Nigel Farage starts his new term as Ukip leader today after taking the position for the second time in 2010. Find out how the party has changed over the course of his tenure

Cast your mind back to 2010 - Ukip had got a disappointingly low showing in the general election and Nigel Farage, who had amazingly survived a plane crash on the day of the vote, retook his former role as leader of the party after the resignation of Lord Pearson.

Farage had failed to take the Buckinghamshire seat he had stood down to campaign for despite giving one of Ukip’s better showings of that election. The momentum that seemed to come with their gains in the 2009 European vote looked like it had spluttered to a halt.

In the runup to the 2010 election, there was fear that the BNP would become a political force but not much thought was given to Ukip during or after the vote. An ICM poll in the month before Farage became leader had Ukip on just 1% - it wasn’t looking good for the party.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nigel Farage is set to run in the South Thanet seat for the 2015 general election. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

How things have changed.

Today marks the start of Farage’s new term as Ukip leader and it comes just a month after an impressive byelection victory followed up with a surge in polls. Earlier this year Ukip even topped a nationwide vote, winning more seats than any other UK party in the European parliament.

Figures from October of each year

The most recent ICM poll has Ukip on 14%. This won’t send Farage to Downing Street as Prime Minister but it implies that the party is likely to take a handful of seats next year. Given the SNP’s recent strong polls too, it looks like five party politics might be a reality in 2015.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Could the Conservatives try for a coalition with Ukip after the next election? Photograph: LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

The way in which the party has been drastically transformed during the course of Farage’s latest tenure in charge are numerous. There is even a fair argument that they are the main reason that immigration has become the most important issue for much of the electorate.

Here are four ways in which Ukip has changed under Farage:

Elected and unelected representatives

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Douglas Carswell’s defection from the Conservatives shocked Westminster and led to him being the first elected MP for Ukip. Photograph: David Levene

From being a party with “around 100” councillors, two lords and some MEPs when he took charge, Nigel Farage’s party has showed signs of becoming a real force across most tiers of government.

Their main area of political strength is the European parliament where Ukip holds more seats than any other UK party - despite their controversial voting bloc almost falling apart last month. They even got an MEP in Scotland, which is Ukip’s first major elected representative north of the border.

From the roughly 100 councillors they had in 2010, Farage’s party has more than tripled that figure through elections and defections since then. A recent report by the Local Government Chronicle revealed that 77 of the party’s 357 councillors (21.6%) had been gained through defections with the vast bulk of those being ex-Tories.

Despite all this, the most politically significant event that has taken place since Farage’s reign has been the party’s showings in byelections - culminating with its first elected MP in Douglas Carswell (Clacton).

As well as this success, the party performed much better than expected in Heyward and Middleton, as well as giving a decent showing in Newark earlier in the year.

These are byelections and as a result more susceptible to a protest vote but it makes tough reading for those trying to forecast next year’s election. Under Farage, Ukip has proved it is able to cut into the votes of all main parties and, while it may win only a handful of seats, it will probably impact the outcome of many more electoral contests.

Media coverage of the party leader

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nigel Farage has become famous for his love of ale on the campaign trail. Photograph: FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA

Marina Hyde once described Farage as the political leader she would most want to go for a pint with (which she eventually did). Although Ukip’s relationship with the media has never been rosy - the party often complains that it is being persecuted as unpleasant comments by its members are unearthed - it is plainly obvious that they are being taken much more seriously than they used to be.

Looking at the Editnet database of news stories shows how the buzz around Ukip’s leader has grown. In 2014 so far he has been included 6,454 times in news stories - that’s more than the four previous years combined. Green Party leader Natalie Bennett has featured just 128 times so far this year.

Party funding



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nigel Farage with former Ukip treasurer Stuart Wheeler who has also made some sizeable donations to the party. Photograph: Ukip/PA

In the second quarter of 2012 Ukip received 77 donations totalling £1.4m. This is the most that they have received in any quarter since Nigel Farage took over - although the data here is a little skewed.

Given that the second quarter of this year included the run up to the European election, there was always going to be a lot more money going into the party coffers as its campaign got into full swing.

However, it’s still £623,000 more than the previous quarter, and the general trend has clearly been upwards. It will be interesting to see how much money the party received in quarter three, and how it compares to what the other main parties are getting.

Membership of the party

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nigel Farage visiting the ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ installation at Tower of London. Photograph: Rob Stothard/Getty Images

Nigel Farage’s party has kept growing ever since he took power and stood at 35,000 when they released figures earlier this year. That means it is now double what it was in the year before he took charge. Good news for him given the majority of well-supported parties in the country have seen their membership numbers decline.

The party’s membership has recently broken the 40,000 mark. While its membership increase pales in comparison to the rapid rise seen by the SNP in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a similar growth for Ukip if an in/out referendum on the EU were to take place given that Farage’s party will be at the forefront of that debate.

• This article was amended on 12 November 2014 to correct the homophone pails/pales.

