In the 2015 general election, UKIP secured over 3.8 million votes and 12.6% of the total vote, replacing the Liberal Democrats as the third most popular party, but only secured one seat. Farage announced his resignation when he did not win the South Thanet seat, but his resignation was rejected and he remained as leader. Farage was a prominent figure in the successful campaign for Brexit in the 2016 EU membership referendum. After the vote to leave the EU, Farage resigned as leader of UKIP, triggering a leadership election, but remained as an MEP. In December 2018, Farage stood down from UKIP. He returned to frontline politics by launching the Brexit Party in 2019. Drawing support from those frustrated with the delayed implementation of Brexit by Theresa May's government, the Brexit Party won the most votes in the May 2019 European elections, becoming the largest single party in the European Parliament.