Confirmed leadership candidates so far

The deadline for nominations for the leadership of UKIP will be closing soon and six candidates have confirmed their intention to stand so far.

Candidate
Jonathan Arnott MEP
Cllr Lisa Duffy
Bill Etheridge MEP
Elizabeth Jones
Steven Woolfe MEP

Jonathan Arnott is UKIP MEP for the north east of England and served as UKIP General Secretary for 6 years. Arnott is a mathematician and continued as head of maths at Handsworth Christian School until he was elected MEP in 2014. He is officially UKIP's most rebellious MEP but also has the highest voting record of UKIP's MEPs.

Lisa Duffy is a councillor and leader of the UKIP group on Huntingdonshire District Council and a town councillor on Ramsey Town Council, the first UKIP-controlled council in the country which she was also mayor of. Duffy is leader of the UKIP group on Huntingdonshire District and Chief of Staff to Patrick O'Flynn MEP. She has been endorsed by Suzanne Evans.

Bill Etheridge is one of the UKIP MEPs for the West Midlands and councillor on Dudley MBC. Bill is a member of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, CAMRA and is an Associate of the American Legislative Exchange Council. He sits on the EU Regional Development Committee and is being backed for leader by his ex-wife, UKIP disabilities spokesman Star Anderton.

Elizabeth Jones is a member of UKIP's National Executive Council and Deputy Chairman of Lambeth UKIP. Elizabeth has contested 11 elections for UKIP and was a key member of UKIP's election campaign.

Steven Woolfe is one of the UKIP MEPs for the north west of England and a practising barrister. Woolfe is UKIP's financial affairs and City of London spokesman and head of UKIP's Black & Minority Ethnic Association. He has the support of Nathan Gill AM and is currently favourite to succeed Nigel Farage and become the first BME leader of a mainstream political party in the UK.

European Parliament Vice-President defies rules to frustrate legitimate democratic protest by UKIP MEPs over TTIP vote delay

UKIP press release, June 10, 2015. Immediate.

This evening in the European Parliament, Jonathan Arnott, UKIP MEP for the North East and EU budget spokesman, led a protest against the suppression of debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Arnott proposed a procedural motion to suspend the sitting "to allow Parliament the opportunity to reflect on the undemocratic actions by President Martin Schulz and other officials to suppress the vote and debate on this issue which is of concern to millions of people across the EU."

Arnott said: "I proposed suspending Parliamentary debate for the day to highlight this point.  The officials on the podium responded with what looked like panic, ringing the division bell and breaking their own rules.  The rules demand an immediate vote, but they delayed for over forty minutes to allow their supporters to flood the chamber."

Roger Helmer, UKIP MEP for East Midlands and energy spokesman, was in the chamber to support the protest. When it became clear the vice-president (Ildikó Gall-Pelcz) was acting in breach of the rules, Helmer broke procedure and went onto the podium to ask her if she realised she was in breach of the rules. "She replied yes. I then asked her if she was happy she was breaking the rules, and she said she was not. And yet she broke the rules anyway."

ENDS

Notes for editors:

1. Article 191 of the Rules of Procedure states: The sitting may be suspended or closed during a debate or vote if Parliament so decides on a proposal from the President or at the request of a political group or at least 40 Members.  Such proposal or request shall be put to the vote immediately.
2. The Rules were broken by:
• The vice-President (Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ) challenged the number of members present, even though it was requested on behalf of a political group
• The vice-President stalled proceedings by claiming incorrectly that "a sitting may not be suspended twice in one day"
• The vice-President permitted the issue to be debated at length, despite the rules requiring it to be "put to the vote immediately"
• The division bell was rung continuously to call MEPs to the chamber apparently to frustrate this protest