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Nigel Farage: I would join Tory coalition to ensure no-deal Brexit Boris Johnson does speak to Steve Bannon, says Nigel Farage
(about 4 hours later)
The Brexit party leader, Nigel Farage, has put forward the prospect of a coalition with the Conservative party to ensure the UK leaves the EU without a deal, and offered Boris Johnson his support following his row with his partner. Boris Johnson does speak to Steve Bannon, Nigel Farage has said, increasing the pressure on the Conservative leadership frontrunner to explain his links to Donald Trump’s controversial former campaign manager.
“I’d do a deal with the devil to get a proper, clean Brexit,” Farage told TalkRadio. “Steve likes to be seen at the centre of the action. He knows Boris, he speaks to Boris. Steve speaks to virtually everybody,” Farage told a press conference when asked what he knew of Johnson’s links to Bannon.
Asked about the prospect of an electoral pact, he said: “If Brexit is not delivered, there might be some local deals done here and there, but if the Conservative party drop the ball on this then they’re toast.” The Brexit party leader said: “I’ve known Steve Bannon since 2012. There’s no great secret about that. Boris, of course, got to know Bannon when he was foreign secretary, when he was visiting Washington and going into the West Wing, and that’s how those two got to know each other.”
He also pointedly praised Johnson, claiming many Eurosceptics had joined the Conservative party in the past few months to ensure he became prime minister. And Farage said Johnson would be hailed as “an all-time national hero” if he managed to face down parliament by delivering a no-deal Brexit by 31 October. Farage’s comments follow the emergence of video footage in which Bannon speaks about his relationship and contacts with Johnson, and says he helped him put together his first speech after his resignation as foreign secretary, in which Johnson condemned Theresa May’s Brexit strategy.
He also backed Johnson after his row with his partner, Carrie Symonds, on Thursday night was recorded by her neighbours and reported to the police. The footage, reported by the Observer, was shot in July last year by Alison Klayman, an American film-maker who followed Bannon over many months for a documentary called The Brink. The footage was not used in the film.
“I think for people to record through the wall what is being said is absolutely disgusting,” Farage said. “There has to be a limit to this intrusion on people’s private lives.” One clip shows Bannon reading a story about Johnson’s speech, before he says: “I’ve been talking to him all weekend about this speech. We went back and forth over the text.”
But he did say the frontrunner for the Conservative leadership should have answered questions about the row at a hustings event on Saturday. “All he had to say is that there was an argument and the police were called by malicious neighbours. Who hasn’t had an argument? That’s all he had to say,” Farage said. When reports emerged last year of links between Johnson and the far-right activist, who has tried to build up a network of populist movements across Europe, Johnson called them “a lefty delusion whose spores continue to breed in the Twittersphere”.
Speaking three years and a day after the EU referendum, Farage said he was more certain than he had been at the time of the result that Brexit would happen. A spokesman for Johnson said of the footage: “Any suggestion that Boris is colluding with or taking advice from Mr Bannon or Nigel Farage is totally preposterous to the point of conspiracy.”
At the same event on Monday, Farage said he would back Johnson as prime minister, but only if he pushed for a no-deal Brexit on 31 October, saying he did not trust him to do this.
In a ‘no deal’ scenario, the UK would leave the single market and the customs union immediately with no ‘divorce’ arrangement in place. The European Court of Justice would cease to have jurisdiction over the UK, and the country would also leave various other institutions including Euratom and Europol.In a ‘no deal’ scenario, the UK would leave the single market and the customs union immediately with no ‘divorce’ arrangement in place. The European Court of Justice would cease to have jurisdiction over the UK, and the country would also leave various other institutions including Euratom and Europol.
The UK would no longer be paying into the EU budget, nor would it hand over the £39bn divorce payment. There would be no transition period. Free movement of people into the UK from the EU27 would stop.The UK would no longer be paying into the EU budget, nor would it hand over the £39bn divorce payment. There would be no transition period. Free movement of people into the UK from the EU27 would stop.
Trade between the UK and the EU would be governed by basic WTO rules. The UK government has already indicated that it will set low or no tariffs on goods coming into the country. This would lower the price of imports - making it harder for British manufacturers to compete with foreign goods. If the UK sets the tariffs to zero on goods coming in from the EU, under WTO ‘most favoured nation’ rules it must also offer the same zero tariffs to other countries.Trade between the UK and the EU would be governed by basic WTO rules. The UK government has already indicated that it will set low or no tariffs on goods coming into the country. This would lower the price of imports - making it harder for British manufacturers to compete with foreign goods. If the UK sets the tariffs to zero on goods coming in from the EU, under WTO ‘most favoured nation’ rules it must also offer the same zero tariffs to other countries.
WTO rules only cover goods - they do not apply to financial services, a significant part of the UK’s economy. Trading under WTO rules will also require border checks, which could cause delays at ports, and a severe challenge to the peace process in Ireland without alternative arrangements in place to avoid a hard border.WTO rules only cover goods - they do not apply to financial services, a significant part of the UK’s economy. Trading under WTO rules will also require border checks, which could cause delays at ports, and a severe challenge to the peace process in Ireland without alternative arrangements in place to avoid a hard border.
Some ‘No Deal’ supporters have claimed that the UK can use Article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) to force the EU to accept a period of up to ten years where there are no tariffs while a free trade agreement (FTA) is negotiated. However, the UK cannot invoke Article 24 unilaterally - the EU would have to agree to it. In previous cases where the article has been used, the two sides had a deal in place, and it has never been used to replicate something of the scale and complexity of the EU and the UK’s trading relationship.Some ‘No Deal’ supporters have claimed that the UK can use Article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) to force the EU to accept a period of up to ten years where there are no tariffs while a free trade agreement (FTA) is negotiated. However, the UK cannot invoke Article 24 unilaterally - the EU would have to agree to it. In previous cases where the article has been used, the two sides had a deal in place, and it has never been used to replicate something of the scale and complexity of the EU and the UK’s trading relationship.
Until some agreements are in place, a ‘no deal’ scenario will place extra overheads on UK businesses - for example the current government advice is that all drivers, including lorries and commercial vehicles, will require extra documentation to be able to drive in Europe after 31 October if there is no deal. Those arguing for a ‘managed’ no deal envisage that a range of smaller sector-by-sector bilateral agreements could be quickly put into place as mutual self-interest between the UK and EU to avoid introducing or rapidly remove this kind of bureaucracy.Until some agreements are in place, a ‘no deal’ scenario will place extra overheads on UK businesses - for example the current government advice is that all drivers, including lorries and commercial vehicles, will require extra documentation to be able to drive in Europe after 31 October if there is no deal. Those arguing for a ‘managed’ no deal envisage that a range of smaller sector-by-sector bilateral agreements could be quickly put into place as mutual self-interest between the UK and EU to avoid introducing or rapidly remove this kind of bureaucracy.
Martin BelamMartin Belam
“The genie is out of the bottle. The public now have a taste and an appetite for this,” he said. “He’ll have my support if he does the right thing. But I don’t know what he’s going to do,” Farage said. “I’d love to know who the real Boris Johnson is, I’d love to know what he really, really, truly believes. Our attitude, as the Brexit party, is why would we trust anybody?”
“This just needs to happen. So the question is: how do we get a parliament that does what we want? I guess the answer is that at some point there will be a general election and that will be the chance to sort this out.” Speaking earlier to Talk Radio, Farage said he would consider a coalition with the Conservative party to ensure the UK left the EU without a deal.
Farage said he believed Johnson’s election as Tory leader was a certainty because Brexit backers had infiltrated the party. “I’d do a deal with the devil to get a proper, clean Brexit,” he said.
“Whatever happens, Boris will win, because a very large number of people have joined the Conservative party in the last six months just to have this vote. The Eurosceptics, encouraged by Arron Banks and others, have joined the Tory party, so Boris will win,” he said. Asked about the prospect of an electoral pact, Farage said: “If Brexit is not delivered, there might be some local deals done here and there, but if the Conservative party drop the ball on this then they’re toast.”
“The question is, what Boris do we get? Brave Boris would perhaps go to Brussels once, conclude there was nothing to be discussed over there, would come back, would face down the House of Commons and be prepared to fight an election on leaving on no deal. If Boris does that, he will come through this as an all-time national hero. Johnson branded 'Bottler Boris' by Hunt's team after no-show leads to Sky cancelling debate – live news
“If he decides that what he needs to do is to keep the Conservative party together then we will not get Brexit on 31 October. And it will have to be the Brexit party that takes up the mantle.” He pointedly praised Johnson, claiming many Eurosceptics had joined the Conservative party in the past few months to ensure he became prime minister. Farage said Johnson would be hailed as “an all-time national hero” if he managed to face down parliament by delivering a no-deal Brexit by 31 October.
Nigel Farage He also backed Johnson after a row with his partner, Carrie Symonds, on Thursday night was recorded by her neighbours and reported to the police.
“I think for people to record through the wall what is being said is absolutely disgusting,” Farage said. “There has to be a limit to this intrusion on people’s private lives.”
But he did say the frontrunner for the Conservative leadership should have answered questions about the row at a hustings event on Saturday. “All he had to say is that there was an argument and the police were called by malicious neighbours. Who hasn’t had an argument? That’s all he had to say,” Farage said.
Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Nigel Farage
Conservative leadershipConservative leadership
Brexit partyBrexit party
ConservativesConservatives
BrexitBrexit
Steve Bannon
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