Gerard Batten with Tommy Robinson planning the UKIP Brexit rally on 9th December (Image - Gerard Batten, Twitter)
UKIP leader, Gerard Batten, has survived a vote of no confidence held by the party's National Executive Committee (NEC).
Last month, Batten appointed Tommy Robinson as UKIP special adviser on 'Muslim rape gangs'. This infuriated former leader, Nigel Farage, who then wrote to the party’s National Executive Committee urging them to pass a vote of no confidence in Batten’s leadership.
Yesterday, Sunday 2 December, UKIP's NEC voted overwhelmingly against a motion of no confidence, thereby endorsing Gerard Batten's leadership and the direction in which he is taking the party.
However, a later statement from the party said the national executive “does not endorse the appointment of Tommy Robinson in any advisory role”, adding that he remained banned from joining UKIP.
The decision marks a partial victory for Batten and, for now, prevents more of the chaos that has plagued the party following the Brexit referendum, which has seen it appoint a succession of new leaders, none of which proved to be any good.
The statement dissociated UKIP from a pro-Brexit protest planned for central London next Sunday, 9 December. Batten and Robinson are due to speak at the rally and, although the NEC deny UKIP's involvement, they said UKIP members were free to attend.
The march has been condemned by Farage, UKIP’s two-time leader and defining figure, who said on Sunday, on his LBC radio show: “If this march goes ahead with Gerard Batten as the leader of UKIP, then UKIP becomes the new BNP.”
Many UKIP members think Nigel Farage has started to lose all credibility and may have become part of the establishment.
Nigel Farage Slams Tommy Robinson as a "Thug"
