\Following Douglas Carswell’s decision to quit the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip), they lose their only representative within parliament. The long-standing feud between major donor, Arron Banks, and former leader, Nigel Farage has been widely noted and they have finally got their wish for Carswell to leave the party. They claim he walked before he was pushed after several meetings with the hierarchy of UKIP.
Why did Farage and Banks have such an issue with Douglas Carswell? Even though he was their only representative in parliament following his defection from the Conservatives in 2014.
Farage’s UKIP agenda
Since coming to prominence UKIP have always pedalled the anti-establishment rhetoric to its supporters. Constantly claiming that they were something different from the current political parties. However, how can a party who was prominently lead by a former investment banker be the party of the people? There is no doubt that you can have a liberal understanding of issues whilst still being successful in monetary terms. Except Farage and Banks have no concern over current issues.
Their one-issue party focused on the shortcomings of the European Union (EU), but they often magnified those shortcomings to push their anti-immigration agenda. From outset, neither were after reformation of the EU itself but for the UK to leave it entirely.
The perfect ‘anti-establishment’ ploy and the EU played into those hands and with the help of the Eurosceptic branch of the Conservatives, the vote to leave the EU occurred on the 23rd June 2016.
Is Carswell undermining UKIP?
But that has not stopped Farage and Banks of their constant campaigning of an anti-EU agenda, despite essentially winning.
After the vote, UKIP’s popularity dropped and have lost subsequent by-elections, even their focus of Stoke-on-Trent after their attack of Labour heartlands. Their decline has been evident with Farage and Banks trying to figure out why, their attentions turned to Douglas Carswell, who has been quietly doing his job as representing his constituency.
They have claimed that Carswell has been purposefully undermining the party but they are missing the point of their focus originally, independence from the EU. Carswell is what is known as ‘anti-establishment’ and despite their attempts both Farage and Banks have failed to create that perception for themselves. That is because what they want to is to become part of the ‘establishment’, and it is this desire that drives them undermine UKIP without realising.
