Tommy Robinson Takes His UKIP Bat Home

Yesterday, the remnants of that motley convocation of saloon bar propper-uppers otherwise known as UKIP elected a new leader - the fourth in little more than a year. The party’s poll ratings are down in the noise floor, it did not manage to contest scores of seats in June’s General Election, and its previous leader, “Bad Bootle meff” Paul Nuttall, was widely regarded as a comedy turn. Who would want to lead this rabble?

Stephen Yaxley Lennon aka Tommy Robinson

Anne Marie Waters - UKIP runner-up

Well, several hopeful contenders did want to lead UKIP, and Henry Bolton was one of them. He was the chosen candidate of the party’s former Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage, and this carried him over the win line, to the disappointment of the Muslim bashing fringe who backed Anne Marie Waters. One of those supporting Ms Waters was former EDL head man Stephen Yaxley Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson.

He wanted Ms Waters to win, not that there had been any movement of like minded people joining the Kippers just to get her elected, you understand. So yesterday there he was with the encouraging “Good luck for today @AMDWaters”. This was later tempered by his observation that the BBC’s report had told “UKIP set to unveil new leader amid resignation threats”. Ms Waters was not flavour of the month with the party’s MEPs.

Sadly, his encouragement was to no avail. And rather than get behind Bolton, Lennon became very sour very quickly, making one wonder whether this was about UKIP, or using the party as a Trojan Horse for that virulent Islamophobia which he and his pals deploy so well. “So ukip's new leader thinks we should stop Islam bashing & thought that if @AMDWaters won the party would be the uk nazi party” he snapped.

Surprise, surprise, the new UKIP leader wanted his party to be about Brexit first and foremost, which was what the Kippers were always about. Lennon was not amused. “Ukip R now irrelevant when it comes to the biggest threat our country faces.We need a political voice to oppose Islam like wilders & le pen” he asserted, seemingly unaware that neither Geert Wilders, nor Marine le Pen, are in a position of power, and are unlikely to be so.

And then, to no surprise at all, came the effective admission that this was about entryism, as Lennon Retweeted this nugget: “Supporters of Anne Marie Waters, new party coming soon - stay tuned”. The Islamophobes were unable to hijack UKIP through the candidacy of Anne Marie Waters, and were now proposing to start a new party. The delusion on view was remarkable, the idea that their prejudice was popular clear to all.

Lennon revealingly Retweeted two more in the same vein. One told “I no longer support UKIP I supported @AMDWaters and I'm gutted” (only backing UKIP because of the prospect of Ms Waters becoming leader), while another deluded hopeful mused - wrongly - “Everything @AMDWaters stood for still valid … If starts new party simple to join & take part … She’d win back UKIP vote & many Labour seats”. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

It looks very much as if the enthusiasm for UKIP from the likes of Tommy Robinson was about nothing more than entryism. And it failed. Not even the Kippers are prepared to see their party hijacked by the Muslim bashing fringe.