Gerard Joseph Batten 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 (MEP) for London from 2004 to 2019.
Batten in 2009
The UK Independence Party 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 party representing the UK in the European Parliament. The party has been led by Lois Perry since May 2024.
A UKIP campaign bus, 2004
Nigel Farage, leader of the party from 2006 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2016, and an MEP from 1999 to 2020.
Lord Pearson led the party in 2009
Under Gerard Batten's leadership, UKIP moved towards a far-right stance