"As things stand there is no longer a reason for UKIP to exist. UKIP had managed to link the issue of EU membership to immigration, and in last month's election the party went full throttle on this issue. It came up with a manifesto on immigration saying one-in, one-out, and that came across as laughable."

Wilks-Heeg said UKIP had little else to offer, and its supporters drifted back to the mainstream parties.

Whether its co-founder and most charismatic leader Nigel Farage can salvage the party's misfortunes, remains to be seen, says Wilks-Heeg.

More likely, he adds, will be UKIP waiting in the wings ready to spring into action if the Brexit process looks like failing or abandoning the very reason UKIP was created, to see a divorce between Britain and the EU.

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