Shrewsbury's Suzanne Evans is one bookie's favourite for Ukip crown – but will she stand?

Mrs Evans, from Shrewsbury, who contested the town's parliamentary seat at the last General Election, is now eligible to stand for the leadership of the party, having been barred ahead of the last contest.

She has remained tight-lipped over her intentions and said she will be in discussions over the next few days.

She said: "It is really good to know that I can stand because that has now been confirmed. I am talking to the people I need to talk to, to come to a decision,"

Ukip only elected Diane James as a replacement for Nigel Farage in September, however she resigned after just 18 days in the position. Currently, Mrs Evans, who was deputy chairman of Ukip from 2014 to this year, and was credited with the work on the party's 2015 General Election manifesto, has been chalked up as 2/1 with Sun Bets, ahead of Paul Nuttall at 5/2 and Raheem Kassam at 4/1.

Mrs Evans also re-tweeted the Sun Bets account which posted a tweet saying she was an "even money favourite", and included a picture of her with Nigel Farage.

Mrs Evans was suspended from the party for six months earlier this year in a move that prevented her from standing for the leadership. She supported Lisa Duffy in her bid to become leader and in a speech said Ukip needed to end its "rugby club" and "one-man band" image, and break free from its "hard-right" politics.

The latest developments come as the MEP Stephen Woolfe capped a tumultuous few weeks for the party by resigning with a warning that it is in a "death spiral".

Mr Woolfe, who has also announced he has made a police complaint over the Strasbourg incident that left him in hospital for three days, said Ukip is "ungovernable" without Nigel Farage at the helm.

Mr Woolfe had been seen as frontrunner in the race to replace Mrs James.

But the row with Mike Hookem, and his subsequent decision to quit Ukip, has added to the turmoil in the party. In his resignation statement, Mr Woolfe painted a bleak picture of the state of the party, which is currently back under the control of Mr Farage as interim leader.

"I have come to the conclusion that UKIP is ungovernable without Nigel Farage leading it and the referendum cause to unite it.

"The way I was treated by members of my own party during the summer's leadership campaign and the events that have led up to today have all contributed to me coming to this conclusion."