Henry Bolton has been ousted as Ukip leader after party members backed a motion of no confidence in him.

At a crisis meeting in Birmingham on Saturday, activists voted by 867 to 500 against his leadership of the party.

The move leaves Ukip in another period of uncertainty. Bolton, who was elected last September, was the fourth leader of the beleaguered party in 18 months, following Nigel Farage’s exit after the EU referendum.

The party announced Gerard Batten MEP would take over as interim leader.

He told members at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) they had made the right decision.

“We have had many crises in Ukip and I think this one today was about whether we have a future or not. I believe you have made the best decision that you could in the circumstances.”

Bolton attempted to cling on to the leadership despite a no-confidence vote by the ruling national executive committee and a revolt by several senior figures in the party in protest at his relationship with model Jo Marney.

He said he still has “strong affections” for his former girlfriend who sent offensive messages about Meghan Markle, and compared the scrutiny of his private life to that faced by Princess Diana.

Speculation is now mounting over whether Farage will return to the fray. Suzanne Evans, a senior Ukip figure, told the Press Association that it was crunch time for the party and that Farage should return to lead it.

“He really needs to step up to the plate now – he helped create this mess that we are in, he needs to help us get out of it,” she said.

Bolton has suggested he would compete once more for the top job and said after the vote: “I have not finished in politics yet.’’

Ukip, which has no MPs, controls one council in Britain and saw its vote share collapse in the last general election from 12.6% to 1.8%.

The party, which is facing financial ruin after a judge ruled it must contribute towards a £660,000 legal bill following a defamation action brought against one of its MEPs by three Labour MPs, will face a fresh leadership election within 90 days.

Outgoing chairman Paul Oakden said before the result that he viewed the EGM as a success because unlike the last one, no one had died. A member of the party died of a cardiac arrest in 2000.