Ukip could disband within three years, Nigel Farage suggests

Former leader: Nigel Farage claimed Ukip's future was in question
AFP/Getty Images
Fiona Simpson7 May 2017
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Nigel Farage has suggested that Ukip could be disbanded if Theresa May delivers Brexit.

The party’s former leader said Ukip could fold within two-and-a-half years if Britain leaves the EU successfully.

He said: "If, in two-and-a-half years' time, Mrs May has delivered the kind of Brexit that voters wanted, then I think you could ask the question 'what is Ukip's future, where does it go from here?'."

He told ITV's Peston On Sunday Mrs May was "using exactly the same words and phrases that I have been using for 20 years".

He added: "It all looks and sounds fantastic but, as I say, we have got a career politician here whose record of delivery in the past has been very poor, so let's see."

Mr Farage’s comments came as former MP Douglas Carswell said the former leader “only had himself to blame for the party’s downfall.

Mr Carswell, who quit Ukip before announcing he would stand down as an MP at the June 8 election, said the party's former leader put voters off with "angry outbursts" over immigrants.

His comments came after a disastrous set of local elections for the eurosceptic party, which lost more than 100 councillors and won only a single seat on Thursday.

Leader Paul Nuttall acknowledged the party had lost large numbers of supporters to Conservatives, but insisted it had a "great future" so long as it could "stay on the pitch and hold its ground".

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in