‘Job done’: UKIP’s only MP quits party after Brexit success
Having defected from the Conservatives in 2014 to join UKIP, Douglas Carswell has now decided to continue his political career as an independent, separating from the party “amicably.”
In a formal written announcement on his blog, Carswell said his main motivation for joining UKIP initially was their stance on Brexit, but now that this objective has been achieved, he sees no reason to remain with the party.
“Like many of you, I switched to UKIP because I desperately wanted us to leave the EU,” he wrote, adding “I will leave UKIP amicably, cheerfully and in the knowledge that we won.”
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Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage had recently accused Carswell of “actively working against UKIP.”
While UKIP has yet to formally respond to Mr. Carswell’s decision, Farage took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the matter.
Carswell has jumped before he was pushed. He was never UKIP and sought to undermine us. He should have gone some time ago.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) March 25, 2017
Carswell will continue as an independent MP representative for Clacton, but said a by-election would be unnecessary. “I will not be switching parties, nor crossing the floor to the Conservatives, so do not need to call a by election, as I did when switching from the Conservatives to UKIP.”
As if to underscore the manner in which he is leaving the party, Carswell also made a rather bold statement in his announcement: “UKIP might not have managed to win many seats in Parliament, but in a way we are the most successful political party in Britain ever.”
