Nigel Farage offers Boris Johnson 'non-aggression pact' with promise to deliver him 100-seat majority
3 min read
Nigel Farage is offering Boris Johnson a “non-aggression pact” between the Tories and the Brexit Party which would deliver a “majority of 100 seats” at the next election.
The veteran Eurosceptic said if the two parties were able to agree the only way forward was leaving the EU without a deal and stand together they would be “unstoppable”.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly publicly said he would not do such a deal, but Mr Farage, has warned him he cannot win a majority without him.
Under a pact he said the Brexit Party will not stand candidates against the 28 members of the European Research Group (ERG) of hardline Brexiteers who voted down Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement.
In return Mr Farage said his party would be more likely to win Labour seats where the majority of people voted to leave the EU.
Speaking to The Sunday Times he said: “If we get an election, an alliance between Boris and myself done intelligently, with a clear message, I think we’ll be unstoppable.
“If Boris decides the only way forward, to get Brexit delivered, is through a general election offering people a clean break, in those circumstances, I’m 100% behind him wanting to win the election, there would be a non-aggression pact.”
Explaining the potential tie-up with the Tories he added: “In Pontefract against [Labour MP] Yvette Cooper we are going to be the challengers.
“If there is not a Conservative candidate there, I believe we can beat her. Equally, there’ll be seats in the west of England, where the Liberal Democrats are clearly on the rise, posing a serious challenge to incumbent Conservatives. In seats like that we would say ‘fine, off you go’. ”
He added he will say to Mr Johnson’s team: "f you do this, between us we’ll have a majority of between 70 and 100 seats.”
Meanwhile some of the rebel Tory MPs expelled by Mr Johnson are said to be in talks with the Liberal Democrats about an election pact of their own.
The Sunday Times is reporting that there could be a deal where former Cabinet minister Rory Stewart stands as an independent MP but agrees to accept a soft whip from Jo Swinson’s party in exchange for them not fielding a candidate against him in his Penrith seat.
Sources have told the newspaper similar conversations between the Lib Dems and former universities minister Sam Gyimah, former business minister Margot James and former attorney-general Dominic Grieve have all taken place.
The source added: “There have been all sorts of conversations going on around what happens in an election.”
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