The new leader of Britain's anti-EU UKIP pledged Monday to bring the party together, as he took over from Brexit firebrand Nigel Farage after a tumultuous few months.
Former history lecturer Paul Nuttall vowed unity in the party -- a driving force behind Britain's vote to leave the EU now struggling with infighting and a funding plunge.
"The country needs a strong UKIP more now than ever before," he said, urging the party to keep pressuring the government for "real Brexit".
In his farewell speech, Farage promised he would not be a "backseat driver" in the party but would see out his term as a European Parliament lawmaker -- where he leads the eurosceptic EFDD grouping -- until 2019.
Farage, an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, said the European project was now "fatally weakened", predicting setbacks in Austria, France, Italy and the Netherlands in the coming months.
- Nuttall urges 'real Brexit' -
"Be in no doubt that it is UKIP that is seen as the leading eurosceptic group across the entire continent," Farage said at a conference in London where the result of the leadership ballot of party members was announced.
Tensions within UKIP burst into the open when newly elected party leader Diane James stepped down in October just 18 days after winning a previous leadership vote.
A scuffle then broke out between UKIP MEPs in the European Parliament in Strasbourg that ended with then leadership favourite Steven Woolfe in hospital.
Nuttall, 39, from Liverpool in northwest England, was a youth footballer for Tranmere Rovers and survived the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster.
He went on to be a lecturer at Liverpool Hope University.
He joined UKIP in 2004, has been an MEP since 2009 and was the party's deputy leader from 2010.
He pledged to make UKIP "the voice of patriotic Britain".
Since announcing his resignation following the EU referendum in June, Farage has ridden the wave of his campaign's success to the United States where he appeared at a Trump rally in Mississippi.
Despite holding no public office, the beer-drinking "man of the people" -- as he is often described -- became the first British politician to meet Trump following the Republican's shock election win.
Trump even recommended his anti-establishment ally as British ambassador to the US, in a tweet that ruffled feathers in Downing Street, with British Prime Minister Theresa May retorting there was "no vacancy."
- 2016 a 'historic year' -
"This rotten liberal establishment can be beaten," a triumphant Farage said Monday.
In a speech to guests at a lavish party in The Ritz hotel last week posted on YouTube, Farage said 2016 had been "the year of the big political revolution".
"When people look back in 100 years, 200 years, 2016 will stand out as one of those great historic years," he added.
Farage's exuberance cannot mask the turmoil engulfing his party, however.
Adding to the leadership fiasco, UKIP was accused this month of using EU funds to finance its Brexit campaign, in breach of party funding rules.
Britain's Electoral Commission has also said it will investigate possible breaches of UK election law.
The rightwing party has failed to capitalise on the success of the Brexit campaign, suffering a huge loss in financial support since the referendum, with chief donor Arron Banks voicing doubts about its future.
Donations to the party totalled £42,943 ($53,432, 50,446 euros) between July 1 and September 30, a fall of 97 percent compared to the previous three months, quarterly Electoral Commission figures show.
UKIP emerged from the fringes of British politics after playing a key role in the push for a referendum on EU membership.
Advocating an anti-mass immigration agenda, the party scored the third-highest number of votes in the 2015 general election, taking 12.7 percent of the vote.
However, the party won only one constituency, making Douglas Carswell UKIP's only MP.
The new leader of Britain’s anti-EU UKIP pledged Monday to bring the party together, as he took over from Brexit firebrand Nigel Farage after a tumultuous few months.
Former history lecturer Paul Nuttall vowed unity in the party — a driving force behind Britain’s vote to leave the EU now struggling with infighting and a funding plunge.
“The country needs a strong UKIP more now than ever before,” he said, urging the party to keep pressuring the government for “real Brexit”.
In his farewell speech, Farage promised he would not be a “backseat driver” in the party but would see out his term as a European Parliament lawmaker — where he leads the eurosceptic EFDD grouping — until 2019.
Farage, an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, said the European project was now “fatally weakened”, predicting setbacks in Austria, France, Italy and the Netherlands in the coming months.
– Nuttall urges ‘real Brexit’ –
“Be in no doubt that it is UKIP that is seen as the leading eurosceptic group across the entire continent,” Farage said at a conference in London where the result of the leadership ballot of party members was announced.
Tensions within UKIP burst into the open when newly elected party leader Diane James stepped down in October just 18 days after winning a previous leadership vote.
A scuffle then broke out between UKIP MEPs in the European Parliament in Strasbourg that ended with then leadership favourite Steven Woolfe in hospital.
Nuttall, 39, from Liverpool in northwest England, was a youth footballer for Tranmere Rovers and survived the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster.
He went on to be a lecturer at Liverpool Hope University.
He joined UKIP in 2004, has been an MEP since 2009 and was the party’s deputy leader from 2010.
He pledged to make UKIP “the voice of patriotic Britain”.
Since announcing his resignation following the EU referendum in June, Farage has ridden the wave of his campaign’s success to the United States where he appeared at a Trump rally in Mississippi.
Despite holding no public office, the beer-drinking “man of the people” — as he is often described — became the first British politician to meet Trump following the Republican’s shock election win.
Trump even recommended his anti-establishment ally as British ambassador to the US, in a tweet that ruffled feathers in Downing Street, with British Prime Minister Theresa May retorting there was “no vacancy.”
– 2016 a ‘historic year’ –
“This rotten liberal establishment can be beaten,” a triumphant Farage said Monday.
In a speech to guests at a lavish party in The Ritz hotel last week posted on YouTube, Farage said 2016 had been “the year of the big political revolution”.
“When people look back in 100 years, 200 years, 2016 will stand out as one of those great historic years,” he added.
Farage’s exuberance cannot mask the turmoil engulfing his party, however.
Adding to the leadership fiasco, UKIP was accused this month of using EU funds to finance its Brexit campaign, in breach of party funding rules.
Britain’s Electoral Commission has also said it will investigate possible breaches of UK election law.
The rightwing party has failed to capitalise on the success of the Brexit campaign, suffering a huge loss in financial support since the referendum, with chief donor Arron Banks voicing doubts about its future.
Donations to the party totalled £42,943 ($53,432, 50,446 euros) between July 1 and September 30, a fall of 97 percent compared to the previous three months, quarterly Electoral Commission figures show.
UKIP emerged from the fringes of British politics after playing a key role in the push for a referendum on EU membership.
Advocating an anti-mass immigration agenda, the party scored the third-highest number of votes in the 2015 general election, taking 12.7 percent of the vote.
However, the party won only one constituency, making Douglas Carswell UKIP’s only MP.
