Fresh blow for Henry Bolton as top Ukip figures quit after no confidence vote
2 min read
Ukip leader Henry Bolton has suffered a fresh blow after two more senior figures - including his deputy - dramatically quit in protest and urged him to stand down.
Margot Parker said Mr Bolton should go “sooner rather than later” as she departed the deputy role, while John Bickley quit as immigration spokesman.
The party yesterday passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Bolton but he still refused to resign over the scandal surrounding his relationship with Jo Marney.
Mr Bolton, 54, left his wife for the 25-year-old model, who it emerged sent racist messages including saying Meghan Markle would “taint” the Royal Family with her “seed”.
Ms Parker said the leader had left the party “in limbo” and complained that his "personal life took over the job he was elected to do".
“It would be quicker and cleaner if he came to the conclusion he could go sooner rather than later,” she told BBC Radio Northampton.
"This is taking time away from doing the job. This puts the party in a limbo situation."
Ukip’s National Executive Committee (NEC) voted unanimously in favour of a motion of no confidence in Mr Bolton's four-month-old leadership.
A spokesman for the party said: "The committee took the decision to hold a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Henry Bolton.
"The vote was carried unanimously with the exception of the leader.
"This decision will automatically trigger an Emergency General Meeting of the party, to allow the membership of Ukip the democratic opportunity to decide to endorse or reject that vote of no confidence."
Under Ukip rules an emergency meeting of member representatives must be held in the next 28 days to support or reject the no confidence verdict.
Mr Bolton argued a fresh leadership contest - its fourth in 18 months - could finish the ailing party off.
The former army officer told ITV’s Peston show: “If the NEC decides to go down the route of months of further infighting and further negative media scrutiny by deciding to pass a vote of no confidence in me, then I think that the reality is that the party is probably over.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
