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On Sunday David Campbell-Bannerman was pledging his loyalty to Nigel Farage and expressing the hope that he would still play a leading role in UKIP.

Now back in Brussels he's discovering that when you stand for the leadership and lose, you pay a price.

For the last four years the MEP for the East has been deputy leader of the party, admired and respected for his strategic thinking and for his work on formulating policies.

He wrote UKIP's manifesto for the General Election which saw the party increase its share of the vote by 50%

But the new leader has decided not to re-appoint him. Instead, Nigel Farage has told Mr Campbell Bannerman to go out and do some fundraising.

"I've said to David go back and do a good job in the Eastern Region but above all try and help me do the one thing we need more than anything else - to raise some serious money for the party," he said.

So is he punishing Mr Campbell-Bannerman for standing against him? "No. Look, it's a free world, we had one or two disagreements during the election campaign but we're both on the same side."

But close friends of Mr Farage say he is still angry with Mr Campbell-Bannerman. They say he thought it disloyal that someone who had been his deputy was so critical of his style of leadership.

"No-one messes around with Nigel and gets away with it," says one angry supporter of Mr Farage (or words to that effect, as this is a family blog). "He will have to work very hard to redeem himself with the party."

Mr Campbell-Bannerman has been in politics for long enough to cope with the odd hard knock. He seems prepared to eat humble pie and is already talking about what he can do to help the party.

"I'm obviously going to spend a lot more time working in the East of England and doing fundraising," he said. "But I'll also have more time for Positive Vision (his project that advances the case for withdrawal from the EU) and that's far bigger than just UKIP".

What made the leadership election so bitter was that Mr Campbell-Bannerman campaigned for the party to be more sensible and not rely on publicity stunts and soundbites. That was seen as a direct criticism of Nigel Farage's style of leadership.

The Eastern MEP does not regret his campaign.

"I think a lot of my arguments were taken on board, and I do think the party will change," he muses.

And interestingly, Mr Farage admits that he will be changing his style of leadership:

"I won't apologise for using soundbites - they work. But when it comes to stunts, I suspect my last stunt was getting in an aeroplane and nearly getting killed and that has perhaps calmed me down a little bit.

"I will be more serious, the party will be more serious but we're going to have a laugh and a joke along the way. That's what makes us British!"

So Nigel Farage is clearly back at the helm, his former deputy out in the cold. But UKIP does not have many strategists or thinkers, Mr Campbell-Bannerman still has a lot to offer the party and the new leader may be turning to him more than he's expecting.

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