Ukip man stands down in Harrogate

John Upex, who was due to be UKIP’s candidate at next year’s General Election, said he did not want to embarrass the party.

He has expressed controversial views on his website including describing recent immigration as an attempt to “destroy Britishness” and compared the movement of people in the European Union to the way “the Nazis moved ethnic Germans into the occupied territories of Poland - and the Israelis are establishing Jewish Settlements in the occupied territories.”

Mr Upex has also suggested that the entrance of Poland to the EU amounted to the reunification of “Bismark’s Reich”

He wrote: “DAS REICH IS AS ALIVE AND WELL TODAY AS IT WAS IN 1914.

“And we are on our backs.

“Wake up - and be afraid.”

Mr Upex compared his resignation to that of Godfrey Bloom, the former UKIP Yorkshire MEP who announced last year he would represent the region as an independent after he was criticised for calling some women activitsts “sluts”.

He said: “When we joined we joined with a single intent. We wanted to take this country out of the European Union.

“UKIP has changed from being a disorganised collection of amateurs to being the third biggest party in the country, a proper formalised political party.

“To be a parliamentary candidate you’ve got to go through the training course, do media coverage and be a smooth operator.

“I accept I am not a smooth operator and there are better people prepared to do the job.”

In a brief statement, a branch spokesman said: “We would like to thank John for his contribution over the last few years which has allowed Ukip to grow and prosper in this region.”

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