London - Britain's UKIP party, widely
credited as having been a major factor behind the country's
decision to leave the European Union, lost its only lawmaker on
Saturday when Douglas Carswell announced he was leaving the
party.
Carswell, 46, defected to UKIP from the Conservative party
led by then Prime Minister David Cameron in August 2014 and went
on to win a by-election in the eastern seaside town of Clacton
that year.
"Like many of you, I switched to UKIP because I desperately
wanted us to leave the EU," he said in a statement. "Now we can
be certain that that is going to happen, I have decided that I
will be leaving UKIP.
"I will leave UKIP amicably, cheerfully and in the knowledge
that we won."
He said he would remain as Member of Parliament (MP) for
Clacton, as an independent, until the next general election in
2020.
Carswell's announcement comes just four days before
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May formally triggers the EU
divorce process, following last June's referendum vote to quit
the bloc that Britain joined 44 years ago.
The party's best-known politician Nigel Farage held a
long-running feud with Carswell over party policies and he had
previously accused Carswell of trying to split the party.
The defection will raise questions within UKIP as the party
hopes to capitalise on its successful campaign to leave the EU.
After months of turmoil following Farage's decision to step
down as leader last June, it had finally elected its former
chairman Paul Nuttall as leader in November and was aiming to
increase its representation in the 650-seat parliament.
Nuttall failed however in his bid in February to win a
by-election in Stoke, central England, which was one of the most
solidly pro-Brexit areas on England in the referendum.
There was no immediate comment from UKIP on Carswell's
departure.