Ukip loses 80% of council seats in local election hammering after lurch to far-right

Ukip has lost around 80 per cent of the council seats it defended on Thursday, in a local election hammering following a politcal lurch to the right. Gerard Batten’s party went into Thursday’s contest with 111 councillors and ended up with just 24, as of the 4.30pm tally on results day. The party has mostly failed to capitalise on the collapse of the Conservatives, with its former leader Nigel Farage taking the lions share of Brexiteer support in polls with his new Brexit Party venture. Mr Farage quit the party in December, alleging that Mr Batten had put too much emphasis on anti-Islam policies, and toxified its brand by associating with far-right personality Tommy Robinson.