#Brexit: UKIP leader Nigel Farage stands down

Nigel Farage MEP (UKIP) (pictured) announced this morning (4 July) that he is standing down as the leader of UKIP, writes Catherine Feore. He will continue to support the party and the new leader, he says, and added he will watch the negotiation process "like a hawk" and might comment from time to time.

He has said that he did not want to be a career politician and through the EU referendum result has achieved his goal of the UK becoming a self-governing country again. He did not announce his resignation as a member of the European Parliament, so we assume that he will still attend Strasbourg plenary sessions, if not Brussels.

The Vote Leave campaign, endorsed by the Electoral Commission, side-lined Farage during the campaign. Farage, seen as a 'Marmite' politician, that is, someone you either love or hate, was kept at arms length. Farage complained that he had been ostracized by the main 'Leave' campaigners. Nevertheless, Farage was popular with the media.

Farage is associated with one of the most controversial moments in the campaign, when he unveiled a poster showing a long line of migrants, entitled 'Breaking Point: The EU has failed us all'. The poster was condemned and reported to the police. Many pointed out the similarity between the poster and Nazi propoganda from the 30s. On the same day, Jo Cox MP was murdered by someone shouting out 'Britain First', the assailant turned out to be part of a far-right group of the same name. The death resulted in a suspension in the campaign.

How influential Farage was during the campaign is open to question Loughborough University Centre for Research in Communication and Culture analysed coverage of different parties and politicians during the campaign. They found that Farage trailed far behind the other high-profile outer Boris Johnson MP.

Loughborough also found that UKIP itself had a relatively low profile during the weeks running up to the vote.

While we don't think it is time to write Farage's political obituary just yet, he can certainly be congratulated by the Leavers for getting the ball rolling, winning seats in the European Parliament and while never very successful in Westminster, providing enough of a threat in last year's close election to convince Prime Minister David Cameron into making a pledge to his backbenchers (and the country) to carry out an EU in/out referendum should he be re-elected.

Can we see Farage walking quietly away  from the spotlight? We most sincerely doubt it.

Reaction

Former MEP and current Green MP Caroline Lucas said "Farage was frontman for 'biggest Establishment stitch-up in a generation'

“Farage’s legacy is toxic and unforgivable. He has used his position to whip up hatred against migrants and divert attention from the real challenges this country is facing. During the referendum campaign he did the unimaginable by sinking to new lows. He will be remembered for that disgusting poster, and for using the suffering of refugees for his own political gain.

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