Story highlights
Diane James took over from Nigel Farage after Brexit vote
She says she didn't have "full support" of colleagues
Well, that was quick.
Diane James, who replaced Nigel Farage as the leader of the UK Independence Party, has stepped down after just 18 days on the job.
She gave her resignation in a statement to the Times newspaper, saying she did not have “sufficient authority” nor the full support of colleagues and party officers.
“For personal and professional reasons therefore, I will not take the election process further,” she wrote.
James took over the leadership of the party from Farage, who quit following the UK referendum to leave the European Union.
Farage, who like James is also an elected member of the European Parliament, was a founding member of UKIP and largely seen as the man who drove the campaign for the UK to leave the EU, known as Brexit.
“Diane James’s resignation has plunged UKIP into yet another round of infighting and chaos,” said Matthew Goodwin, Politics Professor at the University of Kent and author of the book “Revolt on the Right” about the party.
“The party is externally squeezed by a Brexit-focused Conservative Party and internally it is suffering from a total lack of leadership, a lack of money and a chronic shortage of new blood.”
