Ukip’s leadership race kicks off. Who are the candidates hoping to replace Nigel Farage?

The final shortlist for who will replace Nigel Farage has been unveiled – and the frontrunner Steven Woolfe has been excluded. Ukip’s NEC said Woolfe was left off the list after being deemed ‘ineligible as a result of a late submission’, having missed the party’s nomination deadline by seventeen minutes. It’s a decision which is sure to cause ruptures within the party. So who are the candidates who have made it on to the list?

Diane James is the new favourite to replace Nigel Farage after Steven Woolfe was kept off the ballot paper. The party’s justice and home affairs spokeswoman has capitalised on the various blunders which afflicted Woolfe to find her bookies’ odds on replacing Farage slashed. And now that Woolfe is out of the running, James is 1/3 favourite to win the race. She wants Ukip to professionalise and target seats in Westminster – a confident strategy which is exactly what the party needs to do.