Why the UK’s Brexit party is imploding

First off, UKIP doesn’t seem to have a purpose. Since its great victory in the June 2016 referendum that saw Britons vote to leave the European Union, UKIP has struggled to keep itself relevant. And the struggle takes greatest center in the fact that the U.K.’s two biggest parties; the Conservatives and Labour, both support carrying the Brexit vote through to effect.

While a number of smaller parties and a range of activists — led by former Prime Minister Tony Blair — want a second referendum that might overturn the verdict of the first, pro-Brexit voters are confident that they will get what they voted for. This makes UKIP seem like a somewhat pointless voting choice.

There’s a broader point here. At its apex, UKIP’s support was a product of popular disenchantment with the EU rather than some kind deep public affection for UKIP’s broader policies. Indeed, with both the Conservatives and Labour pledging tougher controls on immigration, UKIP’s second biggest vote winner has also been counterfeited.

Making matters worse still is Brexit’s leadership chaos.

Having lost the charisma and intellectual power of its former leader, Nigel Farage, and his top advisor, Raheem Kassam, UKIP has drifted under a range of rather unimpressive leaders. Apart from Farage’s short stint as acting leader in October-November 2016, since Farage officially stepped down as leader in the fall of 2016, UKIP has had four different leaders in the space of little more than a year.

This leadership flux seemed to stabilize with the election of current leader and decorated former police officer and combat-zone reconstruction official, Henry Bolton, in September 2017. But then Bolton left his wife and began a relationship with 25 year-old model and UKIP member, Jo Marney, and Marney became embroiled in a controversy over racist comments about Meghan Markle, fiancee of Prince Harry.

This has brought the party into an obvious state of disrepute, and led Bolton to suspend his relationship with the model. But that wasn’t enough: attempting to remain loyal to Marney, Bolton enraged UKIP officials by appearing to qualify his condemnations of her conduct. And so, on Sunday, UKIP’s executive board unanimously (aside from Bolton) voted to remove the leader. Bolton is refusing to step down and UKIP members will now be asked to decide his fate with letter votes.

The chaos rumbles on.