Farage re-elected UKIP leader

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5th November 2010

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.

His challengers were fellow MEP and present deputy leader David Campbell Bannerman, economist Tim Congdon and former boxer Winston McKenzie.

Former leader Lord Pearson said he will be remembered as the "toff who didn't bother to read his manifesto" but insisted he did read it.

He 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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