UKIP membership surges 15% in a month
Why is the party of Brexit making an unlikely comeback?
UKIP has attracted a slew of new members over the past month, as public disillusionment with the direction of Brexit negotiations and the party’s more hard-right nationalist stance appear to be giving it a new sense of purpose.
Internal figures reveal that nearly 3,200 new members joined in July, increasing party membership by 15%, coinciding with a boost in the polls from 2% nationally to more than 5%.
Party insiders claim people are returning to the party they deserted for the Conservatives, angered by Theresa May’s compromised Chequers plan.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“This sets up a possible battle for supremacy in a party which under the leadership of Gerard Batten has talked more in recent months about Islam than Brexit,” says The Guardian, “and now has close links to Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist released from prison on Wednesday.”
Batten, who took over leadership of the party in February following the resignation of Henry Bolton, has sought to move UKIP beyond the confines of Brexit and align it with other far-right populist parties in the US and Europe.
He has adopted much of their overtly anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant rhetoric, referring to Islam as a “death cult” and calling the prophet Muhammad a paedophile.
The recent increase in membership is, however, relative. Its 24,000 members still amount to less than half its peak of 46,000 in mid-2015. In national polls, its 5% is far off the 13% share it garnered at the 2015 general election, when it received 3.8 million votes.
“A complicating factor is that not all the new members will be motivated by Brexit,” says The Guardian.
The party has also attracted younger members, following the endorsement of the three popular YouTube-based activists, meaning that “if others in the party did want a change in direction - even Nigel Farage, who has pledged to return to frontline politics next year if he feels Brexit is being thwarted - they might struggle to wrest back control”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
This is what you should know about State Department travel advisories and warnings
In Depth Stay safe on your international adventures
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Empowered' Steve Bannon released from prison
Speed Read Bannon was set free a week before Election Day and quickly returned to his right-wing podcast to promote Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Tommy Robinson: how he became voice of Britain's far-right
The Explainer Activist sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of court after false claims about Syrian refugee
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Last updated
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published