COMING UP INTO THE WORLD: Ukip Are Born(01 of22)
Open Image ModalGOING DOWN: 1997 General Election(02 of22)
Open Image ModalUkip fielded 193 candidates but only got 0.3% of the vote, losing out to the just as Europhobic Referendum Party, led by billionaire publisher and politician, Sir James Goldsmith, (left), who got 2.6%.Sked resigned saying Ukip "they are racist and have been infected by the far-right", a reputation they have yet to shake.He was replaced with Michael Holmes (credit:PA)
GOING UP: James Goldsmith Dies(03 of22)
Open Image ModalThe unfortunate death of the rival party leader led to the dissolution of the Referendum Party with many members subsequently joining Ukip. (credit:Alamy)
GOING UP: 1999 Elections To European Parliament(04 of22)
Open Image ModalUkip got 7% of the vote and gained three MEPs.This jolly looking chap, Jeffrey Titford, was one of them. (credit:PA)
GOING DOWN: Holmes Resignation And 2001 General Election(05 of22)
Open Image ModalHolmes was forced to resign in 200 due to a conflict between himself and the Ukip's National Executive Committee.Titford became leader.In the following year's general election Ukip failed to gain any seats with a 1.5% of the vote.(The man pictured is not a member Ukip but a pictorial representation of the misery felt by the party during this difficult time) (credit:Alamy)
GOING STEADY: Knapman Takes Over(06 of22)
Open Image ModalTitford decided he didn't really like being leader and so was replaced with this fellow, Roger Knapman in 2002.Knapman attracted some attention in 2006 when he employed a team of Polish builders to renovate his home despite his anti-immigration stance. (credit:PA)
GOING WAY UP: 2004 European Elections (07 of22)
Open Image ModalBuilding on their previous European success, Ukip went on to gain a (in relative terms) massive 12 MEPs in 2004. Godfrey Bloom, seen here far-right, immediately triggered a storm of protest over women's rights within hours of starting work in the European Parliament. After being given a place on the Parliament's Women's Rights Committee he told journalists he wanted to deal with women's issues because "I just don't think they clean behind the fridge enough", adding: "I am here to represent Yorkshire women who always have dinner on the table when you get home. I am going to promote men's rights." What a charming gent... (credit:PA)
GOING DOWN TO THE PERMA-TANNED BOTTOM: Kilroy(08 of22)
Open Image ModalGOING UP PAST THE TORIES: Hartlepool By-Election(09 of22)
Open Image ModalGOING DOWN TO THE BEACH: 2005 General Election(10 of22)
Open Image ModalUkip were rubbish.They didn't gain a single seat and their best result was third place in Boston & Skegness. (credit:Alamy)
GOING UP. OR DOWN DEPENDING ON YOUR OPINION OF THIS MAN: Nigel Farage(11 of22)
Open Image ModalSeptember 2006 saw the introduction of Farage as leader. (credit:PA)
GOING UP WITH BAGS OF CASH(12 of22)
Open Image ModalIn 2009, Tory party donor extraordinaire, Stuart Wheeler, jumped ships and gave Ukip £100,000.He was, rather unsurprisingly, expelled from the Conservative party for his treachery. (credit:Alamy)
GOING DOWN WITH SOME DODGY FRIENDS: Geert Widlers(13 of22)
Open Image ModalIn 2009 Farage stood down as Ukip leader so he could contest the seat of Buckingham.Lord Pearson was chosen to replace him.Here is Pearson at a joint press conference with well-known Dutch extreme right-winger and general Islam hater, Geert Wilders.#justsayin (credit:PA)
GOING UP THROUGH THE POLITICAL GLASS CEILING: 2009 European Elections(14 of22)
Open Image ModalA climate where the electorate were slightly miffed at a banking crisis at the amount some MPs were claiming on expenses was a bonus for Ukip.They gained 16.5 per cent of the vote, or to put it another way, they beat the government. (credit:PA)
GOING DOWN AGAIN: 2010 General Election(15 of22)
Open Image ModalFarage lost to John Bercow.Once again, Ukip failed to win a single seat.This disaster however was slightly overshadowed by... (credit:PA)
GOIND DOWN RATHER QUICKLY AND WITH A SLIGHT BUMP: Plane Crash(16 of22)
Open Image ModalFarage was a passenger in this plane when it crashed on the morning of the elections. He broke his sternum, ribs and punctured a lung.The cause of the crash was put down to the Ukip banner the plane was towing getting caught in aircraft's tail. (credit:PA)
GOING UP A LITTLE BIT: Farage Re-Election(17 of22)
Open Image ModalFarage was re-elected in August 2010.Lord Pearson said: "The UKIP crown returns to its rightful owner".How nice of him... (credit:PA)
GOING UP HIGHER THAN THEY'D EVER BEEN BEFORE: Rotherham By-Election(18 of22)
Open Image ModalUKIP's Jane Collins came second in the 2012 vote with Ukip's highest ever share in a parliamentary election. (credit:PA)
GOING UP SO MUCH IT MADE FARAGE DO THIS FACE: Eastleigh By-Election(19 of22)
Open Image ModalCometh the hour, cometh the grin.This was a huge coup for Ukip as they took second place in front of Labour and the Conservatives in 2013. (credit:PA)
GOING DOWN WITH RACIAL PREJUDICE: Election Candidate Scandals(20 of22)
Open Image ModalFLYING HIGH: Local Elections 2013(21 of22)
Open Image ModalHe's right to look chuffed with himself.Ukip came second in the South Shields by-election and got 26 per cent of the vote in the local elections.The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both lost seats.The biggest surge by a fourth placed party since WWII does not bode well for the coalition in 2015. (credit:PA)
(22 of22)
Open Image ModalThis slide has nothing to do with anything but this picture can NOT go to waste... (credit:Getty Images)