Just three contenders remain in the race for leadership of the UK Independence Party, after candidate Peter Whittle pulled out of the running on Friday.
Whittle follows previous challenger Raheem Kassam, who withdrew his candidacy on Monday, as well as Diane James who quit after just 18 days as leader of the party. Nigel Farage is now the party’s acting leader, despite two previous resignations from the job.
Whittle vowed to back Paul Nuttall as “a leader who knows the party inside out and who can command the loyalty” of all members.
Only three contenders now remain in the running, including former deputy chairwoman Suzanne Evans, ex- soldier John Rees-Evans and Paul Nuttal, who was deputy leader uder Nigel Farage.
In a message on Facebook announcing his withdrawal, Nuttal said that, in the wake of the High Court decision announced on Thursday, “the battle to ensure that the Leave vote in the referendum is respected is far from over and UKIP is needed more than ever”.
The government lost their High Court battle yesterday, meaning that Theresa May cannot trigger Article 50 and begin Brexit negotiations without parliamentary approval. The decision was met with differing opinions; some accused the Court of delaying the Brexit process, with others applauding the judges for upholding parliamentary supremacy.
Diane James resigned from her leadership position after just 18 days, saying that she did not “have sufficient authority, nor the full support” of Ukip MEPs and officers to reform the party.
In a statement, she said:
“It is with great regret that I announce that I will not be formalising my recent nomination to become the new leader of the party with the Electoral Commission.
“Having won the enthusiastic support of party members, I was nominated by them as the new leader at the recent Ukip Bournemouth conference.”
The new leader be elected on the 28th November.