The

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP) held a leadership election in 2009, with ballots closing on 26 November. The election was won by

Malcolm Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch Malcolm Everard MacLaren Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch (born 20 July 1942) is a British businessman and former Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He sits as an independent member of the House of Lords. A Eurosceptic, he was a staun ...

. Lord Pearson elected leader of UK Independence Party
, ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 27 November 2009 The Eurosceptic party had been led by

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party (renamed Reform UK in 2021) from 2 ...

since he won the 2006 leadership election. He announced his resignation from the post in September 2009, stating that he wanted to devote more time to his campaign for a seat in the

United Kingdom House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

Candidates

There were five candidates for the election.

Gerard Batten Gerard Joseph Batten (born 27 March 1954) is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament ( ...

was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) and stood unsuccessfully in the

2008 London mayoral election The 2008 London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London, England, was held on 1 May 2008. Conservative candidate Boris Johnson defeated incumbent Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone. It was the third London mayoral election, the previous e ...

. His main policies were to broaden the party's policies beyond Euroscepticism, and to focus on winning representation at Westminster.UKIP leadership: Runners and riders
, ''

'', 19 November 2009 Mike Nattrass was also an MEP. His main policies were to focus on the upcoming general election, opposition to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, and to reject a merger with similar parties elsewhere in Europe. Lord Pearson was a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. Originally appointed as a

peer, he joined UKIP in 2007. His main policies included a focus on direct democracy and on opposition to Islamism. He had the support of Farage, who declared that Pearson was the only "serious, credible" candidate. He also had the support of the party's deputy leader, David Campbell-Bannerman, who had been expected to stand in the election. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' declared in September that Pearson was the favourite to win the election.Andrew Porter,
Former Tory peer favourite for Ukip leadership
, ''

'', 15 September 2009 Nikki Sinclaire was another MEP. Her main policies were to professionalise the party, introducing a shadow cabinet, and to focus on communication through the media. Alan Wood was UKIP's nominating officer and a district councillor. His main policy was to focus on an alliance with other Eurosceptic parties, although not with the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

. He was also opposed to Pearson's policy of prioritising anti-Islamism.

Result

Pearson was elected, taking almost half of the votes cast.

References

{{UKIP 2009 elections in the United Kingdom 2009 UK Independence Party leadership election