England, said: “I am resigning because the party is being taken in a direction which I believe is harmful to Brexit. The association with Tommy Robinson will simply appal many moderate Brexit voters.” | Nuttall, the MEP for North West England, said: “I am resigning because the party is being taken in a direction which I believe is harmful to Brexit. The association with Tommy Robinson will simply appal many moderate Brexit voters.” |
| In a resignation letter to the party, Coburn said he did “not run on an anti-Islam platform”. He added: “Unfortunately, this seems to be the direction that Ukip is taking – obsessing about this issue to the exclusion of all else at a time when we might lose the Brexit we fought so hard for.” | In a resignation letter to the party, Coburn said he did “not run on an anti-Islam platform”. He added: “Unfortunately, this seems to be the direction that Ukip is taking – obsessing about this issue to the exclusion of all else at a time when we might lose the Brexit we fought so hard for.” |
| In his resignation letter, Gill said: “I can no longer belong to a party that switched its primary focus from Brexit, to a foolish pursuit against Islam and promotion of Tommy Robinson.” | In his resignation letter, Gill said: “I can no longer belong to a party that switched its primary focus from Brexit, to a foolish pursuit against Islam and promotion of Tommy Robinson.” |
| Nuttall made a similar point in his statement. He said: “The Tommy Robinson issue should have been shelved and debated within the party following Brexit – in line with the sensible decision taken by the national executive committee last month. The party leadership and my MEP colleagues have been aware of my views on this issue for some time. | Nuttall made a similar point in his statement. He said: “The Tommy Robinson issue should have been shelved and debated within the party following Brexit – in line with the sensible decision taken by the national executive committee last month. The party leadership and my MEP colleagues have been aware of my views on this issue for some time. |
| “Putting Tommy Robinson front and centre, whilst Brexit is in the process of being betrayed, is in my view a catastrophic error. To conflate Brexit and Robinson at this crucial moment is to put the Eurosceptic cause in danger and I cannot and will not be party to that.” | “Putting Tommy Robinson front and centre, whilst Brexit is in the process of being betrayed, is in my view a catastrophic error. To conflate Brexit and Robinson at this crucial moment is to put the Eurosceptic cause in danger and I cannot and will not be party to that.” |
| Nuttall said he made the decision to resign with an “immense amount of reluctance and regret, as I have worked tirelessly for the party for the past 14 years”. | Nuttall said he made the decision to resign with an “immense amount of reluctance and regret, as I have worked tirelessly for the party for the past 14 years”. |
| When Nuttall was leader he stood by Batten when he described Islam as a “death cult”. Batten, who has also called for Muslim-only prisons, survived an attempt by Farage to unseat him last weekend. | When Nuttall was leader he stood by Batten when he described Islam as a “death cult”. Batten, who has also called for Muslim-only prisons, survived an attempt by Farage to unseat him last weekend. |
| While members made clear they did not want to allow Robinson – the founder of the far-right English Defence League, to join Ukip and he is, in any case, barred under current rules – a vote of no confidence in Batten was defeated. | |
| UK Independence party (Ukip) | UK Independence party (Ukip) |
| Paul Nuttall | Paul Nuttall |
| Tommy Robinson | Tommy Robinson |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |