Farage to quit as UKIP leader

Nigel Farage has announced today that he is to stand down as leader of the UK Independence Party.

Having lead the party for three years, Mr Farage, MEP for the South East region, has told party members at the UKIP annual conference in Southport that the job of leading the party in Europe as well as the domestic party is too big a job for one person.

Instead, Mr Farage will now focus on his general election campaign, where he will stand in House of Commons Speaker John Bercow's Buckingham seat and on his role as leader of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group in the European Parliament.

The contest for a new leader, who will be expected to run the party nationally, formulate policies and orchestrate the general election campaign, should get underway next week.