Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Gavin Cordon

Ukip elect Richard Braine as new party leader after EU election wipeout

Richard Braine has been elected as the new leader of Ukip after taking more than half the vote, a party spokesman has said.

In a ballot of members, the chairman of the party's West London branch received 53 per cent of the vote - more than double that of his closest rival.

Freddy Vachha was second with 20 per cent, followed by Ben Walker on 14 per cent and former deputy leader Mike Hookem on 13 per cent.

Braine was the favoured candidate of former leader Gerard Batten, who stood down after the party was wiped out in May's European elections, haemorrhaging support to Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party.

Following his victory, Braine said he wanted to establish Ukip as the "far moderate voice of common sense" in Britain.

"We have got a great future and we are coming back. I am very excited and looking forward to leadership of this party, bringing the members together and delivering better results," he said.

Batten threw his support behind Braine after being barred from standing again by Ukip's national executive committee.

His leadership had become embroiled in controversy after taking on English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson as an adviser.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.