Henry Bolton has ended the "romantic element" of his ties to a young model after her headline-inducing comments about Meghan Markle. But the scandal surrounding the leader has opened the lid on deeper UKIP struggles.
Image: Imago/i Images
Advertisement
He's hardly hogged the spotlight since taking charge of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) in September, but Henry Bolton embarked on a frenetic tour of Britain's major broadcasting houses on Monday morning, if for the wrong reasons.
Bolton was discussing his girlfriend and her comments on Meghan Markle, the US actor and fiancee to Prince Harry. A text message exchange between model Jo Marney and a friend, published in the Mail on Sunday, showed Marney saying that Markle's "seed" would "taint our royal family."
Marney also said "I wouldn't with a negro," and "this is Britain, not Africa," during the exchange, responding with "lol, so what?" when challenged for being racist. She has apologized but said the comments were taken out of context, promising further details at a later date.
"We've ended the romantic element of the relationship," Bolton told talk radio station LBC on Monday. He said that the scandal had severely distressed Marney, and that he wouldn't "throw her to the wolves" by breaking contact altogether.
Bolton also said he believed the real reason behind the leak was his leadership position within UKIP, calling on rivals in the party to "take me on politically" rather than "exploiting other people to do it."
Marney described Meghan Markle as 'a dumb little actress that no one has heard of'Image: picture alliance/AP/dpa/F. Augstein
Largely anonymous, except for love life
Several UKIP officials, perhaps most prominently MEP Bill Etheridge, had called for Bolton's resignation after the Mail on Sunday published Marney's comments.
Matthew Goodwin of the University of Kent, co-author of a 2017 book on why the UK voted to leave the EU, believes that the fact the comments targeted Meghan Markle will prove particularly challenging for Bolton.
"Most voters, to be frank, won't know who he is. He's not a household name in the way of somebody like Nigel Farage, who is known much more broadly," Goodwin told DW. "But in this particular case, because the comments were also directed at soon-to-be members of the royal family, I think that will go down incredibly badly among [UKIP] members, because they're very pro-monarchy as well. So I don't think it was a helpful intervention for Bolton."
Bolton believes he's the real target, and urged any UKIP rivals to take him on directlyImage: Getty Images/M. Cardy
Bolton's relationship with Marney was already in the news. The 54-year-old recently left his Russian-born wife not long after meeting Marney, although he says his marriage had been on-and-off for years.
Simon Usherwood at the University of Surrey concurs that rivals within UKIP might feel that Bolton's brief tenure has been a failure.
"It's telling that even in the slew of articles that we've had in recent weeks about his girlfriend, we still end up with these repeated references to his ex-wife who gave birth to one of their children on a train coming into St. Pancras. That remains the most interesting fact about Henry Bolton, where his wife gave birth," Usherwood said. "He's not managed to bring the party through the failure of [previous leader] Paul Nuttall in the 2017 general election. He hasn't given it any kind of profile at all."
Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
Britain shocked the world when it voted to leave the European Union on June 24, 2016. DW traces the major events that have defined Brexit so far.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/Y. Mok
June 2016: 'The will of the British people'
After a shrill referendum campaign, nearly 52% of British voters opted to leave the EU on June 23. Polls had shown a close race before the vote with a slight lead for those favoring remaining in the EU. Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had campaigned for Britain to stay, acknowledged the "will of the British people" and resigned the following morning.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Rain
July 2016: 'Brexit means Brexit'
Former Home Secretary Theresa May replaced David Cameron as prime minister on July 11 and promised the country that "Brexit means Brexit." May had quietly supported the Remain campaign before the referendum. She did not initially say when her government would trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty to start the two-year talks leading to Britain's formal exit.
Image: Reuters/D. Lipinski
March 2017: 'We already miss you'
May eventually signed a diplomatic letter over six months later on March 29, 2017 to trigger Article 50. Hours later, Britain's ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, handed the note to European Council President Donald Tusk. Britain's exit was officially set for March 29, 2019. Tusk ended his brief statement on the decision with: "We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye."
Image: picture alliance / Photoshot
June 2017: And they're off!
British Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, kicked off talks in Brussels on June 19. The first round ended with Britain reluctantly agreeing to follow the EU's timeline for the rest of the negotiations. The timeline split talks into two phases. The first would settle the terms of Britain's exit, and the second the terms of the EU-UK relationship post-Brexit.
Image: picture alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com/W. Daboski
July-October 2017: Money, rights and Ireland
The second round of talks in mid-July began with an unflattering photo of a seemingly unprepared British team. It and subsequent rounds ended with little progress on three phase one issues: How much Britain still needed to pay into the EU budget after it leaves, the post-Brexit rights of EU and British citizens and whether Britain could keep an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Image: Getty Images/T.Charlier
December 2017: Go-ahead for phase 2
Leaders of the remaining 27 EU members formally agreed that "sufficient progress" had been made to move on to phase two issues: the post-Brexit transition period and the future UK-EU trading relationship. While Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her delight at the decision, European Council President Tusk ominously warned that the second stage of talks would be "dramatically difficult."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/dpa/O. Matthys
July 2018: Johnson, Davis resign
British ministers appeared to back a Brexit plan at May's Chequers residence on July 6. The proposal would have kept Britain in a "combined customs territory" with the EU and signed up to a "common rulebook" on all goods. That went too far for British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, who resigned a few days later. May replaced them with Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/G. Fuller
September 2018: No cherries for Britain
May's Chequers proposal did not go down well with EU leaders, who told her at a summit in Salzburg in late September that it was unacceptable. EU Council President Tusk trolled May on Instagram, captioning a picture of himself and May looking at cakes with the line: "A piece of cake perhaps? Sorry, no cherries." The gag echoed previous EU accusations of British cherry-picking.
Image: Reuters/P. Nicholls
November 2018: Breakthrough in Brussels
EU leaders endorsed a 585-page draft divorce deal and political declaration on post-Brexit ties in late November. The draft had been widely condemned by pro- and anti-Brexit lawmakers in the British Parliament only weeks earlier. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned along with several other ministers, and dozens of Conservative Party members tried to trigger a no-confidence vote in May.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Dunand
December 2018: May survives rebellion
In the face of unrelenting opposition, May postponed a parliamentary vote on the deal on December 10. The next day, she met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to seek reassurances that would, she hoped, be enough to convince skeptical lawmakers to back the deal. But while she was away, hard-line Conservative lawmakers triggered a no-confidence vote. May won the vote a day later.
Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
January 2019: Agreement voted down
The UK Parliament voted 432 to 202 against May's Brexit deal on January 16. In response to the result, European Council President Donald Tusk suggested the only solution was for the UK to stay in the EU. Meanwhile, Britain's Labour Party called for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister, her second leadership challenge in as many months.
Image: Reuters
March 2019: Second defeat for May's deal
May tried to get legal changes to the deal's so-called Irish backstop in the weeks that followed. She eventually got assurances that the UK could suspend the backstop under certain circumstances. But on March 12, Parliament voted against the revised Brexit deal by 391 to 242. EU leaders warned the vote increased the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. Two days later, MPs voted to delay Brexit.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/T. Ireland
March 2019: Extension after second defeat
Following the second defeat of May's divorce deal, the European Council met in Brussels on March 21 to decide what to do next. EU leaders gave May two options: delay Brexit until May 22 if MPs vote for the withdrawal deal or delay it until April 12 if they vote against the deal. If the deal were to fail again in Parliament, May could ask for a long extension.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Augstein
March 2019: Brexit deal rejected a third time
On March 29, the day that the UK was supposed to leave the EU, British lawmakers voted for a third time against May's deal — rejecting it this time with a vote of 344 to 286. Following the latest defeat, May approached the main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to find a compromise, angering hardline Brexiteers in her own Conservative party.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/House of Commons/M. Duffy
April 2019: Brexit delayed until Halloween
With the April 12 deadline looming after the third defeat of May's deal, EU leaders met again in Brussels to discuss a second delay. The only question was how long should it be? In the end, the UK and EU agreed to a "flexible" extension until October 31 — which can end sooner if the Brexit deal is approved. The UK had to take part in EU elections in May because their exit wasn't secured in time.
Image: Reuters/E. Plevier
May 2019: Prime Minister Theresa May resigns
Weeks of talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and the Labour party to reach a deal proved unsuccessful and further eroded her political capital. She triggered an angry backlash from her party after she tried to put the option of a second referendum on the table. The series of failures led May to announce her resignation, effective June 7, in an emotional address.
Image: Reuters/H. McKay
June 2019: Search for a new prime minister
After Theresa May announced on June 7 that she would leave office, other members of her Conservative party began clamoring for the top job. Within a month, the leadership battle came down to Jeremy Hunt (left), an EU proponent who fears a no-deal scenario, and Boris Johnson (right), one of the main proponents of Brexit.
July 2019: Prime Minister Boris Johnson
At the end of July 2019, Johnson was officially named Theresa May's successor as British prime minister. "We are going to energize the country, we are going to get Brexit done by October 31," he said after he was elected leader of the Conservative Party.
Image: Imago Images/Zuma/G. C. Wright
September 2019: Johnson's election threat
Conservative rebels and opposition MPs backed efforts to delay an October 31 Brexit deadline in fear of a no-deal departure. In response, Johnson called for a general election, saying his government cannot rule without a mandate after he stripped 21 rebel MPs of their Conservative status. The Labour Party said it would not back elections until legislation to block a no-deal Brexit was in place.
In late September, Britain's highest court ruled that Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament ahead of the UK's planned exit was unlawful. "This was not a normal prorogation in the run-up to a Queen's Speech," said the Supreme Court. Political rivals immediately called on Johnson to leave his post. Johnson said he would abide by the court ruling, though said he "strongly" disagreed.
Image: Reuters/H. Nicholls
October 2019: A new deal
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to secure a deal with European negotiators that would allow the UK to leave the EU in an orderly manner. The deal received unanimous backing from the leaders of 27 other member states. But an attempt to get the UK Parliament to sign off on the deal failed. Instead, Parliament pushed for the Brexit deadline to be extended until the end of January 2020.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Augstein
December 2019: Lawmakers vote for Johnson's Withdrawal Bill
On December 22, UK lawmakers vote for Prime Minister Johnson's European Union withdrawal bill, which will see a leave date of January 31 2020 enshrined in law. Getting a majority to vote to pass the bill in the lower house has proven a major sticking point for the PM, but following a general election Johnson's Conservative party won control of the house and the bill passed with a 124 majority.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/House of Commons
December 2020: EU, UK 'finally' reach trade deal
After months of disagreements over fishing rights and future business rules, the EU and UK clinched a post-Brexit trade deal on Christmas Eve. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the deal, saying the UK has "taken back control of our laws and our destiny." The deal will allow the UK and the EU to trade without tariffs, but also impose limitations on free movement and financial services.
Image: Pippa Fowles/Xinhua/imago images
23 images1 | 23
UKIP's Brexit boom and (temporary?) bust
UKIP's place in British politics has always been a difficult one to quantify. Owing to Britain's first-past-the-post voting system, it has never been a real force in parliament, but it claimed nearly 4 million votes in 2015 and provided the challenge that led to the Conservatives calling a referendum on the EU.
"We are all here, ultimately, because of UKIP. We wouldn't have had the referendum and Britain wouldn't have voted for Brexit without it," Goodwin surmises.
Since 2016's referendum, however, the party has been in internal and electoral turmoil. Voters flocked back to the major two parties, the Conservatives and Labour, in 2017's snap election. Two years and a Brexit later, UKIP nosedived from 12.6 percent of the vote in 2015 to 1.8 percent.
"I think it really represents an existential problem for the party," Usherwood told DW. "For many, if not most voters, UKIP was associated with getting the UK out of the EU. For most people, they feel that that has happened — although it technically hasn't yet — and so there's not really any point in the party."
Since the referendum, UKIP has rattled through four different leaders, six if you count the caretakers. One of UKIP's elected leaders, Diane James, quit before ever being formally installed. She wrote "vi coactus" (Latin for "under duress") under her own signature on a document notifying the Electoral Commission of her becoming party leader, meaning the document couldn't be processed.
"I've lost count at how many leadership contests that party has had in the last three years," Goodwin says, albeit adding that he expects Bolton to go, sooner or later. "I think there is a view that perhaps with a more effective team, they could be doing a lot better."
The next 18 months or so could prove crucial for UKIP. Goodwin described a growing sense on the euroskeptic fringe that their heavy hitters "vacated the battlefield" after the narrow referendum result, allowing Theresa May's government and others to push for a so-called "soft" Brexit that they oppose. May's foreign minister and leading Brexit advocate, Boris Johnson, has reportedly told friends privately that he too fears a Brexit so mild that Britain would have been better off remaining a fully-fledged EU member.
"The future of the party all hinges on what type of Brexit deal the country concludes with the European Union. If it is effectively EU membership in another name, EEA [European Economic Area] or a 'soft soft Brexit' with a continuation of ECJ [European Court of Justice] jurisdiction and the continuation of free movement, then there will be more than enough space for a party like UKIP, because people will feel betrayed, that they did not get the type of Brexit they wanted," Goodwin believes.
Recent polls suggest that British enthusiasm for Brexit may be cooling
Only making plans for Nigel?
But one man, ever divisive, causes the two researchers to disagree.
Nigel Farage has led UKIP for most of the party's existence, but he nominally quit British politics after the referendum result. Still a Member of the European Parliament for UKIP, Farage now spends much of his time on talk radio in the UK and as a contributor on Fox News as a British supporter of Donald Trump and Brexit. Usherwood wonders whether Farage, who has already ruled himself out of the running for a return to UKIP's leadership, would see value in the political post anymore.
"We have to remember that he has already been dragged back to the post before ... For him, it worked whilst it worked but now his interests lie elsewhere," Usherwood says. "I think his close links with Donald Trump have opened up vistas of influence and renown in the US that are probably more attractive to him than what he could do in the UK."
Goodwin, however, believes Farage — very probably Britain's most famous modern single-issue political campaigner — will always remain a political animal first and foremost.
"He will always be tempted back. He is somebody who will never shut the door on political activism. I know that for a fact. He's not now a radio host. I still view Farage as essentially using LBC to disseminate his message. And I think the temptation of coming back, if we end up with a very soft Brexit, will be very strong."
