Who Is Henry Bolton, Ukip's New Leader And Defeater Of Anne Marie Waters

'A case of better the devil I've never heard of.'
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Henry Bolton’s victory in the Ukip leadership race over the “Islam is evil” candidate, Anne Marie Waters, had many political observers breathing a sigh of relief, but also questioning, who is he?

.@_HenryBolton conducts his first press conference as leader #forthenation pic.twitter.com/6TYpfujwvM

— UKIP (@UKIP) September 29, 2017

1st Question Mr Bolton. "WHO ARE YOU?"

— NoPicAllowed (@NoThoughtReqd) September 29, 2017

Henry Bolton wins #Ukip contest. Such a relief. A case of better the devil I've never heard of.

— Tim Stanley (@timothy_stanley) September 29, 2017

Wikipedia is going to have to keep its Henry Bolton article given how many hits it must be getting right now pic.twitter.com/vDaiXqizUN

— Asa Bennett (@asabenn) September 29, 2017

Predictable pic.twitter.com/0285M9NqIF

— Rob White (@RobWhite_UK) September 29, 2017

Anne Marie Waters comes second in UKIP leadership race, some bloke called Henry Bolton wins it.

— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) September 29, 2017

This month's leader of UKIP is someone called Henry Bolton, of whom commentators are already saying "Who?"

— Wings Over Scotland (@WingsScotland) September 29, 2017

Bolton won almost 30 percent of the vote. Waters gained just over 21 percent.

Here’s what we know about Bolton the bolter.

1) He’s an ex-soldier.

2) He had the backing of Nigel Farage.

3) He stood for Ukip as police and crime commissioner in 2016 and came second.

4) He used to be a Liberal Democrat.

5) He doesn’t have a lot of Twitter followers.

UKIP's new leader, Henry Bolton, used to be a Lib Dem! He's a Sandhurst grad and ex copper/army intelligence officer

— Rachel Wearmouth (@REWearmouth) September 29, 2017

Henry Bolton has less followers than me on twitter & I'm a drunken mentalist messing around.. #UKIP really missed this chance to identify. pic.twitter.com/8BJ8nx07cC

— Nock (@nick240v) September 29, 2017

This is not him - this is singer Michael Bolton. He has much longer hair.

This is him pic.twitter.com/wqUA6VNaLW

— Phil Murray (@SkelMawhrin) September 29, 2017

Henry is not believed to be related to Michael Bolton.

Bolton, the singer, has sold more than 75 million records, recorded eight top 10 albums and had two number-one singles on the Billboard charts. He has also won multiple American Music Awards and Grammy Awards.

Much is known of Michael Bolton.

Henry Bolton’s musical background is unknown at this time.

However, Henry Bolton is quite the actor, as this clip of “bloopers” shows.

#BlooperReel 😀 - #UKIP #UKIPleadership - For more information on Henry Bolton's campaign for UKIP Leader go to https://t.co/r8EjNAgTcf pic.twitter.com/YPoO9TsZQK

— Henry Bolton OBE🇬🇧 (@_HenryBolton) September 4, 2017

Some commenters, well one, was genuinely disappointed Waters did not win.

Henry Bolton elected UKIP leader , Ann Marie Waters second , UKIP elected another unknown no hoper . Just when we needed a real UKIP.

— michael allen (@mikelallen6) September 29, 2017

Another questioned whether Bolton could be trusted.

Never trust the Bolton's #henrybolton #UKIP pic.twitter.com/xTboN3e8Dk

— TheGeographer (@c9shark) September 29, 2017

While a third was impressed with how quickly Bolton had stepped into his new role answering key questions surrounding the party’s branding.

I just emailed Henry Bolton to ask why they chose a lion for the new #UKIP logo. He replied straight away and said its Narnia Business...

— And Purnell (@andpurnell) September 29, 2017

Speaking at the UKIP conference in Torquay, Bolton urged party members to “rally around the party”, saying: “Without being united, we cannot lead.”

He praised the other six candidates and said he hoped they could continue to work together.

“Today is not only a crucial day for our party, it is a critical day for our country.”

Result

Henry Bolton - 3,874 (29.9 percent)

Anne Marie Waters - 2,755 (21.3 percent)

David Kurten - 2201 (17 percent)

John Rees Evans - 2010 (16.4 percent)

Peter Whittle - 1,413 (10.9 percent)

Jane Collins - 566 (4.4 percent)

Aidan Powlesland - 85 (0.65 percent)

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