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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| General election 2019: Brexit Party will not stand in Tory seats | General election 2019: Brexit Party will not stand in Tory seats |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The Brexit Party has announced that it will not stand candidates in the 317 seats won by the Conservatives at the 2017 general election. | The Brexit Party has announced that it will not stand candidates in the 317 seats won by the Conservatives at the 2017 general election. |
| Party leader Nigel Farage said standing candidates across the country could increase the chances of another EU referendum taking place. | Party leader Nigel Farage said standing candidates across the country could increase the chances of another EU referendum taking place. |
| But he said the party would stand against all other parties - and focus on taking seats off Labour. | But he said the party would stand against all other parties - and focus on taking seats off Labour. |
| He had previously pledged to field more than 600 election candidates. | He had previously pledged to field more than 600 election candidates. |
| Explaining his decision to supporters in Hartlepool, Mr Farage said Boris Johnson had recently signalled a "big shift of position" in his approach to Brexit. | Explaining his decision to supporters in Hartlepool, Mr Farage said Boris Johnson had recently signalled a "big shift of position" in his approach to Brexit. |
| He cited pledges by the PM not to extend the planned transition period beyond 2020, and to seek further divergence from EU rules in a post-Brexit trade deal. | |
| Mr Johnson welcomed the move, calling it "a recognition that there's only one way to get Brexit done, and that's to vote for the Conservatives". | Mr Johnson welcomed the move, calling it "a recognition that there's only one way to get Brexit done, and that's to vote for the Conservatives". |
| But Tory chairman James Cleverly added there was still a "danger" the Brexit Party could split the vote in target seats, leading to the election of MPs who could "frustrate the Brexit process". | But Tory chairman James Cleverly added there was still a "danger" the Brexit Party could split the vote in target seats, leading to the election of MPs who could "frustrate the Brexit process". |
| Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery urged voters to "reject this Thatcherite 1980s tribute act, which would lead to more savage Tory attacks on working class communities". | Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery urged voters to "reject this Thatcherite 1980s tribute act, which would lead to more savage Tory attacks on working class communities". |
| Liberal Democrat deputy leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Farage's decision "shows the Conservatives and the Brexit Party are now one and the same". | |
| Mr Farage had previously offered to not to stand candidates against the Tories in certain seats if the prime minister changed aspects of his Brexit deal. | Mr Farage had previously offered to not to stand candidates against the Tories in certain seats if the prime minister changed aspects of his Brexit deal. |
| But the proposal was rejected by Boris Johnson, who said deals with "any other party" would "risk putting Jeremy Corbyn into No 10". | But the proposal was rejected by Boris Johnson, who said deals with "any other party" would "risk putting Jeremy Corbyn into No 10". |
| Mr Farage said he had "genuinely tried" to forge a so-called "Leave alliance" with the Tories, but his efforts had gone nowhere. | Mr Farage said he had "genuinely tried" to forge a so-called "Leave alliance" with the Tories, but his efforts had gone nowhere. |
| "In a sense we now have a Leave alliance, it's just that we've done it unilaterally," he added. | "In a sense we now have a Leave alliance, it's just that we've done it unilaterally," he added. |
| Will Brexit Party move help the Conservatives? | Will Brexit Party move help the Conservatives? |
| By BBC political analyst Peter Barnes | By BBC political analyst Peter Barnes |
| The Brexit Party's decision to stand aside in constituencies the Conservatives won in 2017 should make it easier for them to hold on to those seats. | The Brexit Party's decision to stand aside in constituencies the Conservatives won in 2017 should make it easier for them to hold on to those seats. |
| In marginals like St Ives and Mansfield, it ought to help them keep a bigger share of the pro-Leave vote. | In marginals like St Ives and Mansfield, it ought to help them keep a bigger share of the pro-Leave vote. |
| However, to win a majority in the House of Commons the Conservatives need to win more seats - not just hold on to what they have. | However, to win a majority in the House of Commons the Conservatives need to win more seats - not just hold on to what they have. |
| And in those places the presence of a Brexit Party candidate may get in the Conservatives' way. | And in those places the presence of a Brexit Party candidate may get in the Conservatives' way. |
| The best estimates suggest that 29 of the Conservatives top 50 targets, and 59 of the top 100, are in Labour-held seats that voted Leave in the referendum. | The best estimates suggest that 29 of the Conservatives top 50 targets, and 59 of the top 100, are in Labour-held seats that voted Leave in the referendum. |
| If the strategy is to target Leave voters in those places, it would probably be better to have a clear run - without the Brexit Party. | If the strategy is to target Leave voters in those places, it would probably be better to have a clear run - without the Brexit Party. |
| Brexit Party MEP Ann Widdecombe said Mr Farage had gone "a very, very long way" by ruling out standing in seats won by the Tories at the last election. | |
| "That is an enormous concession, it is, as he put it himself, a sort of unilateral pact," she told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme. | |
| She added: "You really can't expect that we're not going to take Labour on, and we are and any consequences that flow from that are down to Boris's stubbornness." | |
| Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said the Conservatives have "effectively become the Brexit Party". | |
| Pro-Remain election pact | |
| She added that defeating the Tories in Scotland "will help deprive Boris Johnson's increasingly extreme and right-wing party of the majority they crave". | |
| Anti-Brexit parties Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats have agreed not to stand against each other in 60 seats across England and Wales. | Anti-Brexit parties Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats have agreed not to stand against each other in 60 seats across England and Wales. |
| Their pact means that, in Wales, two of the parties will agree not to field a candidate, boosting the third candidate's chances of picking up the Remain vote. | Their pact means that, in Wales, two of the parties will agree not to field a candidate, boosting the third candidate's chances of picking up the Remain vote. |
| In England, it will simply be a two-way agreement between the Lib Dems and the Greens. | In England, it will simply be a two-way agreement between the Lib Dems and the Greens. |