DIANE James, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South East and a former leader of Waverley Borough Council’s opposition, quit UKIP last week ending a tumultuous five-year spell with the party.

Mrs James, who succeeded Nigel Farage as UKIP leader in September only to resign 18 days later, confirmed her decision to leave the party and take up the status of an independent MEP in the European Parliament.

Announcing the news on Twitter, she vowed to continue to “serve effectively and diligently all her constituents in South East England for the term of this parliament” and shed light on her deteriorating relationship with UKIP.

Mrs James, 56, said in a statement: “At a high-profile public event in Cambridge last week, I was asked why I had not completed the process to become leader of UKIP?

“I had little option, but to give the truthful response that, although nominated leader by popular vote in the membership, I found that I had no support within the executive and thus no ability to carry forward the policies on which I had campaigned.

“My decision to retire from the election process and not complete it was very difficult personally and professionally. given that UKIP had dominated my life and all my efforts for over five years.

“In recent weeks, my relationship with the party has been increasingly difficult and I feel it is now time to move on. I with the party well for the future under new leadership.”

Waverley borough councillor for Ewhurst from 2006 to 2015, Mrs James served as an independent until shortly after her re-election in 2013 when she joined UKIP and rose to national prominence after finishing second in the Eastleigh parliamentary by-election.

A year later she was elected as an MEP and became a prominent member of Mr Farage’s front bench, making numerous appearances on BBC Question Time.

Mrs James served as leader of Waverley’s three-strong UKIP party from 2013 to 2015, when she lost her Ewhurst seat in her first borough election as a UKIP candidate.