Who is Diane James? As she leaves UKIP after standing down as leader here’s everything you need to know
The new leader joined the party in 2011, was elected to replaced Nigel Farage in September and then stood down. Now she has quit the party
SHE was elected as UKIP's new leader to follow Nigel Farage, but she stood down after 18 days in charge and has now quit the party altogether.
Diane James received 48 per cent of the vote, beating Lisa Duffy and Bill Etheridge - but then gave it up and now has been accused of "an act of irrational selfishness" by Mr Farage after leaving UKIP.
Who is she?
Educated at Rochester Grammar School and Thames Valley University (now University of West London) Diane James used to be a conservative supporter.
However, she distanced herself from the party to become an independent councillor in Waverley, Surrey in 2007.
The 56-year-old then joined UKIP shortly after the 2011 election - and has worked her way up through the party, holding a number of high profile positions including deputy chairman and spokeswoman for justice and home affairs.
She made a name for herself in the party after coming close to victory in the 2013 Eastleigh by-election, coming second above the Conservatives.
During the by-election, she caused outrage by calling for a halt to immigration in a bid to fight what she called "crime associated with Romanians".
But later, James apologised, saying her comments were not supposed to be a "generalisation against every single individual born with a Romanian passport".
The following year, she was elected as MEP for South East England - a position she remains in today, but now as an independent.
In 2014, James was also chosen by North West Hampshire UKIP to be its parliamentary candidate - but she stepped down a few hours after making a speech at UKIP's Spring Conference, blaming personal reasons.
And despite generally impressing journalists as one of UKIP's best media performers, the former businesswoman and health consultant came under fire last April after telling LBC's Iain Dale she "admired" Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She said:"I admire him from the point of view that he is standing up for his country. He's very nationalist... I do admire him."
She added: "He is a very strong leader."
It was also controversially revealed in August that, despite boasting of having "no skeletons" in her cupboard , she has been involved in the breakdown of two marriages.
The UKIP election and why did she stand down?
Upon accepting the leadership, James reminded UKIP members of their successes - and slammed Prime Minister Theresa May. She said: “It’s going to take me a while to come back to Earth. My goodness you’ve handed over a mantle, but it’s one that I’m deeply honoured to take on from Nigel.
"To magpie May, when you try and bury UKIP, when you throw everything at us, when you try to undermine us, demoralise us, demotivate us, just remember where the best ideas you steal come from and where they will most likely come from again in the future.
"The days of Project Fear tactics have had their day. And we've proved why they have had their day and we are going to ensure they will never, ever rise from the political ashes again."
But this bravado did not last, and after 18 days as leader, she stepped down.
She stood down back in October after winning an internal contest to replace Mr Farage, saying she did not have the support of her colleagues.
And on November 21 she announced that her relationship with UKIP had become “increasingly difficult” since her decision, saying it was “time to move on”.
In a statement, Ms James said she had applied to become an independent MEP in the European Parliament, in a further sign the party is struggling now that it has achieved its aim of getting Britain out of the EU.
Mr Farage was forced to come out of retirement to take over in the interim while they held another leadership election.
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