Nikki Sinclaire-UKIP Leadership

While away this weekend there was a lot of fuss on Junius on UKIP and Catterpillars and Butterflies about the following open letter by Nikki. I have a great deal of time and respect for Nikki and, after being initially shocked by the content, feel sure that she is pulling off a Machiavellian master stroke.

Dear Nigel,

After much consideration, I feel it is incumbent upon me to write you this letter. I beseech you to reconsider your resignation as Party Leader, for the sake of UKIP, our cause and, more importantly, our country.

In all good conscience, I cannot see the sense of an internal election, costing more than £25,000, less than six months prior to a General Election campaign. I think it essential for the party to keep its eye on the ball and prepare for the election.

I completely concur with your judgment that you have too many responsibilities and you must prioritise. However, I respectively suggest that, in the short term, you have chosen the wrong priorities. We need you to lead the fight here in the UK, to spearhead our campaign as only you can do.

I cannot understand why you can't delegate some of your Brussels responsibilities to one of your 12 MEPs. You could still hold the title of EFD Co-President and give your wonderful plenary speeches but spend only six days a month in the parliament (as promised in your leadership election campaign).

You led us to an historic victory this year and have taken us to the centre ground of British politics, winning Labour strongholds such as Stoke, Newcastle under Lyme, Dudley, Plymouth , Sunderland, Hartlepool and others. Yet UKIP did not win one single Conservative stronghold and, if you step down, the party could be seen once again as an offshoot of the Tory party if the leadership race went as many expect, thereby costing us votes.

I also ask you to honour your pledge to the UKIP members - who elected you for a four-year term - to see out that commitment. The last thing the party needs now is a couple of months navel gazing. We certainly need a debate on the direction of the party in the near future but preferably after a General Election. If we are to have a leadership race, a race that will elect a leader, according to our constitution, not just for the forthcoming General Election but for the next European Election and possibly a second General Election, we must debate some key issues now in order to give a new leader a strong mandate.

This mandate will have to make difficult decisions, such as UKIP’s inclusion in a pan-European party, that you recently proposed we support. I feel that we, as MEPs representing UKIP’s best interests, could not go forward with this unless it is debated and voted on at conference. So I am glad to learn the proposal has been shelved for this year.

To conclude, Nigel, I ask you please to lead UKIP into the General Election and help increase our support across the Country whilst winning Buckingham and taking UKIP to a new level. Only you can do this, Nigel. Please do not desert us now. All UKIP MEPs will, I know, support you in return, to help you become the first UKIP MP.

If you choose to stay as Leader, I would not put my name forward in the leadership ballot and would urge others to do likewise.

Yours

Nikki

If you didn't know Farage has stepped down as leader of UKIP, a great relief to many in the party, and Nikki, a woman of principle, is standing for the leadership of whatever Farage leaves in his wake.