General election: Nigel Farage urges Tories to stand down in Labour seats they can 'never win'
Senior Conservatives have told The Brexit Party its offer not to stand in 317 seats is not good enough.
Tuesday 12 November 2019 16:17, UK
Nigel Farage has called on the Conservatives to stand down candidates in seats he claims they can "never win".
The Brexit Party leader made a major climbdown on Monday, announcing he would not stand candidates in any seat which was won by the Conservatives at the last general election.
But he has refused to budge further, as senior Tories urge him to consider taking out his candidates in marginals, where the Conservatives just trail Labour.
Instead, he took the fight back to the Conservatives, telling them to stand down candidates in seats they're unlikely to poll well in, meaning more people will vote for the Brexit Party.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said: "I've just gifted the Conservative Party nearly two dozen seats and I did it because I believe in Leave.
"Now, if they believed in Leave, what they would do is stand aside in some seats in Labour areas where the Conservative Party has not won for 100 years and will never win.
"I think what you're seeing from this reaction is, for the Conservative Party, it is about them as a party, not about delivering Brexit."
Elsewhere on day seven of the campaign trail:
- Labour was hit by a cyber attack but no information was stolen
- Labour announced its "radical" plans for adult education for lifelong learning
- Boris Johnson chaired a Cobra meeting after the floods in Yorkshire
- Jo Swinson visited volunteers in Stainforth, North Yorkshire, who are coping with flood relief
- The Lib Dem candidate against Boris Johnson in Uxbridge stood aside for family reasons
Brexit Party spokesman Tom Bewick told Kay Burley@Breakfast: "Many of the seats we are standing in have not voted Conservative in 100 years
"Theresa May tried this strategy in 2017 thinking she could break down the red wall and discovered there are voters who are pro-Brexit but will never vote Conservative, but they will vote for The Brexit Party."
He said their tactic was to ensure there was a "Brexit majority in parliament".
Richard Tice, chairman of The Brexit Party and Hartlepool prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC), told Sky News the policy would help all Brexiteers, and would "make sure there is no second referendum and so that Brexit gets done".
The mixed reaction within the Brexit Party of the news to stand down candidates continued, with one of the South East England MEPs claiming she would not be voting.
Alexandra Phillips tweeted: "I will be one of millions of people who will not vote at all in the General Election. That breaks my heart. I have voted in every election since I was 18 and been involved in politics for over a decade. And I have been disenfranchised by my own party."
Former Conservative minister Iain Duncan Smith is among those suggesting Mr Farage hasn't done enough.
He told The Sun: "It's a good start, but if they want to deliver Brexit they've still got to focus on the fact that if they divide the vote they'll let Labour in.
"He's going to have to go further."
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While Prime Minister Boris Johnson and senior cabinet ministers said they welcomed Mr Farage's decision not to field candidates in 317 Tory seats, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called it an alliance.
Speaking at an event in Blackpool, Mr Corbyn said: "I think what we have before us is an alliance which is Donald Trump and Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson.
"We know where that alliance is designed to take us - into a sweetheart trade deal with the United States that will threaten all of our regulations, all of our conditions and threaten our public services."
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: "These talks show that Nigel Farage is pulling the strings behind the scenes. He is the puppet master in Boris Johnson's Brexit horror show.
"Every vote for the Conservatives is a vote for an extreme Brexit agenda backed by Nigel Farage."
The Brexit Party cancelled a planned rally in London for Tuesday, saying it had already made all the statements it wanted to.
The Brexit Election on Sky News - the fastest results and in-depth analysis on mobile, TV and radio.
- Watch Dermot Murnaghan live from 9pm on 12 December
- See the exit poll at 10pm
- Watch KayBurley@Breakfast election special on 13 December
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