Boris Johnson's sister Rachel unveiled as EU elections candidate for Change UK
2 min read
Change UK has unveiled Rachel Johnson - sister of Tory Brexiteer Boris - as a candidate in the European elections.
The Remain-backing journalist will stand in the South West region for the newly-formed party, also known as the Independent Group.
She told the Evening Standard she did not want to see Brexit “rubbing out my children’s prospects and chances of living and travelling and working in Europe”.
And, hitting out at Leave campaigners, she added: “These are chances that the politicians who decided to campaign to Leave have enjoyed themselves.
“It is simply not fair - and sometimes one has to stand up and be counted. It is now that time for me.”
The move comes after Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party unveiled Annunziata Rees-Mogg, an ex-Conservatice candidate and sister of fellow Conservative Eurosceptic Jacob, as one of its own candidates for the EU-wide poll.
Change UK revealed its clutch of candidates for the upcoming May poll at its official European election launch in Bristol on Tuesday, including former BBC Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler.
Speaking at the launch, interim leader Heidi Allen - a former Tory MP - said 3,700 applications had been received to stand for the party, and described the group as the “home of the Remain alliance.”
Ms Allen said: “With Parliament in deadlock and European elections scheduled for 23 May, we are here to say: we stand ready.
“Because these elections are a chance to send the clearest possible message: we demand a People’s Vote and the right to remain, and campaign to remain in the European Union."
Speaking about the new candidates, which also include former Conservative cabinet minister Stephen Dorrell, she added: “Today I am very proud, like a proud Tigger mum.
“From all walks of life right across the UK - teachers, nurses, leading professionals in their fields, carers, ex-armed forces, public sector, private sector people who are new to politics and disillusioned, seasoned politicians who have all concluded the same thing: that the old political parties have let them down.
“This is no rebel alliance - this is the home of the Remain alliance.”
Mr Esler, a former BBC news anchor, meanwhile accused arch-Brexiteers Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg for "selling the same old snake oil".
He added: "I’m sick of it. They claim to speak for the British people, they do not. They stole our patriotism and I want it back…
"I have joined this Remain alliance for three reasons – stop Brexit, fix Britain and move on to reform the EU."
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