Nigel Farage ‘to form new party’ if Anne Marie Waters wins Ukip leadership

He could be coming back.

Given that the anti-Islam campaigner, Anne Marie Waters, is the bookies favourite for the Ukip leadership, it has been widely reported that Nigel Farage will set up a new breakaway party in the event that Ms Waters takes the Ukip leadership. Ms Waters is a director of Sharia Watch and Pegida, which stands for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West. Both organisations are widely described as anti-Islamic and various sources have stated that Ukip will be “finished” if Ms Waters takes charge. Before that happens, she'll need to beat 11 other candidates that are standing to become leader of the party. The Independent have reported that Ukip’s former chief donor, Aaron Banks, has already held talks with Farage about creating a new party. Over the weekend, Mr Banks said: "If Ms Walters becomes Ukip leader, all we ask is that she gives the party a decent burial. The country needs an effective political movement to stop May from selling out on the Brexit which British people voted for last year." It's worth noting that after the last General Election, Ukip's party vote share was down to about 2%, compared with 12.6% in 2015. The same report states that Farage has a room booke in Strasbourg for next Monday - where he could launch the new party. If Farage was to create a new party, it's likely to target pro-Leave voters from both the Tories and Labour by providing a more radical vision for Brexit. Elsewhere, Farage is expected to speak in Fairhope, Alabama on Monday night, in support of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. Moore has vociferously opposed marriage equality in the past and he has even suggested that homosexuality should be illegal.