Express & Star comment: Has all hope gone for Ukip?
There was a huge sigh of relief among many Ukip supporters when Henry Bolton was unceremoniously dumped as leader.
But a far greater number of people who have aligned themselves with the party in recent years will have reacted with little more than a shrug of the shoulders.
UKIP's support has collapsed in such dramatic fashion that the result was of relevance to party diehards only.
For the time being at least, the party that did more than most to drive Britain out of the EU continues its descent towards oblivion.
The bare facts are that Ukip is now on its eighth leader in 18 months, if we take into account interim holders of the position.
With so much upheaval it is little wonder that the party has failed to put forward a coherent message since the EU referendum.
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Indeed, with the exception of Nigel Farage, those who have led Ukip over the period have been political lightweights in every sense of the word.
In particular, it would be difficult to argue that the last two leaders have been anything other than a complete disaster.
Paul Nuttall seemed an obvious choice at the time, but despite his protestations to the contrary, he proved to be badly out of his depth.
As for Mr Bolton, rarely can a leadership incumbent have made such a mess of things in such a short period of time.
Unite
He appeared to blame everyone but himself for the trials of his personal life, and even had the audacity to liken his situation with the experiences of Princess Diana.
Ukip must attempt to draw a line under the events of the last 18 months.
The party must move on from Mr Farage, who clearly has other priorities these days.
Most importantly, it must attempt to find a leader who can unite its opposing factions.
The worrying issue for Ukip supporters is that such an individual does not appear to exist.
There is talk of former party donor Arron Banks starting a new party as early as this week. The divisions that have dogged Ukip for years have not gone away.
For any political party, a change in leader often brings fresh ideas and the promise of a new dawn.
In Ukip's case, the suspicion is that all hope is gone.
