United Kingdom Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, Ukip, /ˈjuːkɪp/ YEW-kip) is a Eurosceptic right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1993. The party describes itself in its constitution as a "democratic, libertarian party" and, as of May 2013, has a membership of 27,000.
UKIP currently has 11 of the 73 UK seats in the European Parliament, three members in the House of Lords and one seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The UKIP performance in the 2013 local election was the best result for a party outside the big three in British politics since the Second World War, coming fourth in the number of council seats won and third in terms of projected nationwide votes. UKIP has not won a seat in the House of Commons to date.
Nigel Farage is the leader of UKIP after being re-elected on 5 November 2010, having previously serving as leader from 2006 to 2009. Farage is a founding member of the party (from its formation as the Anti-Federalist League in 1991) and has been a UKIP Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1999.
Read more about United Kingdom Independence Party: Policies, Voter Base, See Also
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