UK Independence Party elects new leader

LONDON

Paul Nuttall has been elected as the new leader of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), it was announced Monday.

Nuttall, a member of the European Parliament for North West England and a former history lecturer, will succeed the party’s interim-leader, Nigel Farage. He won 62.6 percent votes from his party members.

"Under my leadership, unity will be key, all factions must come together in a united party," he told party members in his victory speech.

Nutall said his party had forced the British prime minister to hold a referendum on the country’s membership of the European Union. "We must hold the government’s feet to the fire on leaving the EU. Brexit must mean Brexit," he said.

Earlier, Farage said it had been a “difficult” summer for the party. "But now the need for UKIP to be strong in the future is absolutely vital," he added.

Britain’s right-wing UKIP had successfully campaigned for Britain to vote to leave the EU. Following Farage's resignation after the historic referendum, Diane James was elected on Sept. 16 with 47 percent of UKIP members’ votes.

The party was stunned when James resigned just 18 days after being elected. James said she was leaving for “personal and professional reasons”, adding she did not have sufficient authority to lead the party.

The party also faced a financial investigation when the Electoral Commission decided to probe the UKIP after a European Parliament probe which alleged the party had misspent funds totaling thousands of pounds.

The UKIP is known for its anti-immigration policies and won 3.9 million votes in last year’s parliamentary election in the U.K.