UKIP Favourite Is Barking

The reign of Nigel “Thirsty” Farage as leader of the saloon bar propper-uppers at UKIP has most definitely come to a close. Some on Planet Kipper are bereft. Others are merely pissed. But many are still ready to lend an ear to those who backed Nige when they pitch their views on who Farage’s successor should be. And to show than many in the party have lost touch with reality, there is a groundswell of opinion for one candidate.

Who, one has to ask, can command the respect of the Faragiste tendency, along with big money backers like Arron Banks? Who has the qualities needed to lead the party to inevitable and deserved electoral oblivion, and hopefully soon? Who, in short, is certain to finish off the party and deservedly consign it to the dustbin of history? We have an answer to all of these questions, and that answer is Raheem “call me Ray” Kassam.

Raheem Kassam, let us not drive this one round the houses for too long, is a clown. He’s an amateur. He could not be trusted any further than he could usefully be chucked. His fitness for purpose does not extend to shovelling shit from Heap A to Heap B. His only purpose in running for the UKIP leadership is to develop more ways in generating More And Bigger Paycheques For Himself Personally Now.

Kassam has even convinced one major UKIP donor that he is for real: as the Guardian has reported, “Insurance tycoon Arron Banks said he was backing Raheem Kassam for the leadership ‘despite Paul Nuttall running’ for the job”. Nuttall, whose impression of Pub-Landlord-Meets-Alexei-Sayle is of value only to those taking the piss, would despite his visible idiocy be more credible than Kassam, showing how UKIP is so short of credibility.

There was more: Kassam has responded “This is a major endorsement from someone who has been one of the driving forces behind Ukip in recent years. Banks ploughed his personal time and money into the referendum campaign and the party, and for those wondering whether he still stood with Ukip, this is a very clear sign: he does, under a Kassam leadership … I’d like to thank Arron for the brave and important support, and I look forward to working with him to make Ukip great again”.

But while Banks has enthused “I've been very impressed with Raheem's ideas despite Paul Nuttall running I think he's the candidate to beat. He's got my support”, Richard Hilton, a former UKIP PPC, has warned “Backed by Tommy Robinson & wants to let ex-BNP join. @RaheemKassam will take UKIP to the extreme fringe. Don't let him destroy our party”. And that is the problem of letting Kassam’s ideas loose.

Quite apart from aping Donald Trump’s US Presidential campaign slogan - that’s the ranting, misogynist, bullying, bigoted, loser who’s about to wreck the reputation of the Republican Party - Kassam is apparently happy to let every wacko far-right nutjob into the party that has expended so much effort over the years keeping them all out.

And on top of all that, UKIP just got booted out of its London office. I said the party was in a death spiral. Electing Raheem Kassam as leader would end the spiral - by stuffing the plane into the ground. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving shower.