Shortly after the announcement on Saturday, the Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, said the party had not “benefited financially or organisationally from having Douglas in Westminster”. Carswell met the Ukip chairman, Paul Oakden, earlier this month, saying afterwards that the meeting was amicable and he intended to continue to sit as a Ukip MP. “The matter of whether a party member remains a member of the party is a matter for the NEC,” the source said. But it was impossible to do, because the party leader does not have that power. It is not in Paul’s gift, because if a party leader had that sort of power, the possibility of dictatorial control would be appalling.

Source: The Guardian March 25, 2017 11:58 UTC