Gerard Joseph Batten
(born 27 March 1954) is a British politician who served as the Leader of 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) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a
Member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
(MEP) for
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
from
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
to
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
.
Early life
Batten was born in
Romford
Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...
,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, on 27 March 1954. He grew up on the
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England. It includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Haml ...
in the
East End of London. Before entering politics he was employed as a salesman for
British Telecom
BT Group plc (formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-li ...
.
Political career
Batten was a member of the
Anti-Federalist League
The Anti-Federalist League (AFL) was a small cross-party organisation in the United Kingdom, formed in 1991 to campaign against the Maastricht Treaty. It is mainly remembered now as the forerunner of the UK Independence Party and its subsequent ...
, an early
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 ...
cross-party political alliance from 1992 to 1993.
He was one of the founding members of 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) in 1993,
and was its first General Secretary from 1994 to 1997. He has been a member of UKIP's National Executive Committee several times.
Batten was first elected as a
Member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
in the
2004 European Parliamentary Election for the
London constituency on the basis of seeking the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from 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 ...
.
During his first term of office Batten served as a member of 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 ...
's
Subcommittee on Security and Defence The Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is a subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. It is responsible for European security and defence policy, including institutions, capabilities and operations, as we ...
(from July 2004), and was appointed as UKIP's official spokesman on Security and Defence. In this role, he attacked the-then
Labour government's plans to introduce identity cards.
At the 2007 UKIP annual conference, he was selected as the party's candidate to contest the
2008 London Mayoral Election
The 2008 London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London, England, was held on 1 May 2008. Conservative Party (UK), Conservative candidate Boris Johnson defeated incumbent Labour Party (UK), Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone. It was the t ...
, in which he received a 1.2% share of the vote.
Batten stood in the
2009 UKIP leadership election,
[UKIP leadership: Runners and riders]
, BBC News, 19 November 2009 coming second in a field of five behind the winner
Lord Pearson. From 2009 to 2014, he held the office of UKIP's
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
I ...
in the European Parliament. From 2016 to 2018, Batten served as the UKIP Spokesman for Exiting the European Union.
In 2011, Batten spoke with
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
's lawyers and began advocating for him in the media and in
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 ...
.
Alexander Litvinenko and Romano Prodi
In early April 2006, Batten stated that a London constituent and former
Federal Security Service
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...
(FSB) agent, Lieutenant-Colonel
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organized crime, ...
, had been told by
Mario Scaramella
Mario Scaramella (born 23 April 1970) is a lawyer and security consultant. He came to international prominence in 2006 in connection with the poisoning of the ex-Federal Security Service (FSB) agent Alexander Litvinenko. As responsible for intel ...
, that
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...
, the former
Prime Minister of Italy
The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...
and president of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
, had been the
KGB
The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
's "man in Italy". Batten demanded an inquiry into the allegations. He told 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 ...
that Litvinenko had been warned by FSB deputy chief General
Anatoly Trofimov
Anatoly Vasilyevich Trofimov (; July 14, 1940 – April 10, 2005) was a head of the Soviet KGB investigation department. He personally supervised all Soviet dissident cases including Sergei Kovalyov, Gleb Yakunin, Alexey Smirnov, and Yuri Orlov ...
that there were numerous former KGB agents among Italian politicians, and that "Romano Prodi is our man in Italy". The allegations were rejected by Prodi.
On 26 April 2006, Batten repeated his call for a parliamentary inquiry. He said: "Former, senior members of the KGB are willing to testify in such an investigation, under the right conditions... It is not acceptable that this situation is unresolved, given the importance of Russia's relations with the European Union." Litvinenko was admitted to hospital with suspected poisoning on 11 November 2006 after eating at a London restaurant, and died on 23 November 2006. The police later concluded he had been poisoned with
polonium
Polonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Po and atomic number 84. A rare and highly radioactive metal (although sometimes classified as a metalloid) with no stable isotopes, polonium is a chalcogen and chemically similar to selenium and tel ...
; a small dose of which is lethal. Anatoly Trofimov was
assassinated
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
by unknown gunmen in April 2005. On 22 January 2007,
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 ...
and
ITV News
ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British news television channel of ITV (TV network), ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. ITN, Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the netwo ...
released documents and video footage from February 2006 in which Litvinenko made the same allegations against Prodi.
The
Mitrokhin Commission
The Mitrokhin Commission was an Italian parliamentary commission set up in 2002 to investigate alleged KGB ties of some Italian politicians. Set up by the Italian Parliament, then led by Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition, the House of F ...
, which was established in 2002 and closed in 2006 with a majority and a minority report, without reaching shared conclusions, and without any concrete evidence given to support the original allegations of KGB ties to Italian politicians contained in the
Mitrokhin Archive
The Mitrokhin Archive refers to a collection of handwritten notes about secret KGB operations spanning the period between the 1930s and 1980s made by KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin which he shared with British intelligence in the early 1990s. Mitr ...
. Led by the
centre-right coalition
The centre-right coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed the party. It has mostly competed with the centre-left c ...
majority, it was criticized as politically motivated, as it was focused mainly on allegations against opposition figures. In November 2006, the new Italian Parliament with a
centre-left coalition
The centre-left coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1995, when The Olive Tree was formed under the leadership of Romano Prodi. The centre-left coalition has ruled the c ...
majority instituted a commission to investigate the Mitrokhin Commission for allegations that it was manipulated for political purposes. In December 2006, colonel ex-KGB agent Oleg Gordievsky, whom Scaramella claimed as his source, confirmed the accusations made against Scaramella regarding the production of false material relating to Prodi and other Italian politicians, and underlined their lack of reliability.
European Union, Ireland and Brexit
In a 2013 interview with
openDemocracy
openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage d ...
, Batten argued that the European Union was inspired by the proposals the Nazis developed in 1942 for Europe after they had won the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, stating they were very similar to the 1957
Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...
.
In 2017, in response to the
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...
's intervention in the
Brexit negotiations
Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms of Brexit, the UK's planned withdrawal from membership of the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of th ...
, Batten expressed the view on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that Ireland, "a tiny country that relies on UK for its existence", is "the weakest kid in the playground sucking up to the EU bullies". He advocated the revocation of the
Common Travel Area
The Common Travel Area (CTA; , ) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Governed by non-binding agreements ...
between Ireland and the UK.
Ireland's Foreign Minister,
Simon Coveney
Simon Coveney (born 16 June 1972) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2022 to 2024. He served as Leader of Fine Gael#Deputy leaders, deputy leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 202 ...
, rejected Batten's claims: "Ireland is not threatening anybody, least of all a friend, but we remain resolute in our insistence on a sensible way through Brexit that protects Ireland." A UKIP spokesman said Batten's comments do not reflect party policy.
Views of multiculturalism and Islam
In 2006, Batten commissioned a document from
Sam Solomon
Sam Solomon is the pseudonym of a British former Muslim author who specialises in Islam and Sharia law. He is a Christian convert, and is known for "A Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding", as well as the Al Hijra-theory of Muslim immigration.
...
, "A Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding", which amounts to a proposed code of conduct, including the rejection of passages in the
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
that propose "violent physical Jihad", and that should be considered "inapplicable, invalid and non-Islamic". When asked why Muslims should sign up to such a document, he told ''The Guardian''s Rowena Mason in February 2014: "Christians aren't blowing people up at the moment, are they?"
Batten participated in the international
counter-jihad
Counter-jihad (also known as the counter-jihad movement) is a self-titled Islamophobia, anti-Muslim political movement loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, demonstrators, and other activists across the Western world. Proponents are ...
conference in Brussels in 2007, and has been said to have long-standing links with the counter-jihad movement. In 2008, Batten invited the Dutch
Party for Freedom
The Party for Freedom ( , PVV) is a right-wing populist, far-right political party in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders is the founder, party leader, and sole registered member of the party.
Founded in 2006 as the successor to Wilders' one-ma ...
(PVV) leader and MEP
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...
to the European Parliament, in an unsuccessful attempt to screen Wilders' film ''
Fitna'' for MEPs.
According to Batten in ''
Freedom Today'', Wilders "is a brave man trying to defend western civilisation in the face of its own loss of the most basic instinct of self-preservation". When Wilders was refused entry to the UK at
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
in 2009, following an invitation from the UKIP peer
Lord Pearson for Wilders to screen his film to members of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, Batten said: "We can't do anything about murderers, rapists and paedophiles coming from the EU but they will stop a democratically elected politician from the EU talking about the sources of terrorism."
In a 2010 video, Batten said that no further mosques should be built in British cities,
and thought the existence of "two incompatible systems living in the same place at the same time" was a threat.
In 2011, Batten circulated a draft four-page document entitled "Confidential draft – Dismantling Multiculturalism" to
Christian Concern, a lobby group. He wrote: "Islamic fundamentalism is the cuckoo in the western multicultural nest. We can either address it now or be destroyed by it in the course of time." The document advocates repealing "the act of parliament that gives exception for ritual slaughter for religious reasons" and any law which "gives official recognition to Islamic banking". The
Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
told ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' that no UK legislation mentions any such financial service.
When asked about the document in 2014, Batten called it "a rough draft which I would like to publish in due course but it's not one of my priorities at the moment. You can't hold me to anything in it."
In 2018, at a rally of protesters demanding the release of
Tommy Robinson
Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (' Yaxley; born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British anti-Islam sentiment, anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK's most prominent far-right activists.
Robinson has been active in ...
, Batten described Muhammad as "a paedophile who kept sex slaves" and, in an interview with
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
, said that Muslim ideology
legitimised sex slaves.
Complaint of censorship
In 2018, Batten was featured in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
documentary ''Carry on Brussels: Inside the EU''. A reviewer from ''The Guardian'' said the high point of the programme was the scene in which he left the European Parliament chamber, complaining of being censored because his microphone had been cut off. Others point out that he had overrun the allocated time for speeches.
UKIP leadership (2018–2019)
Election to leadership following the removal of Henry Bolton
On 22 January 2018, Batten resigned as UKIP's
Brexit
Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
spokesman in protest at the party leadership of
Henry Bolton; in the process he publicly called for Bolton to stand down from the office, amidst general dissatisfaction amongst a substantial portion of the party's membership with the leader, collapsing membership levels, and ongoing media coverage of Bolton's personal life. Bolton was officially dismissed as party leader on 17 February 2018, after an Extraordinary General Meeting vote by the party membership, and Batten was announced as the Party Leader (on an interim basis) until the conclusion of the next leadership election. During Batten's initial interim leadership term, the party was saved from insolvency and put back on a sound financial footing after an appeal to members raised almost £300,000. The party was also able to pay an outstanding legal bill. In addition, UKIP also saw its first significant membership rise in two years, with over 900 members joining during this time period.
On 14 April 2018, Gerard Batten was elected unopposed as the Leader of UKIP. In a statement issued upon his appointment as Leader he said: "I received the backing of all three UKIP Lords, our major donors, our MEPs, our London and Welsh Assembly Members, and party activists and members from all over the UK." Under Batten, UKIP witnessed a resurgence in support during his first six months as Leader. Opinion polls showed UKIP back between six and eight percent of the vote – with one (YouGov) revealing that almost a quarter of 2017 Conservative voters (23%) now considered UKIP to be the best party to handle Brexit, this was almost double the figure it had been in previous polling. Likewise, the proportion of 2017 Conservative voters who think that UKIP would be the best party to handle asylum and immigration had risen from 16% to 28% over the same time period. In addition to good polling, UKIP also saw its membership numbers rise further and reportedly by 15% during the month of July alone, with thousands of new activists joining the ranks of the party. Many of the new members cited Batten's leadership and the perceived mismanagement of Britain's EU Exit by the Conservative Government as major factors in their joining.
Online activists join UKIP and appointment of Tommy Robinson
In June 2018, Batten attempted to broaden the party's appeal by allowing three controversial online political figures to join the party:
Carl Benjamin
Carl Charles Benjamin (born September 1979), also known by his online pseudonym Sargon of Akkad, is a British right-wing YouTuber and political commentator. A former member of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), he was one of its uns ...
,
Mark Meechan and
Paul Joseph Watson. Watson worked for the conspiracist
InfoWars website, Benjamin had tweeted that he "would not even rape" Labour politician
Jess Phillips and Meechan, known online as "Count Dankula", released a video showing him teaching his girlfriend's dog how to raise its paw in the manner of a
Nazi salute
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...
, and to react to the phrase "Do you wanna gas the Jews?". The presence of the three led to criticism from antiracist groups.
In November 2018, Batten appointed anti-Islam activist
Tommy Robinson
Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (' Yaxley; born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British anti-Islam sentiment, anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK's most prominent far-right activists.
Robinson has been active in ...
as his adviser on matters including
'rape gangs' and prisons.
The appointment was strongly criticised by
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 ...
, who indicated an intention to seek a vote of no confidence in Batten.
In response to the appointment, Farage along with many other UKIP MEPs resigned from the party in the following weeks, forcing Batten to withdraw UKIP support for the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy alliance with their MEP representation being reduced to 9 from a peak of 24 MEPs in 2014. Farage left saying: "Many UKIP members – including UKIP's NEC – urged that Robinson should not become an advisor to Batten. Sadly, these pleas fell on deaf ears." Farage likened UKIP under Batten to the
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...
. Another MEP, former leader
Paul Nuttall
Paul Andrew Nuttall (born 30 November 1976) is a British politician who served as Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2016 to 2017. He was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate, and ...
left calling the appointment of Robinson "catastrophic".
In January 2019, Farage founded the
Brexit Party
Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...
, and in February, established it in the European Parliament, with nine MEPs who had left UKIP joining the party: himself,
Tim Aker
Timür Mark "Tim" Aker (born 23 May 1985) is a British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region. He was elected as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate in 2014. He was head of UKIP's Policy Unit ...
,
Jonathan Bullock
Jonathan Bullock (born 3 March 1963) is an English politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands constituency until the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020. He was third on the UKIP ...
,
David Coburn,
Bill Etheridge
William Milroy Etheridge (born 18 March 1970) is an English politician who was previously a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the West Midlands (European Parliament constituency), West Midlands region. He was elected in 2014 European P ...
,
Nathan Gill,
Diane James
Diane Martine James (born 20 November 1959) is a British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2014 to 2019. She was briefly leader-elect of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from September 2 ...
,
Paul Nuttall
Paul Andrew Nuttall (born 30 November 1976) is a British politician who served as Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2016 to 2017. He was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate, and ...
and
Julia Reid.
Carl Benjamin comments, electoral wipeout and end of leadership term
In April 2019, Batten defended UKIP candidate Carl Benjamin's
social media reply in 2016, "I wouldn't even rape you", to the MP
Jess Phillips. Philips had written "People talking about raping me isn't fun, but has become somewhat par for the course." Batten stated on BBC One's ''
The Andrew Marr Show
''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021.
The programme replaced the long-running ''Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when Dav ...
'' that Benjamin's reply was "satire against the people he was saying it about." Three more MEPs left UKIP the following day, defecting to the Brexit Party. One of these,
Jane Collins
Jane Maria Collins (born 17 February 1962) is a British politician and horse show-jumper who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber from 2014 to 2019. She was elected in May 2014 as a member of the UK ...
, said "to hear Gerard Batten on national TV yesterday defending this man's use of rape as 'satire' made me sick to my stomach." A second,
Jill Seymour, said: "No one person should ever be bigger than a political party but sadly I believe that Mr Batten will be instrumental in its demise."
During an interview on
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
with
Sophy Ridge
Sophy Ridge (born 17 October 1984) is an English broadcast journalist who has worked for Sky News since 2011.
Born in London, Ridge studied English Literature at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, before working for the tabloid newspaper ''News of the Wor ...
in May 2019, Batten stated his position as party leader would become "untenable" if he were to lose his seat in the European Parliament. The
2019 European Parliament election
The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...
later that month resulted in UKIP losing all of its seats, with most of its voting base switching directly to Nigel Farage's recently formed Brexit Party, which won the election.
On 24 May 2019,
Mike Hookem
Michael Hookem (born 9 October 1953) is a British politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber (European Parliament constituency), Yorkshire and the Humber from 2014 European Parliament election ...
resigned as UKIP deputy leader and announced his candidacy in the upcoming UKIP leadership election, criticising Batten's leadership, saying: "Mr Batten's policy direction and associations have given the mainstream media the ammunition to label our party 'extreme' and 'far-right', accusations I do not believe to be true".
Batten's extended term as UKIP leader ended on 2 June 2019, triggering a
leadership election
A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party.
Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a ...
. On 27 June 2019, the closing date for nominations, Batten announced that he was standing for re-election to the party's leadership, but on 7 July 2019, UKIP's National Executive Committee passed a motion prohibiting him from doing so on the grounds that 'he had brought the party into disrepute' during his previous tenure in the position.
Electoral history
Batten was the official
UKIP
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 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
candidate standing against
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
in the
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...
constituency at the
2017 general election. Out of thirteen candidates, he finished in fifth place with 871 votes, and a 1.5% share of the vote.
In the
2015 general election he stood in
Romford
Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...
, coming second with 22.8% of the vote.
Publications
* ''The Inglorious Revolution: The Subversion of the English Constitution and the Path to Freedom'' (2013)
* ''The Road to Freedom: How Britain Can Escape the E.U.'' (2014)
* ''Henry VIII, Tudor Serial Killer: His Victims and Their Stories'' (2014)
References
Notes
External links
Islamic fundamentalism is incompatible with freedom and Western liberal democracy by Gerard Batten, ''
Freedom Today'', November/December 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batten, Gerard
1954 births
Living people
British critics of Islam
British Eurosceptics
BT Group people
British counter-jihad activists
Leaders of the UK Independence Party
MEPs for England 2004–2009
MEPs for England 2009–2014
MEPs for England 2014–2019
Right-wing populists in the United Kingdom
UK Independence Party MEPs
UK Independence Party parliamentary candidates