Mark Reckless has been rather quiet during the recent Ukip wars. After losing Rochester & Strood to the Conservatives, it has been expected he would return to the party in some role or another. Now, it is rumoured that he will become the party’s new Head of Policy – replacing Suzanne Evans, who wrote the 2015 manifesto. Given that he temporarily gave the party its second seat, it would be cruel not to give Reckless something after a defeat many in the party expected.
I understand that Reckless was offered the job during the contentious NEC meeting last week, where Nigel Farage unresigned as leader. It’s unknown whether he will accept the job, telling Guido ‘I don’t want to comment on my future plans. Nothing has been agreed.’
If he does accept this role, it will be a slight to Evans, who took over writing the party’s manifesto from MEP and Thurrock councillor Tim Aker and turned it into the party’s most consistent policy document to date. Along with deputy leader Paul Nuttall and migrantion spokesman Steven Woolfe, Evans was one of the key rumoured candidates to challenge Farage for the leadership. Now that former economics spokesman Patrick O’Flynn, head of communications Paul Lambert and Farage’s aide Raheem Kassam have been slighted, could Evans be next last casualty of the Ukip wars?
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