Ukip ‘Close To Going Bust’ As Members Quit Following General Election Performance

Ukip are on the verge of their very own financial crisis as membership has plunged following the party’s disappointing results in May’s General Election.

Despite securing four million votes, Ukip only managed to win one seat - that was already held by Douglas Carswell before the election.

Around £300,000 has reportedly been lost from their annual revenue, while more than 12,000 members have quit since May - around a quarter of the party’s total membership.

Big money donors are also said to be channeling their money elsewhere, leaving Ukip struggling to stay afloat.

Staff wages have gone unpaid for a month while party leader Nigel Farage has tried to secure extra backing from previous donors, according to the Mail on Sunday.

A senior party figure said they were being hit with bills for promotional work in the build up to the election earlier this year - when Mr Farage failed to win a seat.

He told the paper: “It is a total car crash, unpaid bills everywhere including the poor people who paid for coaches and transport to take people to Mr Farage’s personal campaign.”

The crisis for the party is a marked difference from the start of the year, when big money donors pledged millions to help their anti-EU stance.

Around £3 million was handed to Ukip in the first four months of 2015 - compared to just £200,000 in the three months following the election.

It is thought that Mr Farage’s decision to quit as leader - only to U-turn days later - is a possible reason for support drifting, as well as money being diverted to the Leave.EU campaign ahead of the referendum.

Despite the alleged financial crisis, the party continues to poll in similar numbers as seen around the time the country went to the polls.

A Ukip spokesman said: “It was predicted that we could not pay our bills for the General Election in July, and that was not correct.

“The suggestion that we had a problem meeting payroll last month is also incorrect. It is certainly true that having a competitor like Leave.EU presents a challenge.

“As we are no longer the only game in town, we have to try harder to attract supporters, but our members know that without Ukip there would have been no referendum for Leave.EU to campaign in.”

Pics: Rex