Ukip leadership: Suzanne Evans confident of heading party
Ukip leadership candidate Suzanne Evans said she is confident her campaign is on track to lead her to victory.
Ms Evans, from Shrewsbury, has said she wants to take the party to the "common sense centre" when she launched her bid to succeed Diane James as the leader of the party.
Today, she said she has seen an eagerness from members for change and that she believes she is the person to lead Ukip to a stronger position in Westminster. She said: "I think it is going very well indeed. I have had hustings which have been very exciting because I can sense people and members are looking forward to the future under a new leader.
"People are looking forward and it has all been very positive. We have had a pretty good showing at each of them and there have been lots of interesting questions.
"Lots of people have said they are happy I am on the ballot paper now after what happened last time. I am starting to relax a little now because lots of people have sent their ballot papers back already."
It was revealed yesterday that the party is being investigated by Britain's elections watchdog over claims it breached party funding laws.
The European Parliament Bureau has already ruled the grouping Ukip belongs to, the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe, will have to repay 172,655 euro (£146,696), and will no longer be given a grant of 248,345 euro (£211,000) previously allocated to it after finding it misused EU funding. The Electoral Commission has now opened its own investigation into whether Ukip accepted "impermissible donations" from the ADDE and its affiliated foundation, the Initiative for Direct Democracy in Europe (IDDE).
But Ms Evans believes under her leadership, she could get the party back on track.
She said: "The troublemakers in Ukip are few and far between and I suspect that if I am leader they will leave anyway and that will solve the problem."
