Another leader takes the helm as Ukip tries to steer away from irrelevance

Neil Hamilton takes charge of a party struggling with an identity crisis after Brexit, says Ashley Cowburn

Hamilton’s appointment failed to draw headlines (Getty)

Ukip won more than 3 million votes in 2015, persuaded Conservative MPs to defect to its ranks and was instrumental in campaigning for Brexit. But on Monday, the party, which has descended into irrelevance, announced its new leader, generating little fanfare.

The majority of national newspapers struggled to find a slot for the story that former Tory MP Neil Hamilton had been elected. He had served as acting leader following the suspension of Freddy Vachha, who proclaimed, perhaps unwisely, last year that the party was “back in business” after years of changing leaders.

While The Daily Telegraph did mention Ukip in its news pages, reference to the leadership election was absent. Instead, there was a passing reference to its most prominent leader, Nigel Farage, in an article about the most popular baby names in England and Wales. Despite being ranked among the top 30 names in the 1950s and 1960s, no boys were named Nigel in 2020.