NOT OVER
Under-fire Ukip leader Henry Bolton REFUSES to rule out rekindling love with racist ex Jo Marney
UNDER-FIRE Henry Bolton has admitted he COULD get back together with his racist model ex-girlfriend.
Despite losing 16 members of his top team yesterday for his handling of his relationship with 25-year-old Jo Marney, the Ukip boss has said he could pick up their romantic relationship again in future.
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He told the BBC he could "potentially" get back together with Ms Marney in future.
"Who knows what the future will contain," he said.
"I have things in my personal life to sort out, so does she."
And he would only say that "maybe" his relationship was permanently over.
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The Ukip boss was forced to dump Ms Marney just a week ago after racist messages she sent about Meghan Markle were revealed.
But he was later spotted with her in a London restaurant, and on the tube raising doubts as to whether the pair's relationship really was over.
Mr Bolton said Ms Marney had returned to his place in Folkestone to pick up her bags - and claimed she was there for just 21 minutes.
On Good Morning Britain today Piers Morgan told him that the party were entitled to know whether he would continue to date a racist with "ugly grotesque views".
In a fiery exchange Mr Bolton refused repeatedly to answer and insisted ";the party comes first".
"You said 'who knows what the future holds' - which means you have no problem potentially in reviving your romance with a racist?" the GMB host quizzed.
"If it does not damage the party," Mr Bolton replied.
Jonathan Bullock, a Ukip MEP and spokesperson for energy, quit his party role this morning after Mr Bolton's interview round.
He said in his resignation letter: "It is clear that a close relationship with someone who has uttered such obnoxious views is incompatible with the leadership of Ukip and I cannot serve under him.
"This scandal has politics, sex, a model, even the royal Family has been brought in. The only thing missing (bizarrely) is a Russian spy .. though I'm sure one could be invented if necessary."
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Last night Mr Bolton was interviewed by none other than former Ukip boss Nigel Farage on his LBC show.
Mr Farage asked if after sending “racist, unpleasant messages” Ms Marney deserved a second chance, Mr Bolton replied: “No I don’t think she does in that respect.”
But pressed on whether the pair were actually broken up the Ukip boss said: “We’re still in contact – there are strong emotions there.”
He added: “The romantic side of the relationship is off, certainly at the moment. Going forward, who knows what the future holds."
But an unimpressed Mr Farage said the details coming out about their meetings was “a little bit cringe-making”, and asked him how he was coping with the media storm.
Mr Bolton replied: “I’m not sure Nigel but the occasional whisky does help."
Ukip leader Henry Bolton tells GMB why he won't resign despite multiple resignations and Jo Marney fallout
In a column in the h today, the former Ukip boss suggested that Mr Bolton could cling on the leadership of the party like Jeremy Corbyn did with Labour - if he gains the support of rank and file members.
The ex-leader wrote that it had been "chaos" in the party since he had resigned, and the drama surrounding Bolton had become a "soap opera" - but he backed his calls for reform.
"Bolton knows as well as anyone that UKIP must reform or die," he went on.
Speaking on Radio 4 this morning he said Mr Bolton had a "month to prove himself" and win around the membership.
The embattled leader insists he has the support of members and will get them to decide his future during a special general meeting in February.
"It's been an awful few weeks and Henry Bolton has shown very bad judgement," he added.
"Will he succeed, will he fail, is he good enough? I don't know, we’re about to find out."
Nigel Farage gives Henry Bolton a month to win over members and change the party or it will flop
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Suzanne Evans told Newsnight last night that party members felt "misled from the start" about the true nature of Mr Bolton's relationship with Ms Marney.
"He really has brought the party into disrepute... it wasn't just about the personal life but other things as well.
"It was about his mishandling of events, his political naivety, negligence in his role, missed deadlines and political ineptitude. I really do wish he would go."
And Ukip's leader in the Welsh Assembly, Neil Hamilton said: "We tried the men in grey suits, perhaps it's now time for the men in white coats... he seems to me to have lost all touch with reality."
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Last week Mr Bolton insisted he did not know about Ms Marney's views when he started to date her - but it later emerged he had tried to cover them up.
Yesterday a long line of his top Ukip team walked out over his refusal to stand down.
On Sunday the party's ruling body had passed a motion of no confidence in him - but still he is clinging to power and refusing to go.
Branding it “not fit for purpose”, Mr Bolton declared: “The NEC has lost the confidence of me as well as a large body of party membership."
And the Sun revealed last night that the party are refusing to pay him in an effort to push him out of the job.
The Sun can also reveal that Ukip’s membership has almost halved from its all time high of 47,000 in 2015.
It now stands at less than 25,000, having haemorrhaged members at a rate of 1,000 a month.
Henry Bolton refuses to resign as leader of Ukip despite numerous resignations from other party members over his fling with Jo Marney
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