Britain's pro-Brexit voice Nigel Farage quits as far-right party head

Farage said he felt he had done all he could to achieve a vote for the UK to leave the EU in a referendum and now he wanted "his life back"

Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party reacts in celebration at a "Leave.EU" organization party for the British European Union membership referendum in London.
Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party reacts in celebration at a "Leave.EU" organization party for the British European Union membership referendum in London.
Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Jul 04 2016 | 3:52 PM IST
Britain's main pro-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage today resigned as head of the far-right, anti- immigrant UK Independence Party (UKIP) saying he "couldn't possibly achieve more", just two weeks after Britons voted to leave the European Union.

Farage, 52, said he felt he had done all he could to achieve a vote for the UK to leave the EU in a referendum on June 23 and now he wanted "his life back".

"I now feel that I've done my bit, that I couldn't possibly achieve more," said Farage, who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the party in 1999.

"I feel it's right that I should now stand aside as leader of UKIP," he told reporters at a press conference here.

"I have never been and never wanted to be a career politician," he added.

Farage, who had led a separate grassroots campaign to convince voters of a 'Brexit', had made numerous speeches in the wake of the result to declare June 23 Britain's "Independence Day."

He said he now wants a cross party team to negotiate the UK's exit from Brussels but he said the most important thing was that the team knows how to win the best deal.

"An absolute priority is to bring in business people," he added.

He has had two stints as leader of the Eurosceptic party since 2006.

Britain on June 23 voted to leave the 28-member economic bloc in a historic referendum, in which 52% voted to 'Leave' while 48% sided with the 'Remain' camp.
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First Published: Jul 04 2016 | 3:42 PM IST

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