Resignations and rumoured deals
The Brexit Party is considering withdrawing hundreds of general election candidates in what would be a major boost to Boris Johnson’s hopes of winning a majority.
Splits have emerged in Nigel Farage’s party over its election strategy, with several senior figures backing the ‘‘sensible’’ option of focusing its resources on a small number of Leavevoting Labour seats that it stands a realistic chance of winning.
The prime minister has repeatedly refused offers from Farage of an electoral pact, but one senior Brexit Party MEP suggested the party could field as few as 20 candidates, while other sources suggested the figure would be closer to 100.
Farage, who previously suggested he would field 600
candidates, said last night he was still ‘‘working through’’ his options, but there are fears at the top of the party that splitting the Leave vote in marginal constituencies could lead to Jeremy Corbyn entering No 10.
It came as Nicky Morgan, the Culture Secretary, and Amber Rudd, the former home secretary, led an exodus of Europhile MPs who will not stand in the general election, leading Brexiteers to say that they had ‘‘jumped before they were pushed’’.
They are among 31 Remainvoting
MPs in Leave-supporting constituencies who are standing down in a clear-out that could significantly shift the balance of power between Leave and Remain in Parliament.
Downing Street is now scrambling to replace dozens of departing MPs before the campaign officially gets under way next week.
Today, on the day Johnson had promised Britain would leave the EU, he will blame Corbyn for causing ‘‘more dither and delay’’.
He will effectively fire the starting gun on the election campaign by visiting a school, a hospital and a police unit to highlight the Tories’ domestic agenda. Speaking ahead of the visits, Johnson said: ‘‘Today should have been the day that Brexit was delivered and we finally left the EU. But, despite the great new deal I agreed with the EU, Jeremy Corbyn refused to allow that to happen.’’
Parties on both sides of the Brexit debate are considering the options of pacts and tactical voting as they seek to secure a parliament in their favour.
Labour was accused of putting the Union under threat for the sake of electoral gain by cutting a ‘‘backroom deal’’ with the SNP to allow them a second Scottish independence referendum.
Corbyn refused to rule out a fresh border poll, in what was seen as an invitation to Nicola Sturgeon to form a coalition with Labour in the event of a hung parliament.
Best for Britain, a Remainsupporting campaign group, launched a website to advise Remain supporters how to vote tactically, as it announced that a seat-by-seat poll of 46,000 voters had concluded Johnson was in line to win a majority of 44.
Senior Brexit Party sources, meanwhile, have told The Daily
Telegraph that some members have been ‘‘fighting hard’’ to convince the leadership not to stand against Tory candidates and instead focus on Labour areas with a high Leave vote.
One source said: ‘‘The biggest danger is that we play party politics in order to destroy the Conservative Party and throw away Brexit in the process.’’
John Longworth, a Brexit Party MEP and chairman of Leave Means Leave, claimed the party might contest just ‘‘20 or 30’’ seats, but admitted the strategy was ‘‘in flux’’. Another party insider put the figure at 100.
The party’s prospective candidates were sent an email yesterday telling them: ‘‘Message from HQ . . . important. Please go dark on social media. Do not respond to any questions about where we are standing, what the strategy or plan is from now. Things will be made clear very soon.’’ – Telegraph Group