After being blocked from running last time, MEP Steven Woolfe is going to seek Ukip’s leadership again
Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe is to make a second bid for the party's leadership following Diane James' shock resignation last night.
James stepped down as Ukip leader after just 18 days, stating that she did not "have sufficient authority, nor the full support of all my MEP colleagues and party officers to implement changes I believe necessary and upon which I based my campaign".
And now Woolfe says he will again seek to lead the party, after his own campaign ended in farcical circumstances in early August.
Woolfe had long been considered the favourite to succeed Nigel Farage, but failed to meet a deadline for registration in the leadership contest.
In a statement today, he said his leadership would see Ukip overtake Labour as the official opposition to the Conservatives.
"Only a strong Ukip can guarantee Brexit is delivered in full and only our party can stand up for the communities of the midlands and the north," Woolfe said.
Woolfe's bid comes after Farage confirmed that he would return as interim leader until a permanent replacement can be found.
It marks Farage's fourth spell as leader of the party.