Nigel Farage has warned that the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is on the verge of collapsing – but has backed Henry Bolton to stay as leader.
His intervention comes ahead of a critical meeting tomorrow, where party members will decide Bolton’s future: whether to back or reject UKIP’s National Executive Committee’s vote of no confidence, which took place in December.
Bolton has been under pressure to quit after a string of racist comments about Prince Harry’s fiancé, Meghan Markle, made by his model wife, Jo Marney, just before Christmas.
Marney sent racist text messages about Markle, saying that said she had a “tiny brain” and would “taint” the Royal Family. Marney also called Markle a “negro” and said black people are ugly.
BBC political journalist, Jack Fenwick, told City News that UKIP needs to change its image to guarantee its future.
Writing in the Telegraph, Farage said: “I believe it would be better to allow Henry Bolton, with all his faults, the chance to turn UKIP into an electoral machine again.”
“The alternative is for the party to carry on down the path of self-destruction into irrelevance. It may be too late to save UKIP, but you never know.”
The former UKIP leader’s comments come as the party faces legal fees up to to £200,000 after one of its MEPs was found guilty of libel.
UKIP MEP David Coburn speaks to City News Radio ahead of tomorrow’s vote on Henry Bolton’s future.