Nigel Farage has himself admitted that he is a ‘Marmite’ character. It’s one of the reasons given for his party’s patchy performance at the general election and it turns out it is a view others in the party share. Suzanne Evans, Ukip’s deputy chairman, made a similar point about Farage on the Daily Politics today — carefully noting that it’s Farage’s views, not his personality that may turn off voters:
‘I think Nigel is a very divisive character in terms of the way he is perceived. He is not divisive as a person, but the way he is perceived is of having strong views that divide people.’
Looking at #UKIP future and its role in the #EURef OUT campaign with @SuzanneEvans1 & @afneil on #bbcdphttps://t.co/eqsBNA0MzK
— BBC Daily Politics and Sunday Politics (@daily_politics) June 18, 2015
This has not gone down well with Farage loyalists in the party. One Ukip insider says ‘I have no idea why Suzanne has done anything she’s done since the day of the election.’ Those who are close to the Ukip leader point out that Evans no longer has a paid position in the party, after Mark Reckless replaced her as Head of Policy. Evans holds the title of Deputy Chairman, but her critics point out she has few responsibilities and Neil Hamilton holds a similar title.
Evans went on to describe the Ukip briefing wars as ‘very damaging’ and ‘very traumatic’ but pointed out ‘I’m still here, I’m still deputy chairman’. Although it appears that she is not entirely happy with the state of affairs in Ukip, her polished performance on the Daily Politics showed that she is an asset to the party. Whatever unhappiness exists towards her, annoyed Kippers should remember that she is a cheery face for a party that can often be seen as too abrasive.
UPDATE: The BBC’s Robin Brant has tweeted an email that reveals Evans has been frozen out as a Ukip spokesman and won’t be allowed to represent the party in the media:
internal @UKIP email seen by BBC from senior fig ordering @SuzanneEvans1 frozen out after 'very divisive' comments pic.twitter.com/QDMsIKecLI
— Robin Brant (@robindbrant) June 18, 2015
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