The UK Independence Party has re-elected Nigel Farage as its party leader following a ballot of party members.
The MEP received just over 60 per cent in the ballot to succeed Lord Pearson of Rannoch at the helm.
Farage had been the odds-on favourite to regain control of the party, a year after stepping down to fight an unsuccessful bid to unseat Commons Speaker John Bercow in the general election.
He beat fellow MEP and present deputy leader David Campbell Bannerman (14 per cent), economist Tim Congdon (20.2 per cent) and former boxer Winston McKenzie (5.3 per cent) in a poll of the full party membership.
In his acceptance speech, Farage criticised the government and called on disillusioned voters to switch to UKIP.
Former leader Lord Pearson welcomed Farage's re-election and said : "The UKIP crown returns to it rightful owner."
He added that as leader he would be remembered as the "toff who didn't bother to read his manifesto" but insisted he had read it.
Lord Pearson stood down after nine months in the role in August, admitting he was "not much good" at party politics and suggested a "younger leader" was needed to take the party forward.
UKIP has long campaigned for the UK to pull out of the European Union, but failed to make the breakthrough it wanted in the general election.
The party's most recognisible figure, Farage suffered serious injuries in a light aircraft crash on polling day in May but has recovered sufficiently to enter the leadership race.
All of UKIP's 18,000 members had a vote in the postal ballot.
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