If the Conservatives aren’t careful, their next leader could be their last. William Hague.
In 2008, Ukip were up the creek without the proverbial paddle. The party which had demonstrated so much promise was dying on its feet.
The then Party Chairman and the General Secretary launched an extremely successful campaign to turn the party's fortunes around which largely put a stop to the traditional infighting; stupid remarks in front of journalists; idiotic vote-losing policies.
The ship was steadied to such an extent that Ukip began to show organisation; finally recognised that winning council seats was critical; began to show itself as a viable political party; did not present national issues to local voters.
Against this backdrop, Ukip started to take local seats on a regular basis and was considered by voters to be a party which could be supported irrespective of previous voting history.
The monomaniacs who had joined the party to fight for unimportant, single issues were largely sidelined.
The entire structure showed professionalism - and Nigel Farage did not seem to be making too many gaffes. He was even talked about as being a viable national leader.
A true conviction politician and surely the best orator of our generation - we all enjoyed a spark of hope. Nigel however, maybe through no fault of his own - maybe - made far too many unnecessary enemies. He was never really one to pour oil onto troubled waters.
The party could be split into pro and anti Nigel camps. His skills for healing rifts were not legendary.
The solutions brought by the Party Chairman and GenSec were perhaps little more than sticking plaster attempts to create unity where none had previously existed before BUT the plasters held and when Ukip won the Euro Elections in 2014 - they were on a roll. A bandwagon was begun which forced Cameron into granting a referendum on the EU.
When I told people that it was theoretically possible to envisage a Ukip government - many nodded sagely.
When we look at the political chaos which reigns today - the Ukip which entered the 2014 Euro elections really could have made a tilt for power.
The departure of the two who had saved the party from 2008 onwards to the European Parliament was, in my view, the biggest single tragedy of politics in my lifetime.
There was nobody else capable of keeping a steady ship.
The sticking plasters had at least been put in place with medical efficiency and needed to be followed up with some firm bandaging.
This did not happen. The party began to break up into factions; vote-losing policies were considered acceptable; Nigel became far too easy a target for an aggressive media. All the major gains began to disintegrate.
Extremely poor leadership decisions were rife amongst assorted Nigel replacements - and the moist sticking plasters had nothing to grip. They began to come apart.
Instead of unity being pursued, far too many members began to play their own personal games. Human nature was seen at its worst as self-interest came to the fore.
Members left the party in droves. I think that around 91% departed, if memory serves.
Since the party's inception, Ukip had wisely been constitutionally non-racist. For example, unlike the Labour Party, anyone coming from groups such as the BNP was automatically banned from membership.
In recent years, desperate to increase party numbers, it appears that a blind eye was turned to the history of potential new members. Hard right infiltration began and propelled most remaining moderates - MEPs included - from the party.
In the UK - it is impossible for a hard right party to succeed at the ballot box. I have always stated that Ukip needed to become a non-Tory, centre-right, populist party if it were to have any hope of forming a government. Tragically, the party could not do this.
Perhaps failure was inevitable in a party only ever united on a single issue. Too many with varied political backgrounds could seldom agree across any broader range of possibilities.
It has always been said that 'you cannot herd cats'. This truism, sadly, is the reason why we are left with assorted centre-left parties where we may cast our votes.
Well. Not me, babe!
Are the Tories capable of returning to their roots? - No. I no longer see this as a possibility. William Hague clearly feels the same.
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