Matt Richardson has returned to his role as Ukip’s general secretary today. The party told the BBC in a statement, ‘Matt has resumed the role… by law any constituted political party must have a party secretary who is a qualified lawyer.’ This might not seem like big news — Steerpike reported that Richardson would be returning last week — but it does show that Nigel Farage’s authority has been restored within the party.
During the Ukip briefing wars following the general election, several senior Ukip figures left their jobs or were sacked: comms chief Paul Lambert, senior advisor Raheem Kassam, economics spokesman Patrick O’Flynn and head of policy Suzanne Evans. Although not all were natural allies of the leader, Farage was particularly unhappy about losing Kassam. The pair remained inseparable during the election campaign, but they realised that it had become impossible for him to continue formally working for Ukip. Kassam remains in regular contact with Farage and Ukip HQ, as well as reporting closely on Ukip proceedings at Breitbart London.
After having his wings clipped and his authority damaged over the ‘unresignation’ fiasco, the reappointment of Richardson shows that Farage was able to persuade the party’s NEC that he should stay on. The party clearly takes a laissez faire approach to jobs and resignations. Richardson was notably a core member of the ‘Tea Party’ faction that attempt to puff up Ukip’s libertarian side with ‘shock and awe’ campaigning tactics. With Raheem Kassam gone, this side of Ukip has fallen out of favour. But with Richardson back, the more punhcy campaigning side still has a voice.
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