Under-fire Ukip leader Henry Bolton is set to release his blueprint for party reform at noon in a last-ditch attempt to save his political career.
Bolton, who was handed a vote of no confidence by Ukip’s ruling committee last month, will put out his proposed changes to how the party is run in a bid to win the support of rank and file members.
Bolton’s future is set to be decided at a crunch meeting in Saturday, where members will decide whether to back him as leader and adopt the new constitution, or oust him from the top job.
HuffPost UK understands Bolton’s changes to the party would see a dramatically reduced role for Ukip chairman Paul Oakden, the creation of a new Chief of Staff, and put the leader at the heart of the decision-making process on key issues.
One source said: “It’s very interesting, but is it enough to get a lot of people to get people to support him?
“We’ll have to wait and see.”
One person’s support Bolton will need if he is to persuade the membership to back his plans is former leader Nigel Farage.
The MEP and talk-show host was sent a copy of the document this morning, and is set to give his verdict on the proposals later today.
Bolton’s position has become increasingly precarious since it emerged he had left his wife for Ukip activist Jo Marney – a move which some in the party felt undermined his ‘family man’ image.
Leaked texts from Marney which contained racist and derogatory comments about Prince Harry’s fiancée Meghan Markle only added to the pressure on Bolton, who then broke up with the glamour model in order to stay on as leader and fight for his position.
Since then, he was spotted by HuffPost UK having an intimate dinner with Marney at an exclusive members-only club on the banks of the Thames.
In an interview with Andrew Marr on Sunday, Bolton said: “There are strong affections there, yes,” when asked if the relationship was back on.