Leadership Dispute Status Report!

The blog this morning has been somewhat delayed as we have been trying to prepare the following report on the Knapman/Kilroy leadership situation to counter the disinformation on the UKIP party web-site.

Several UKIP members have been in touch with Petrina Holdsworth and David Lott to query the statement on the UKIP website that 'David Lott carried out a survey'. He did not. All that happened is that a number of messages of support for Roger Knapman have been received from Branch Chairmen and individual members.

Robert Kilroy-Silk has also received a great many messages of support and offers of help. Evidence of support for Knapman or Kilroy from ordinary members shows support running strongly in favour of Kilroy, especially in five regions - North East, Scotland, Yorkshire & Humber, East Midlands and London. Support for Kilroy from members in those areas is running at 80% to 90%, maybe more.

In the South West, Roger Knapman's area, the South East, Nigel Farage's area and West Midlands (Mike Nattrass's area), support is more evenly divided, as it appears to be in the Esatern Region (Jeffrey Titford's area).

Of the MEPs, it is likely, but not certain, that they would split 9-2 (Kilroy, Batten) in favour of Knapman. Of the NEC's 15 members, it is likely that support would be 11-4 or 10-5 for Knapman.

Party officials, i.e., full-time post-holders, appear to be slightly pro-Knapman, but many are keeping their cards close to their chests and, of course, not all are UKIP members and therefore have no right to an opinion.

Branch Chairmen and officials across the country seem to be reflecting the membership view in their region, but tend to be slighly more pro-Knapman.

Huge support is now building for a leadership election to be held to resolve the impasse, bearing in mind especiallly that many new members joined on the strength of Kilroy becoming an M.E.P. candidate and that well over half were not members when Knapman was elected unopposed in October 2002.