Bill Etheridge launches another leadership bid to unite UKIP
Bill Etheridge has announced his bid for UKIP leadership as the party's libertarian candidate after Nigel Farage ruled himself out of contention.
The Dudley councillor and West Midlands MEP said recently he was unlikely to stand in the leadership contest, which comes after Paul Nuttall quit in the wake of the party's disastrous General Election result.
But he has decided to throw his hat into the ring in a bid to call time on the 'damaging impact' that extreme left and right wing elements of the party have had on UKIP.
Mr Etheridge, who came third in the first of two leadership contests in 2016, has vowed to quit the party if hard right anti-Islam factions take control.
Launching his leadership bid he said he wanted to see UKIP 'broaden its focus' to win parliamentary seats, and vowed to resist the 'bullying and oppression' that is 'built into socialism'.
"Our party needs to embrace free market economics, but not the kind the EU has corrupted which actually creates barriers to entry and stops real competition developing," he said.
Mr Etheridge said he would put forward 'a clear guide to a post-Brexit UK', with urgent tax reform at the top of his priorities.
He described Government taxation policy as 'mad' and 'inefficient'. Key issues for public debate should be put to referenda, he added, while the number of laws restricting personal freedom should be reduced.
The deadline for candidates for the leadership election is the end of July.
Mr Farage said that returning to the helm this year would be 'premature', but warned that UKIP needed to 'sort itself out and make the changes necessary to become a professional, modern political party', or risk 'another vehicle coming along to replace it'.
Divisions at the top table of UKIP have grown wider in recent months, with many of the party's MEPs furious with Mr Nuttall's General Election campaign for taking an anti-Islam stance rather than focusing on Brexit.
Meanwhile fears have been expressed that an influx of 1,000 new members in the last two two weeks could be an 'infiltration' by supporters of hard right candidate Anne Marie Waters.
