BORIS TORPE DOES FARAGE
Brexit Party leader rejected as not a ‘fit and proper person’
THE Tories last night emphatically ruled out an electoral pact with Nigel Farage, saying he is not a ‘fit and proper person’ and should not be ‘anywhere near government’.
Mr Farage yesterday offered Boris Johnson a deal, suggesting his Brexit Party and the Conservatives should not stand against each other in a general election.
He warned the Prime Minister he would fail to get a majority without a truce, saying they could either be ‘best friends or worst enemies’.
But Downing Street immediately rejected a pact and launched an incendiary attack on Mr Farage that would appear to torpedo any prospect of a deal in the future.
Mr Johnson’s spokesman said flatly: ‘ The Prime Minister will not be doing a deal with Nigel Farage.’ A Tory source added that Mr Farage and former Ukip donor Arron Banks were not ‘fit and proper persons’ and ‘should not be anywhere near government’.
The Brexit Party leader last night hit back, saying: ‘I do not want a job in government, I just want to put country before party and deliver a clean-break Brexit. Does the Downing Street spokesman want to play petty party politics or deliver on the wishes of 17.4million people? It’s time they made up their minds.’
He questioned why the Tories had brought Mr Banks into the matter. The controversial insurance tycoon bankrolled Ukip, but is not a member of the Brexit Party.
Mr Farage said he was ‘ struck by the tone’ of the Tory source’s description of him and Mr Banks as not ‘fit and proper’ to work with the Conservatives.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Neil Show he is ‘trying to offer a solution’ to the Brexit impasse and hopes the Tories will reconsider.
Last night, a poll showed that despite Downing Street’s opposition, both Tory and Brexit Party voters believed they should strike an electoral pact.
The YouGov survey found 60 per cent of those who intended to vote Tory were in favour of a deal, with 23 per cent against. Of those planning to back Mr Farage’s party, 70 per cent wanted an agreement, with 17 per cent opposed.
Last night, former Brexit minister Steve Baker questioned No 10’s judgment over the prospect of a pact and warned it was hard to see how Mr Johnson could win a majority without cutting a deal with Mr Farage. Mr Baker, chairman of the European Research Group of Tory MPs, said the Brexit Party contained ‘many high-quality people’ who were natural Conservatives, including party chairman Richard Tice.
He added: ‘I am still waiting for someone to explain to me how we win a general election and reunite the Conservative coalition without committing to some sort of arrangement – even an informal one – with the Brexit Party.’ Mr Farage yesterday proposed a ‘non-aggression pact’ under which his party would not stand against sitting Conservative MPs or in target seats the Tories are hoping to take from the Liberal Democrats. In return, the Brexit Party leader said Mr Johnson would have to agree to stand aside in dozens of Labour-held seats in Wales, the Midlands and the North.
Mr Farage said he would only do a deal if the Prime Minister promised not to attempt to bring back a tweaked version of Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement.
He added: ‘If we stand against them, they cannot win a majority. We would finish up with another hung Parliament and months more of this bizarre theatre we have seen recently in the House of Commons.’
Mr Farage, who has unsuccessfully stood to become an MP seven times, said he would make an eighth attempt but has not yet decided on a constituency where he will run.
However, he stressed he did not want to become a minister and
‘Shouldn’t be anywhere near government’