A POLITICIAN who represents Hampshire is now favourite for the leadership of the UK Independence Party after the previous frontrunner was sensationally excluded from the race.

Diane James, one of the South East's MEPs, is now the favourite to take over from Nigel Farage after Steven Woolfe failed to make the shortlist for being 17 minutes late submitting his nomination papers.

Mrs James shot to prominence in 2013 when she came second to the Liberal Democrats in the Eastleigh by-election caused by the resignation of disgraced former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne, pushing the Conservatives into third place.

A former borough councillor in Surrey, she received 27.8 per cent of the vote in Eastleigh, behind Mike Thornton, and was set to contest North West Hampshire for the party in last year's general election before standing down "for personal reasons".

The row over Mr Woolfe's exclusion has led to another South East MEP, Hampshire county councillor Ray Finch, resigning from the party's National Executive Committee (NEC).

Alongside fellow NEC members Victoria Ayling and Michael McGough, who also resigned, Cllr Finch said the ''escalating megalomania'' of members of the board had been ''detrimental to the functioning of the party''.

The NEC ''has essentially usurped full governance of the party'' and is ''collectively in pursuit of oligarchy, self-promotion and cronyism'', they said.

Speaking later, Mr McGough said the party ''could be finished'' and now faced a "fight for survival".

Supporters claimed migration spokesman Mr Woolfe had been the victim of a coup led by UKIP's only MP, Douglas Carswell, and Neil Hamilton, group leader in the Welsh Assembly.

He had been installed as frontrunner after Mr Farage stood down for a second time in the wake of the European Union referendum result, in which the UK voted to leave the EU.

But the NEC voted to block Mr Woolfe's candidacy by a ''clear majority'' after he failed to submit his application on time, a spokesman said.

A UKIP spokesman said: ''By a clear majority of NEC members, Steven Woolfe MEP's application was considered to be ineligible as a result of a late submission and as such he did not meet the eligibility criteria. His membership of the party was not in question.''

Reacting to his exclusion, Mr Woolfe said he was ''extremely disappointed'' by the decision and branded the NEC ''not fit for purpose''.

UkIP has been riven by in-fighting as rival factions battle to secure control of the party.

Mr Farage has attacked NEC members as ''among the lowest grade of people I have ever met'' and has long been at odds with Mr Carswell and Mr Hamilton.