UKIP membership reject Farage's proposal for his MEPs to join a pan-European political party.

The UKIP membership has voted overwhelmingly to reject Nigel Farage's proposal for his MEPs to join a pan-European political party.

Arguments for and against are now academic, and the membership has the right to expect MEPs to abide by their decision.

Nigel Farage, with his ambitions of a career in the EU institutions for him and his closest cronies, would now appear to be totally at odds with the wishes of the membership, and with the party's raison d'etré. He might now consider resigning from the leadership, and move over to make way for somebody who does actually believe in withdrawal from the EU, and who might actually work to that end.

Party Chairman Steve Crowther has admitted in an e-mail that he "mislead" the membership over the possibilities to raise money from membership of a pan-European party. Crowther should do the honourable thing and resign - whether he is incompetent, or he deliberately mislead the party is neither here nor there.

Crowther should go. Likewise Michael "who ate all the pies?" Greaves, Farage's oafish legal adviser, who infamously claimed that UKIP members are too "naive" to understand the issue, should exit the stage.

We watch with interest what happens next. Will Farage accept the wishes of the membership he claims to be "fed up with"? Will Godfrey Bloom remain in his pan-European party? Will Stuart Agnew reject the majority opinion as he has threatened?