UKIP

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) is a political party in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1993 by academic Alan Sked as a single‑issue movement focused on withdrawing the UK from the European Union. After achieving visibility in European Parliament elections, UKIP broadened its platform to include tighter immigration controls, Euroscepticism more broadly, and a range of right‑leaning, populist policies. The party is frequently described by observers as right‑wing populist; UKIP itself rejects labels that imply extremism and emphasizes nationalist conservative themes.

In the 2014 European Parliament elections, UKIP won 24 of the UK’s 73 seats, the largest share for a UK party in that election and a peak in its influence. In the 2015 general election it captured about 12% of the national vote but secured only one seat in Westminster. The party’s representation in Parliament declined in subsequent elections, and it did not win seats in the 2017 or 2019 general elections. The 2016 referendum on EU membership, which resulted in a vote to leave, raised UKIP’s national profile but also led to significant internal leadership changes during the late 2010s.

Following Brexit, UKIP’s influence waned as support shifted toward the Conservative Party and other eurosceptic or reformist groupings. By the mid‑2020s it had limited representation at the national level and a modest footprint in local government, but it continued to contest elections and advocate for EU withdrawal and stricter immigration controls.