This was actually the first major conflict within UKIP, the main cause of instability in the party before 2006 and which had aftershocks all the way to 2010. Many of the very early founders of the party (back to when it was the 'Anti-Federalist League') were a mixed bag of libertarian eurosceptic businessmen and academics. The party did crap, couldn't compete with other single-issue parties like the Referendum Party and was going nowhere
Farage's first term as leader resulted in lots of socially conservative policies, trying to take advantage of the liberal Cameron agenda to win disaffected right-wing Tories. Most of what we would now call 'old UKIP' policies are actually '06 vintage - grammar schools, immigration cuts, tax cuts, anti-green agenda etc.
This swing to the right horrified many of the originals. They saw it as a recipe for disaster where UKIP would become toxic and end up as an extremist right-wing party competing with the BNP for handfuls of votes. Alan Sked the founder alleged that Farage was turning it into an identity cult, that the BNP and National Front were actively infiltrating and that there would be a pact between the two at the next election that would finally doom UKIP.
What actually happened was that Farage purged all BNP-affiliated members and ruled out a pact. In 2009 the BNP crashed with no survivors anyway as UKIP's fire rose - all according to Nige's plan. Perhaps the BNP felt in charge, but they had no power over him.
So then UKIP studied their gains in '09 and noticed their rising appeal among the white working class. The second policy shift was prompted: aiming to become a credible alternative to Labour in working-class areas ('Red UKIP') and to target local councils harder. This was clearly successful: constant gains in locals, victory in the European election and a best-ever GE result.
Anyway the point of all this is that Carswell is actually classical UKIP - in the sense of being ancient history. He's the broadly libertarian ex-Tory that would have fitted in well any time before '09, but he can't fit in with a UKIP that's trying to cut across party lines and whose best line of attack is now kicking Labour hard in the North. He could still play a part in winning the east coast if he wasn't so insistent on having it his way all the time. I don't know if he seriously thought he could turn back the clock for the party, but Farage and his loyalists were never going to let that happen.
Reckless seemed to understand much better than he did the changing nature of the party - that's why Mark's got a plum position helping fight leftists in Wales while Dougie's heading for the chop.
The toxicity argument was done with by the time Carswell joined. The Farage faction won, which accepted that if UKIP was ever to be listened to it had to take positions nobody else held that could well offend, but tried to offset that with rigorous vetting and swift ejection of anyone bringing the party into disrepute. The founders hated that but history has proved Farage right.
As long as you support the existence of your native customs then it's not crucial that you practice all of them, but it's definitely not optimal.
discouragement
