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Three MEPs quit Brexit party to back Conservatives Three MEPs quit Brexit party to back Conservatives
(32 minutes later)
Nigel Farage ‘disappointed’ as Annunziata Rees-Mogg, Lance Forman and Lucy Harris resign whipNigel Farage ‘disappointed’ as Annunziata Rees-Mogg, Lance Forman and Lucy Harris resign whip
Three Brexit party MEPs have quit the party to back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and the Conservatives instead.Three Brexit party MEPs have quit the party to back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and the Conservatives instead.
Annunziata Rees-Mogg – sister of the Commons leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lance Forman and Lucy Harris, have all resigned the whip to back the prime minister’s push to “get Brexit done”.Annunziata Rees-Mogg – sister of the Commons leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lance Forman and Lucy Harris, have all resigned the whip to back the prime minister’s push to “get Brexit done”.
It follows the decision on Wednesday to sack John Longworth, the former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, for “repeatedly undermining” the party leader, Nigel Farage’s election strategy. It follows the decision on Wednesday to sack the MEP John Longworth, the former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, for “repeatedly undermining” the party leader, Nigel Farage’s election strategy.
Ms Rees-Mogg, MEP for the East Midlands and a former Conservative candidate, said: “We need a strong leave-supporting government to deliver the Brexit 17.4 million voted for. The announcement will come as a blow to Farage, whose party is trailing at 3% in the polls despite winning the largest number of seats in the European elections.
“The Conservatives are the only option for Brexit supporters and democrats alike.” Annunziata Rees-Mogg said: “We need a strong leave-supporting government to deliver the Brexit 17.4 million voted for. The Conservatives are the only option for Brexit supporters and democrats alike.”
Farage, who is not standing at this election, said he was “disappointed” by the decision. The four MEPs will hold a press conference in Westminster on Thursday, when they will release details of their resignation letter to Farage.
Longworth, who left his role at the chamber in 2016 after coming out in favour of leaving the European Union three months before the EU referendum, had been critical of Farage’s decision to stand Brexit party candidates in Labour marginals. Unhappiness among the MEPs started to emerge on Wednesday when Longworth, the chair of Leave Means Leave group, lost the whip for “disloyalty” to the party, although he said he made the decision to stand down himself.
While Farage opted last month not to contest the 317 seats won by the Tories at the 2017 election, he pushed ahead with attempts to win Labour heartlands in the north and Midlands of England where there was a strong leave turnout at the referendum. He was at odds with the party over election strategy, suggesting it should go after 20 to 30 carefully-selected seats and not stand in 274 Labour ones.
Longworth has been outspoken in the media, arguing the party should be targeting just 20-30 seats. Earlier in the campaign Farage decided to withdraw from 317 Tory-won seats to avoid splitting the vote.
Speaking before a press conference in Westminster on Thursday, Longworth said: “For those who want Brexit, Boris Johnson’s deal is the only option available. Labour does not have a plan.” He said he had not been given credit for this decision to try to help the Tories by the four MEPS.
Harris, representing Yorkshire and the Humber, and Forman, MEP for London, will also speak to the media. Farage said: “Whilst we are disappointed that four of our MEPs don’t seem to understand that we both saved the Conservative party from large-scale losses to the Liberal Democrats in the south and south-west of England, but we are also hammering the Labour leave vote in its traditional heartlands, making it much easier for the Conservatives to win many of those seats.
In reply, Farage said the Brexit party had already worked to assist the Tories in securing a majority for exiting the EU. “The only vote on the leave side that is currently being split is in areas such as Barnsley, the South Wales Valleys, Doncaster and Hartlepool where there is a risk that the Tories will split our vote.”A spokesman for the Brexit party said three of the MEPs already had strong links to the Tories, while Longworth had suddenly come round to Johnson’s Brexit plans despite being a long-time advocate of leaving the EU on World Trade Organization terms. He suggested Longworth may be rewarded for his backing of the Tories by the party at a later date. The spokesman said: “We also note that one of the MEPs is the sister of a cabinet minister, another has a partner who works in the office of the same cabinet minister and yet another is a personal friend of both Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
“We are disappointed that four of our MEPs don’t seem to understand that we both saved the Conservative party from large-scale losses to the Liberal Democrats in the south and south-west of England, but we are also hammering the Labour leave vote in its traditional heartlands, making it much easier for the Conservatives to win many of those seats,” said Farage. “In the case of John Longworth, who was for years the firmest advocate of WTO withdrawal that we have ever met, he underwent a metamorphosis into being a supporter of the new EU treaty following two days of meetings in London. We hope that Mr Longworth is well rewarded for his actions.”
“The only vote on the leave side that is currently being split is in areas such as Barnsley, the South Wales valleys, Doncaster and Hartlepool, where there is a risk that the Tories will split our vote.”
A party spokesman added: “We also note that one of the MEPs is the sister of a cabinet minister, another has a partner who works in the office of the same cabinet minister, and yet another is a personal friend of both Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
“In the case of John Longworth, who was for years the firmest advocate of WTO withdrawal that we have ever met, he underwent a metamorphosis into being a supporter of the new EU treaty following two days of meetings in London.
“We hope that Mr Longworth is well rewarded for his actions.”