Nigel Farage open to 'non-aggression pact' with Tories if Boris Johnson commits to no-deal Brexit
3 min read
Nigel Farage has said that the Brexit Party could agree a “non-aggression pact” with the Conservatives at a snap general election, if Boris Johnson commits to leaving the EU without a deal.
The MEP suggested that his new Eurosceptic outfit could “work in tandem” with the Tories by standing down in seats where they would likely win, and vice versa.
Mr Farage insisted at a rally in London that such an alliance would be “unstoppable” and that without their help, Mr Johnson’s party would be unable to form a workable majority in the Commons.
He said: "If Boris Johnson was to summon up the courage to lead this country towards a clean-break Brexit on 31 October and if the only means of achieving that was calling a general election, which I frankly expect that it would be, if Boris Johnson is prepared to do the right thing to win our independence, then we are prepared to do the right thing and we would put country before party and we would do it every time.
"We would be prepared in those circumstances to help him, to work with him, perhaps, I don’t know in the form a non-aggression pact at the election."
The former Ukip chief also told the event that a no-deal exit is "the best deal" and "the only acceptable deal".
It comes amid speculation that a general election could be called in the autumn, in an effort to win a pro-Brexit majority that could help push Britain's exit from the bloc over the line.
The Brexit Party, which was set up earlier this year, has yet to win a seat in the Commons, but finished top of the pile among UK parties at the EU elections in May, while the Conservatives finished fifth.
Mr Johnson has committed to taking the UK out of the EU "do or die" on the Halloween deadline, however is currently pushing for a new deal with the bloc to remove the Irish backstop.
Mr Farage added: “The truth is even if Boris went down that route [of committing to a no-deal exit] the Conservative Party on their own have lost so much trust in this country that the only way they can do it, the only way they can win a workable majority to get this country free is with our help and support.
“We will not get a genuine Brexit without the Brexit Party being involved and we are ready to play our part in the destiny of this country."
Elsewhere Mr Farage hit out at “out of touch” opposition party leaders, as they meet to discuss how best to prevent the UK leaving without an agreement.
He added: "The truth of it is the Remain side may have lots of political parties, but for the Leave side, a Johnson government committed to doing the right thing and the Brexit Party working in tandem would be unstoppable, would deliver a big parliamentary majority and would let this country free."
Responding to the comments, Naomi Smith from the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign said: "Farage is keeping the Prime Minister's feet to the fire and that should worry all of us.
"If the Brexit Party works with the Tories, no matter how informally, they could win big.
"To counter this move, Remain parties must work together. Both in terms of blocking No Deal and preventing a general election returning pro-Brexit MPs.
"If MPs don't work together, they could face the most damaging form of Brexit imaginable."
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