UKIP failed to make a breakthrough at the general election, but did increase its share of the vote Members of the UK Independence Party are set to gather for their autumn conference in Torquay, with the search for a new leader top of the agenda.
Lord Pearson of Rannoch announced last month he would stand down as leader at the conference, saying he was “not much good at party politics”.
Jeffrey Titford was chosen at a meeting on Thursday to run the party until a permanent replacement is elected.
The election for a permanent successor is to be staged later.
UKIP’s former leader, MEP Nigel Farage, has yet to confirm whether he will stand.
Mr Farage suffered serious injuries in a light aircraft crash on 5 May – the day of the general election – and subsequently failed in his attempt to get elected to Westminster, after standing against the Commons Speaker John Bercow in Buckingham.
Although he has not ruled himself out, he told the BBC last month he wanted “to take a bit more time for myself and for my family”.
UKIP failed to make a breakthrough in May’s poll, although it did increase its share of vote to more than 3% – securing more than 900,000 votes.
Lord Pearson – a former Conservative who became UKIP leader last year – announced in August his intention to stand down on 2 September.
He said he did not “enjoy” the cut and thrust of party politics and suggested a “younger leader” was needed to take the party forward.
David Campbell Bannerman, one of the party’s 13 representatives in the European Parliament, is widely seen as a potential interim leader.
In a speech at the conference, he will set out a “detailed prospectus” for how the UK would manage outside the European Union – a move UKIP has long urged.
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