Paul Nuttall elected as UKIP leader

[Denzil_DC]

5. Well, party membership doesn't equal votes, unfortunately.

I think our best hope is for the UKIP infighting to continue, and that people no longer see them as a valid protest vote. They've had some council election successes, but even Farage has failed repeatedly (eight times, I think) to win a parliamentary seat.

Ironically, their real power base is in the European Parliament, despite their appalling attendance record and scant regard for serving their constituencies, and that's where the bulk of their non-donor (a.k.a. fat cat) funding comes from.

Not that there haven't been glitches there, either:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?num=20&q=ukip+expenses

EU set to ask Ukip group to repay almost £150,000 in 'misspent funds'

Ukip is likely to be asked to repay tens of thousands of euros by European parliament finance chiefs who have accused the party of misspending EU funds on party workers and Nigel Farage’s failed bid to win a seat in Westminster.

The Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE), a Ukip-dominated political vehicle, will be asked to repay €173,000 (£148,000) in misspent funds and denied a further €501,000 in EU grants for breaking European rules that ban spending EU money on national election campaigns and referendums.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/17/eu-set-to-ask-ukip-group-to-repay-almost-150000-in-misspent-funds