Burnley's outspoken Rebecca Jane named as new leader of UK Independence Party

Rebecca, from Barrowford, who has become something of a household name in recent years, initially through her private investigator business, the Lady Detective Agency, and more recently through appearances on Big Brother and the GB News Channel, has said she is “delighted and honoured” with her first political post.

Speaking to the Burnley Express, from which she will relinquish her often controversial and divisive column due to her new position, said: “Over two years ago, I became politically homeless after being entirely dismayed and distraught at the way our current government were ‘taking care’ of our country. I went on the hunt to find a party that mirrored my very strong views, and I found my home.”

In a recent Burnley Express column, Rebecca railed against the so-called ‘woke’ culture and said in this latest interview that one of her biggest concerns was the “right to free speech”.

She has attacked climate activists as “ludicrous” and said the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic was wrong. Rebecca also scathingly dismissed new Prime Minister Liz Truss as “middle management at best”.

She said: “The climate activists are a ludicrous entitled generation of young people. We are all starting to pander to this nonsense, snowflake behaviour,” she added.

Rebecca also revealed one of her first tasks on becoming deputy leader of the UK Independence Party would be to try and unite all the fringe independent parties into one “viable independent option”.

In the current first-past-the-post system of voting in the UK, smaller parties have found it difficult to gain a foothold, but Rebecca said moving to a system of proportional representation would be like trying to re-invent the wheel and said the Conservatives and Labour would not allow it because “turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.”

She added: “My first job in my new role is to listen to every voice in the country that doesn’t echo that of the traditional norm.

“With that in mind, I directly appeal to Richard Tice, Laurence Fox, and David Kurten. If we stand alone, none of our parties stand any chance of winning a general election. Together, we stand every chance.

“Today, public trust in our government is at an all-time low. I have called out our current leaders in the national news and asked them what they are doing, and how they plan to fix the shambles they have inflicted upon the people of our nation. It isn’t in my nature to sit back and not produce solutions or act, which is why I have decided to take my stand. I cannot keep quiet any longer.

“We must not be afraid to speak. Free speech is being stifled by a select few who deploy outlandish stunts, brainwash, and cast judgement upon those who do not share the same view. The greatest generation are being silenced, which is the first thing I am here to stop.

“Humans working in politics are here for one reason only. We all have a common goal, support our people, make lives happier and healthier. If we leave the fate of those people in the current hands of the government, lives will only get worse.”