Betting spree ignites following Bill Etheridge’s pledge of support
The 2018 UK Independence Party leadership election was triggered when Henry Bolton was removed as leader of the party following a meeting last month.
At the end of January, Gerard Batten could have been backed at 10/1 with William Hill, however those odds are a thing of the past.
Following the support from Etheridge, one bookie has cut him to as short as 7/4 to be the next UKIP leader.
Those odds could shorten even further given the support this morning, a massive 96% of bets in the market have been on Batten being voted into leadership.
Batten is currently the interim leader of UKIP, and has been the most popular bet in the market since the beginning of the year, with over 55.3% of bets being placed on him getting the job on a permanent basis.
David Kurten remains the second favourite at 5/1, with Peter Whittle narrowly behind at 6/1.
Oddschecker spokesperson George Elek said: “Following the departure of Henry Bolton, the UKIP party has been leaderless and without direction – with no clear successor available.
“Current interim-UKIP leader 64-year-old Gerard Batten is being heavily touted by punters to take up the role on a permanent basis.
“His controversy surrounding the Alexander Litvinenko case, a topical one to say the least at the moment, does not appear to have harmed his chances for election.”
