CLACTON UKIP looks set for another departure after the June 23 EU Referendum.
Branch chairman Anthony Finnegan-Butler says he will “probably go” citing ill-health, including lung cancer and general heart surgery.
His comments follow resignation threats he made in emails leaked to the Clacton Gazette, Tendring District and Essex county councillors, plus MP Douglas Carswell.
An email trail between several UKIP officials refers to the distribution of campaign literature and is headed "the utter chaos."
“UKIP have gone from incompetence to "bloody awful” the 71-year-old party activist said in one email.
“In 20 years in UKIP , fighting my own general election I have never seen such dis-organisation, If this fight was not so important to me and my members I would go now, but be informed after 23rd June my resignation will be with you,” he said in another.
But on Friday, the start of the official Vote Leave campaign, the UKIP stalwart put down his earlier comments on “the rantings of a frustrated person who wanted his leaflets.”
“I have 50,000 now, I’m happy,” he said.
Mr Finnegan-Butler said he only became branch chairman of the party this year to fight the referendum.
“To me my job is to get the leaflets out, get people engaged,” he said.
The Frinton resident said UKIP locally has a team of 50 set up in five areas of the constituency, with an organiser in charge of 6-12. The referendum campaign would feature three sets of leaflets, which with Clacton having 44,000 homes, would mean 132,000 leaflets having to be delivered overall.
Campaigners will be delivering UKIP leaflets on Saturday August 23 and there would also be “Action Days” also featuring allies from the now-official Vote Leave campaign.
Clacton MP Douglas Carswell has also been spending Saturdays leafletting on the issue.