segunda-feira, 17 de outubro de 2016

Steven Woolfe resigns from "ungovernable" UKIP



Steven Woolfe quits ‘ungovernable’ UKIP
MEP leaves Euroskeptic party days after altercation at European Parliament.

By MAÏA DE LA BAUME 10/17/16, 8:13 PM CET Updated 10/17/16, 10:14 PM CET

Steven Woolfe, the UKIP MEP who collapsed in the European Parliament after an altercation with a colleague earlier this month, announced on Monday he was quitting the party, calling it “ungovernable” and “riddled with infighting.”

“It is with deep sorrow and regret that I am aborting my leadership campaign and announcing my resignation from UKIP with immediate effect,” Woolfe wrote in a statement.

“The party,” he wrote, “is riddled with infighting, proxy wars between rival camps and is run by an NEC [National Executive Committee] that is not fit for purpose.”

Woolfe, who joined UKIP six years ago, was among the frontrunners to take over the leadership of the Euroskeptic party after Diane James stepped down after 18 days in charge.

Since James quit “I have campaigned with all my energy, time and determination to champion the party’s core beliefs and values,” Woolfe wrote.

But he said he decided to quit in part because of the way he was treated by fellow UKIP members. Earlier this month, Woolfe was taken to a hospital in Strasbourg after an argument with another MEP, Mike Hookem. According to press reports, the two MEPs exchanged harsh words during a meeting and then left the room. Woolfe later collapsed in the Parliament.

Hookem denied punching Woolfe. But Woolfe said in statement Monday that he had filed a legal complaint after a strike from Hookem “that knocked me back into the meeting room and caused my subsequent injuries.”

He described UKIP as “ungovernable” since the departure of its leader, Nigel Farage, and the Brexit cause “to unite it” but said he would continue to serve as an independent MEP until the U.K.’s exit from the EU in 2019.

“I will champion the values I hold dear — those of freedom, democracy and an independent United Kingdom,” he said.

Reacting to the news, Hookem said: “Steven Woolfe’s political career was over once he showed disloyalty to the UKIP party and membership when he held talks to join the Tories.

“Steven has been warned about inappropriate behavior by senior UKIP personnel for a year now. We wish him well and hope he can get his life sorted out.”

Authors:

Maïa de La Baume  

Sem comentários: