Friday

29th Mar 2024

Ukip in death spiral, says MEP Steven Woolfe

  • Steven Woolfe said he would fulfil his mandate as an independent MEP. (Photo: European Parliament)

Ukip former leadership contender Steven Woolfe has left the party, saying it has ”something rotten” in it and that it entered a "death spiral” without long-standing leader Nigel Farage in charge.

Woolfe, who was recently hospitalised after a brawl with a party colleague, said he had put his name forward for the Ukip leadership because of support from party members.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

”However, I could not have foreseen the events that would follow… two seizures, partial paralysis and loss of feeling in my face and body,” he said in a written statement.

In an interview with BBC, he accused fellow MEP Mike Hookem of pushing him so that his head hit against a wall during a “man to man” discussion in the European Parliament.

Only a "small handful" of fellow politicians and officials had checked on him after the incident, Woolfe said.

“I have come to the conclusion that Ukip is ungovernable without Nigel Farage leading it and the referendum cause to unite it,” Woolfe wrote on his statement, referring to last June's vote on the EU membership.

“The way I was treated by members of my own party during the summer’s leadership campaign and the events that have led up to today have all contributed to me coming to this conclusion.

“The party is riddled with infighting, proxy wars between rival camps and is run by a national executive committee that is not fit for purpose.”

Woolfe said he had filed a police complaint over the matter.

The European Parliament has also opened up its own investigation, which could end with both MEPs losing their allowance and being suspended for a few days.

Hookem was apparently annoyed that Woolfe had put himself up for leader just weeks after he had considered defecting to the Conservatives.

Hookem has denied the allegations, claiming it was Woolfe who attacked him.

Nominations for the next Ukip leader close on 31 October. The winner will be announced on 28 November.

Nigel Farage stepped down shortly after Britain's vote to leave the UK in June. He was replaced by Diane James, who resigned after only 18 days at the job, saying she lacked the "sufficient authority" and support of colleagues.

Ukip fights for its life

A fist-fight between Ukip MEPs in the European Parliament on Thursday sent a frontrunner for the party’s leadership to hospital and laid bare a party in shambles.

UKIP MEP feeling well after punch and collapse

Steven Woolfe, a Ukip MEP, was rushed to hospital after collapsing in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday, reportedly after a fight with a group colleague.

MEPs to investigate Ukip brawl

The European Parliament's ethics committee will try to establish what happened between Mike Hookem and Steven Woolfe, who will remain in the hospital until Sunday.

EU parliament to claw back eurosceptics' funds

The EU parliament is preparing to get back allegedly misspent funds from a eurosceptic political group that includes Ukip, in a move that could cause the group's bankruptcy.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us