The UK Independence Party is a Eurosceptic,right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s,when it gained two members of parliament and was the largest party representing the UK in the European Parliament. UKIP's visibility and success was chiefly associated with two-time leader Nigel Farage;since his second departure in 2016,the party has seen a steep decline in support and eleven different leaders,the most recent being Lois Perry who resigned after just 34 days. Following Perry’s resignation,the party has been led in the interim by Nick Tenconi since June 2024.
Nigel Paul Farage is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton and the Leader of Reform UK since 3 July 2024,having previously been its leader from 2019 to 2021 when it was called the Brexit Party. He also was the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009,and 2010 to 2016. Farage served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 until the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) in 2020.
Roger Helmer is a British politician and businessman. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands region from 1999 to 2017. Before becoming an MEP,he was a business executive.
A by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst in London,following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Eric Forth on 17 May 2006. The writ for the electing of a new member was issued on 6 June for a polling day of 29 June 2006,the same day as the Blaenau Gwent by-elections. The Conservatives held the seat but with their majority much reduced by the Liberal Democrats.
The UK Independence Party (UKIP) held a leadership election in September 2006.
Craig Mackinlay is a Conservative Party politician and businessman. From 2015 to 2024,he was the last Member of Parliament (MP) for South Thanet.
Paul Andrew Nuttall is a British politician who served as Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2016 to 2017. He was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate,and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England between 2009 and 2019,sitting in the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group. He left UKIP in December 2018,criticising the party's association with far-right activist Tommy Robinson,and joined the Brexit Party in 2019.
The UK Independence Party (UKIP) held a leadership election in 2009,with ballots closing on 26 November. The election was won by Malcolm Pearson.
The UK Independence Party (UKIP) leadership election of 2010 was triggered on 17 August 2010 with the resignation of the incumbent leader,Lord Pearson of Rannoch,following difficulties during the 2010 general election campaign,with the result announced on 5 November 2010. Lord Pearson of Rannoch had been leader of the party since the previous leadership election,less than a year earlier. Jeffrey Titford was appointed interim leader during the summer by the UKIP National Executive Committee. Nigel Farage won the election with over 60% of the vote.
The 2014 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2014 European Parliament election,held on Thursday 22 May 2014,coinciding with the 2014 local elections in England and Northern Ireland. In total,73 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation. England,Scotland and Wales use a closed-list party list system of PR,while Northern Ireland used the single transferable vote (STV).
Margaret Lucille Jeanne Parker is a British former politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands region between 2014 and 2019.
Diane Martine James is a British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2014 to 2019. She was briefly leader-elect of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from September 2016 to October 2016,but resigned before formalising her leadership. At the time of her election to the European Parliament,James was one of three UKIP MEPs for South East England,before joining the Brexit Party in 2019.
Janice Ann Atkinson is a former British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament for the South East England region. She formerly represented the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and later sat as an independent:she was elected in 2014,second on the list for the region behind Nigel Farage. In March 2015,she was expelled from UKIP for "bringing the party into disrepute" after her chief of staff was recorded trying to fraudulently inflate her expenses.
William Milroy Etheridge is an English politician who was previously a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the West Midlands region. He was elected in 2014 as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate,but left the party in October 2018 and joined the Libertarian Party. He joined the Brexit Party in 2019 but rejoined UKIP in September 2020. He unsuccessfully stood for UKIP leader in 2016,and 2024.
David Adam Coburn is a Scottish politician and businessman who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Scotland from 2014 to 2019. A former member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP),Coburn was the leader of UKIP Scotland from July 2014 until December 2018.
The 2019 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2019 European Parliament election. It was held on Thursday 23 May 2019 and the results announced on Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2019,after all the other EU countries had voted. This was the United Kingdom's final participation in a European Parliament election before leaving the European Union on 31 January 2020,and was also the last election to be held under the provisions of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 before its repeal under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and was the first European election in the United Kingdom to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections since 1999. This was the first of two national elections that would be held in the United Kingdom in 2019 with the 2019 general election being held six months later in December 2019.
Nigel Farage is a British MP for Clacton and former MEP for South East England who has stood as a candidate representing eurosceptic parties UK Independence Party (UKIP) and Reform UK since 1994. He was a Member of the European Parliament representing South East England from the 1999 election until the British withdrawal from the European Union in 2020,winning re-election four times. Farage has stood for election to the House of Commons eight times,in six general elections and two by-elections,losing in every attempt until 2024 in Clacton. He was also a proponent of the UK leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum,in which the electorate voted to do so by 52% to 48%.
Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in November 2018 as the Brexit Party,advocating a no-deal Brexit,it won the most seats at the 2019 European Parliament election in the UK,but did not win any seats at the 2019 general election. The UK withdrew from the European Union (EU) in January 2020. A year later,in January 2021,the party was renamed Reform UK. During the COVID-19 pandemic the party advocated against further lockdowns. Since 2022,it has campaigned on a broader platform,in particular pledging to reduce net migration,supporting low taxation,and opposing the government's net-zero energy policy. Following Nigel Farage's resumption of the party leadership in early June during the campaign for the 2024 general election,opinion pollsters and analysts reported a sharp increase in support for the party. In the election it gained five Members of Parliament (MPs) with the third highest popular vote at 4,117,221,equivalent to 14.3% of the vote share.
Alexandra Lesley Phillips is a British journalist and former politician.
