Paul Oakden has announced his resignation as UKIP Party Chairman and said overseeing Saturday’s EGM will be his last act before standing down. Oakden said he voluntarily terminated his contract last month. Here’s his statement:
“Being the Chairman of UKIP is an honour and a privilege. It doesn’t come with champagne lunches, a whopping salary or great esteem. What it does bring are thousands of emails and letters, occasional angry members whom it’s just not possible to pacify. Chairing the board, acting as a diplomat between the NEC and a Leader (or five) and generally being the person whose fate it is to disappoint almost everybody.
“That’s the base line, and it expands from there – still, I’m the lucky one for having had the opportunity to do it. One Of the more unenviable tasks is to chair national EGMs, as the one that is taking place this Saturday in Birmingham. Chairing this EGM, however, will be my last act as UKIP Party Chairman.
“At the end of January, I voluntarily terminated the contract that l have with UKIP, bringing my formal employment with the party to an end. This was entirely of my own volition. Earlier today I wrote to the Party Leader and the NEC to notify them of my decision to stand down once the EGM has concluded.”
Over the weekend Oakden denied being part of a “coup” when he sent out an email signed off “interim leader.” Will the last one out turn off the lights?
A late night email dropped to UKIP members from Chairman Paul Oakden yesterday. It was signed off: “Interim Leader”. Had a bloodless coup taken place overnight?
A few minutes later Oakden followed up with a clarification email:
“To avoid any panic this is not a coup … I remain, for now, the Interim Chairman. There is no Interim Leader.”
“For now”…
Over the weekend Henry Bolton didn’t deny he’d been seen out again with Jo Marney since the last sighting. On LBC this morning he told Nick Ferrari he had been paid around £5,000 since becoming party leader, said it was LinkedIn’s fault he claimed he had a BA degree from Sandhurst. EGM on Saturday…
A critic of embattled UKIP chief Henry Bolton offered the troubled leader half the party chairman’s salary*if he appointed him to the position, Guido can reveal. Embattled Bolton received former leadership candidate Walker’s offer in an exchange of messages last month. Walker said: “I’m happy to do this job and split the money with you… you need a wage and I want to support you” (Bolton is famously doing the leader’s job unwaged). Bolton replied: “that sounds like bribery”…
Walker withdrew from the UKIP leadership election last August after he was promised the chairmanship on Jane Collins’ ticket; they came second to last with 4.4% of the vote. Sources have blamed Walker for launching a campaign to undermine Bolton and the party both internally and in the media, which he denies. Walker is on a ‘task force’ dedicated to ousting Bolton, and suggested this week UKIP should be wound-up. Walker told Guido:
“I have always been supportive of Henry until the affair broke. Lying to the membership is a big deal and he should go. I completely deny working to undermine him. There is no organised coup.”
UKIP, always entertaining…
*Sources say the chairman is paid between £60,000 to £75,000.
“Henry is increasingly in a position where he’s got some difficult decisions to make…and he will make them today” – UKIP Chairman Paul Oakden on leader @_HenryBolton‘s future #bbcsp pic.twitter.com/00eQxI2FUS
— BBC Daily Politics and Sunday Politics (@daily_politics) 14 January 2018
Pressure building on badger-chasing UKIP leader Henry Bolton after the Mail on Sunday splashed racist messages about Meghan Markle from his new girlfriend Jo Marney. UKIP Chairman Paul Oakden told the Sunday Politics Bolton has “difficult decisions to make”, signalling he should either resign or dump the 25-year-old topless model. Meanwhile, UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge has called for Bolton to resign. Which would you choose?
UKIP has ordered its candidates to close their social media accounts, according to minutes of a meeting with the party’s chairman Paul Oakden. The notes began with the words “Remember do not put this online – that’s forbidden! The notes MUST NOT be put on social media”. They were naturally leaked to Guido.
The minutes quote Oakden as saying UKIP “will survive without [Arron Bank’s] money”, disclosing “four major donors” are now backing the party and “another £100,000 is pledged”. The document is full of warnings to ‘Kippers to stay away from social media and reveals deep concern within the party around online message discipline: “NO-ONE is to go online and say negative things about UKIP – it is pointless…”. Stoke is also described as “a serious black hole of degradation”…
Meeting with Chairmen
Please see my attached notes from Sunday. We shall give Paul Oakden the benefit of the doubt and look forward to the big changes which are promised. Remember do not put this online – that’s forbidden!
UKIP Regional Chairmen’s Meeting
The notes MUST NOT be put on social media…
Aaron Banks is not a UKIP member… He’s not given any money since the General Election… Alan Bown is the key donor of UKIP and bailed us out in the autumn of 2016… Stuart Wheeler [is] another key donor…
Richard Billington: Many people said quietly to me that it is a good job we didn’t win as Stoke is a serious black hole of degradation. Let the crazy and quite unpleasant Labour MP have the seat with its much reduced majority…
Paul Nuttall was not persuaded to enter the by-election. A poll was taken many weeks beforehand where the consensus was that standing Paul would increase the turnout for UKIP by 5% which would have been enough to win. It was always going to be close…
Paul Oakden hates social media. All Candidates should close their accounts. It just causes more grief…
Paul Nuttall is supported by 4 major donors. If Paul stays as leaders and he will, another £100,000 is pledged…
The party has not received any money from Aaron Banks in the last 12 months…
His money is useful but UKIP will survive without his money…
We are happy for Aaron to be involved…
Setting up a new party is fraught with difficulties. It is not going to happen..
We should all stay off social media…
Paul Oakden hates social media. All Candidates should close their accounts. It just causes more grief.
NO-ONE is to go online and say negative things about UKIP – it is pointless…
Aaron Banks tweets were not helpful or necessary…
As if UKIP will ever get their Cyberkipper army to stop tweeting…
