Steven Woolfe quits ‘ungovernable’ UKIP
MEP
leaves Euroskeptic party days after altercation at European
Parliament.
By MAÏA DE LA BAUME
10/17/16, 8:13 PM CET Updated 10/17/16, 10:14 PM CET
Steven Woolfe, the
UKIP MEP who collapsed in the European Parliament after an
altercation with a colleague earlier this month, announced on Monday
he was quitting the party, calling it “ungovernable” and “riddled
with infighting.”
“It is with deep
sorrow and regret that I am aborting my leadership campaign and
announcing my resignation from UKIP with immediate effect,” Woolfe
wrote in a statement.
“The party,” he
wrote, “is riddled with infighting, proxy wars between rival camps
and is run by an NEC [National Executive Committee] that is not fit
for purpose.”
Woolfe, who joined
UKIP six years ago, was among the frontrunners to take over the
leadership of the Euroskeptic party after Diane James stepped down
after 18 days in charge.
Since James quit “I
have campaigned with all my energy, time and determination to
champion the party’s core beliefs and values,” Woolfe wrote.
But he said he
decided to quit in part because of the way he was treated by fellow
UKIP members. Earlier this month, Woolfe was taken to a hospital in
Strasbourg after an argument with another MEP, Mike Hookem. According
to press reports, the two MEPs exchanged harsh words during a meeting
and then left the room. Woolfe later collapsed in the Parliament.
Hookem denied
punching Woolfe. But Woolfe said in statement Monday that he had
filed a legal complaint after a strike from Hookem “that knocked me
back into the meeting room and caused my subsequent injuries.”
He described UKIP as
“ungovernable” since the departure of its leader, Nigel Farage,
and the Brexit cause “to unite it” but said he would continue to
serve as an independent MEP until the U.K.’s exit from the EU in
2019.
“I will champion
the values I hold dear — those of freedom, democracy and an
independent United Kingdom,” he said.
Reacting to the
news, Hookem said: “Steven Woolfe’s political career was over
once he showed disloyalty to the UKIP party and membership when he
held talks to join the Tories.
“Steven has been
warned about inappropriate behavior by senior UKIP personnel for a
year now. We wish him well and hope he can get his life sorted out.”
Authors:
Maïa de La Baume
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário