WATCH: (Scroll Down For Video) Nigel Farage has today resigned as leader of his U.K. Independence Party on Monday, saying he had “done his bit” as one of the chief campaigners for the country to leave the European Union.
The resignation is the latest political bombshell to hit British politics in the wake of last month’s vote to leave the European Union. Also on Monday, parliamentarian Andrea Leadsom announced her intention to run for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party – and by extension, prime minister – which has been thrown into disarray in the wake of the EU referendum.
Prime Minister David Cameron, current leader of the Conservative Party, announced his resignation the morning after the vote on June 23. The decision by British voters to leave the EU plunged the U.K. into political and economic turmoil. A new leader will be chosen by Sept. 9.
“I have never wanted to be a career politician. That is why I now feel that I’ve done my bit,” Farage said in a televised press conference on Monday.
Farage and the UKIP have a more sensible and hard line approach against immigration and the EU’s emphasis on freedom of movement, calling for stricter measures at the border.
“I will watch the renegotiation process in Brussels like a hawk,” he said of talks expected to be held between U.K. and EU leaders in the coming months. But, Farage said, “I want my life back.”
Prior to Farage’s resignation, former London mayor and pro-Brexit campaigner, Boris Johnson, announced last week that he would not be running for leader of the Conservative Party. He was the favorite to take the keys to No. 10 Downing Street.
His announcement came on the same morning that his fellow campaigner and supposed ally, Michael Gove, declared his own candidacy. The move shocked Britain, prompting comparisons to Shakespearean-style treachery or an episode of the political drama, House of Cards.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Erin Cunningham
