The

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...

(UKIP) held a leadership election in September 2006. The

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

party had been led since 2002 by Roger Knapman. Although he was entitled to stand for second term of office on the expiry of his four-year term, he decided not to.Dave Harvey,
West: UKIP flower fades
, ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 8 June 2006

Candidates

Four candidates stood in the election: *

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

was an MEP for

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

, and the group's leader in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. He called for the party to avoid being seen as a single issue pressure group, by focussing campaigning on low taxation, selective education and a distinctive trade policy. He was viewed as the highest-profile candidate, and was backed by the party's largest donor, Alan Bown. *Richard Suchorzewski, the Chair of UKIP Wales, had defected from the Conservative Party in 2004, and called for the party to develop greater internal democracy, with the formation of a governing committee who would liaise with members on policy initiatives. He also wanted to prioritise the recruitment of more members under 40 and for party leaders to be based permanently in the UK. He attracted the backing of former chairman Petrina Holdsworth. * David Campbell Bannerman was a former Conservative Party councillor and former chairman of the

Bow Group The Bow Group is a UK-based think tank promoting conservative opinion. Founded in 1951, it is the oldest group of its kind, counting many senior Conservative Party MPs and peers among its members. It represents a forum for political debate with ...

, who had joined UKIP in 2002, and became its chairman in early 2006. He also called for the party to broaden its policies, and wanted to focus on democracy and freedom from government interference. If elected, he wanted to work alongside Farage, who he hoped would remain the party's leader in the European Parliament. * David Noakes, a computer consultant, called for the party to strengthen its focus on anti-EU campaigning. He stressed his belief that the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

was equivalent to a

police state A police state describes a state whose government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the exec ...

. He called for co-operation with

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s to organise an anti-EU general strike and for creating a permanent protest outside the British Houses of Parliament with a van broadcasting the party's message.

Result

Farage was elected, with 44% of the votes cast.

References

{{Nigel Farage 2006 elections in the United Kingdom

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

UK Independence Party leadership election Nigel Farage