Breitbart London Editor in Chief Raheem Kassam has called on Arron Banks to run to be the next UKIP leader, suggesting the billionaire UKIP donor could be the “British Donald Trump”.
He said Mr. Banks had “real world experience”, could “shake up the party”, and bring it “into the new digital era” whilst avoiding much of the “internal fighting” that other favoured candidates might trigger.
Kassam said he thought Mr. Banks had “basically made his mind up” to run, but also confirmed he had received huge support after suggesting he would run himself and would still consider a bid for UKIP leadership if Mr. Banks did not put himself forward.
“I’ve had about 2,000 people over the last 24-hours suggesting I should be the next UKIP leader,” Kassam told presenter Jon Gaunt on Talk2MeRadio. “It’s a tempting proposition, but it’s only one I would consider if someone like Arron Banks wasn’t going to run for it.”
“…I think he has got a lot of charisma. He gets along well with the Westminster journalists while not being in hock to them. He gives them merry hell, quite frankly, and they love him as a result of that,” said Kassam.
Adding: “I think he would shake things up quite a bit and would not be afraid to stick several million pounds into the party from the outset to help it grow.”
“So, he’s going to be like a British Donald Trump, isn’t he?” asked Mr. Gaunt. Kassam responded: “Do you know what: I don’t see anything wrong with that. I think that might be what this country needs.”
“Arron is a force of nature. Arron has the financial backing; he has real-world experience; he has a huge database of these Leave.EU subscribers that he has amassed over the past few years; and, I think he has fresh ideas that he could bring to UKIP without leaving the party’s core Farage element behind,” explained the former chief adviser to Mr. Farage.
“I understand that [Mr. Banks] is very seriously considering [running to be UKIP leader]. I know Arron quite well, and when he says he’s seriously considering something that basically means he’s made his mind up on it,” he added.
He mentioned other candidates favoured by the bookies, such as UKIP immigration spokesman Steven Woolfe, deputy leader Paul Nuttall, and London assembly member Peter Whittle.
“But, I think someone like Arron would not only bring the party into the new digital era…but I also think he doesn’t bring with him a lot of the internal fighting that we’ve seen plague a lot of these other characters.”
However, he ruled out UKIP MP Douglas Carswell, as he “doesn’t want it”, and former deputy leader Suzanne Evans, as she is “not eligible to stand”.
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