Ukip’s Bill Etheridge drops out of leadership race
West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge has pulled out of the race to become leader of Ukip and given his backing to one of his rivals, Paul Nuttall.
Etheridge said that Nuttall, the deputy leader, was the only candidate "who can effectively unite our party".
"I believe Paul is the right man to bring unity to our party and lead us into a bright, positive future," he wrote in the Express.
"The time for squabbles infighting and egos is over. We have a serious mission as a party and we need to start behaving in a serious and business-like manner to achieve our goals."
Nuttall, also an MEP for the North West, is the favourite among Ukip councillors, putting him alongside former deputy chairman Suzanne Evans.
Yesterday John Rees-Evans became the latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring, but was immediately forced to apologise for claiming that a homosexual donkey tried to rape his horse.
Diane James vacated the role of leader of the party after just 18 days last month, prompting former chief Nigel Farage to step in as a "caretaker".
The new leader will have a task on their hands to unite a party which is suffering from a dip in the polls, and will now have to reinvent itself after the EU referendum.
Steven Woolfe, another favourite to become leader, pulled out of the race and quit the party this month, claiming it was in a "death spiral". The MEP, who will now stand as an independent, was involved in an "altercation" with fellow Ukipper Mike Hookem outside a meeting in Strasbourg which left Woolfe hospitalised.
Read more: Watch Ukip's Mike Hookem defend himself against accusations of punching Steven Woolfe
Major Ukip donor Arron Banks is backing former aide to Nigel Farage, Raheem Kassam for the party leadership, but is tipped to walk away and start funding a new movement.