Boris & Farage do Trump deal to stitch up election
Faragedrops candidates in Tory seats in Johnson ‘deal’ U-turnafter peerage offer & Trump’s call to team up
NIGEL Farage and Boris Johnson have entered into a general election “pact” to deliver a Donald Trump-inspired Brexit.
The Brexit Party chief yesterday announced his MP hopefuls would withdraw from the 317 Conservative-held seats up for grabs. He vowed to “concentrate our total effort” on winning Labour seats where voters opted to quit the EU.
Mr Farage said he changed his mind after the PM promised on Sunday to deliver a harder Brexit.
Jeremy Corbyn accused the pair of striking a “Trump Alliance” after the US president urged them to “get together” earlier this month.
The Labour leader said: “Donald Trump told Nigel Farage to make a pact with Boris Johnson. Today, Trump got his wish. This Trump alliance is Thatcherism on steroids and could send £500million a week from our NHS to big drugs companies. It must be stopped.”
Mr Farage, campaigning in Hartlepool, Co Durham, yesterday, revealed he was offered a peerage on Friday night, 48 hours before his U-turn. He denied it was behind his decision to stand down candidates, and vowed to turn down the offer.
It comes after Mr Trump said in an interview with Mr Farage this month: “I’d like to see you and Boris get together because you would really have some numbers.”
Mr Johnson, on a visit to Wolverhampton, said he had “absolutely not” done a deal. A senior Tory source said: “There is no agreement or pact with Nigel Farage”.
The PM said: “I’m glad there’s a recognition that there is only one way to get Brexit done and that is to vote for the Conservatives.”
It is understood that talks have previously taken place between major donors to their two parties.
Campaigners had warned that fielding Brexit Party candidates
against Tories in Leavesupporting areas risked splitting the Brexit vote, denying Mr Johnson a majority. But it could backfire as moderate Tories may move to Labour or Lib Dems in key seats.
Ex-Tory MP Nick Boles said: “There are millions of Conservative Remainers who were willing to back a soft Brexit. How will they react on discovering that Johnson’s Brexit deal is hard enough for Nigel Farage?”
Green MP Caroline Lucas blasted: “Nigel Farage doesn’t need to stand against Tories because under Boris Johnson the Tories have morphed into the same narrow sect as the Brexit Party.”
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said: “The Conservative Party are the Brexit Party now.”
Labour’s Keir Starmer blasted: “A vote for Boris Johnson’s Conservatives is a vote for Nigel Farage’s politics.”
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “Any form of Brexit acceptable to Nigel Farage will be deeply damaging for Scotland.”
Yesterday, Mr Farage played down
suggestions of an official pact. He said: “This announcement today prevents a second referendum from happening. That to me is the single most important thing in our country.
“So in a sense we now have a Leave alliance, it’s just done unilaterally.”
Mr Farage said he changed his mind after seeing a video on Sunday in which Mr Johnson said he would not extend the Brexit transition period, due to end December 2020, and would seek a free trade deal with the EU.
Asked by the Mirror what he had been promised in return for ditching his plan to run 600 candidates, he said: “Nothing. I have asked for nothing.”
Regarding the peerage, he said: “I
was offered one last Friday. Ridiculous – the thought they can buy me. But I’m not interested.”
Mr Farage said his party would fight 300 seats, but left the door open to ditching more if looked like the Brexit Party was a threat to the Tories ahead of December 12. Last night, a former Brexit Party candidate vowed to stand as an independent.
Neil Greaves will contest the Leavevoting Harlow constituency in Essex.
He said: “Nigel has let Brexiteers down. I don’t regard Boris Johnson’s deal as Brexit. Farage has been totally outmanoeuvred and out-negotiated.”