Henry Bolton SACKED as Ukip leader as Jo Marney celebrates her ‘unconditional love’
UKIP leader Henry Bolton lost a vote of no confidence at the party's EGM meaning he has been sacked following the scandal around his affair with Jo Marney.
UKIP members SACK party leader Henry Bolton
Members of the pro-Brexit party, which Nigel Farage has warned is in danger of collapse, had voted on Mr Bolton’s future after just four months in the job.
Out of 1,378 ballots cast in the vote, 867 people backed the motion of no confidence (63 percent).
Just 500 people backed the leader (37 percent), meaning it was a landslide defeat for Mr Bolton that waas widely celebrated as the results were read out yesterday.
It means Mr Bolton will now be replaced by MEP Gerard Batten as an interim leader.
That will be followed in 90 days by the party’s fourth leadership election in just 18 months, party chairman Paul Oakden announced, to cheers from members.
The Ukip leader has been under pressure to quit since it emerged his 25-year-old model partner sent racist messages about Prince Harry’s mixed-race fiancee Meghan Markle.
Before the vote was announced, Mr Bolton revealed he had received a good luck message on his phone from his controversial ex.
He said: "I had a text message from her wishing me good luck this morning."
Mrr Bolton also called the NEC the “enemy within" and warned it was going to be “very difficult for the party to survive" another round of leadership turmoil.
He said: ”It's not about whether I go, specifically, it's about whether or not the party goes through another leadership contest and an interim leadership beforehand."
Once it was confirmed the party had sacked him, a defiant Mr Bolton said: "I have not finished in politics yet."
Ms Marney tweeted after the result: “Bunch of muppets.
“My love for Henry is unconditional of political leaderships. I ain’t going anywhere.”
Mr Bolton has said the media’s scrutiny of his private life since the story broke can be likened to that experienced by Princess Diana.
Henry Bolton: I will NOT be resigning as party leader
Mr Batten said Ukip's membership had made the right decision to sack Henry Bolton.
He said yesterday: ”We have had many crises in Ukip and I think this one today was about whether we have a future or not," he said.
He told his fellow members: "I believe that you have made the best decision that you could in the circumstances."
Nigel Farage insisted earlier yesterday removing Mr Bolton would lead Ukip to “irrelevance”.
He wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “I believe it would be better to allow Mr 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.”
Ukip won 12.6 percent of the vote in the 2015 general election but the party has been in decline ever since.
ITV political correspondent Paul Brand tweeted that Mr Farage that could be set to become leader of UKIP again.
He wrote: “Sources close to Farage do not rule out a return. But he’d want major reform of the party if he was going to consider it and he’s stayed away from today’s meeting.”
Dan Jukes, Mr Farage’s communications officer, replied: “Nigel is not coming back as UKIP leader but does want to see the party reform.”
Some figures have resigned from the party’s front bench, but Mr Bolton has insisted he is the man to “reform, professionalise and unite” UKIP.
His popularity among members has gradually fallen away when he the married father-of-two left his wife for Ukip activist Jo Marney.
Mrs Marney, nearly 30 years his junior, was later revealed to have sent offensive messages about Meghan Markle.
She claimed that black people are ugly and that Ms Markle, set to marry Prince Harry later this year, will "taint" the Royal family.
Mrs Marney apologised, Mr Bolton condemned the remarks, and he indicated that the “romantic” part of their relationship was over.
Despite that, the two have remained close and Mr Bolton has said he wants to help Mrs Marney.
His handling of the issues has been criticised across the party’s support.
UKIP general secretary Paul Oakley told the Today programme: “I have no interest whatsoever in his personal life.
“For me, it’s the fact that he’s done nothing as a leader, he’s not making the case for Brexit.”
The general secretary said he is also concerned by the lack of campaigning in local elections.
He continued: “We’ve done nothing.
“Henry will be out after the local elections if he isn’t out today.”
Former leader Lord Pearson and other senior figures have called on officials to prepare for the future by getting behind MEP Gerard Batten as interim leader, in the event that Mr Bolton loses the vote.