NIGEL Farage said Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would be “disastrous” for Scotland as he attacked both Tories and Labour over their EU stances and pledged to stand 600 candidates at next month’s snap election.
The Brexit Party leader dismissed accusations he would split the pro-Brexit vote by running against the Tories, saying the PM’s deal was “not Brexit”.
He added: “Boris Johnson’s deal will mean disastrous problems for Scotland in years to come.”
Speaking at an event in Westminster, he also accused the Conservatives of “conceited arrogance” after the Leader of the Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, urged him to step aside and “leave the field”.
Rees-Mogg warned he was in danger of snatching “defeat from the jaws of victory” for the campaign to leave the EU. However, Farage – who offered to work with Johnson in a “patriotic alliance” if he dropped his deal with Brussels – said the Tory plan was a “sell-out”.
“We won’t split the vote because we will be the only people actually offering Brexit, leaving the European Union and its institutions,” he said.
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He said that when he been the leader of Ukip, they had done “far more harm” to the Labour Party than to the Conservatives.
The Brexit Party would now be focusing, he said, on those Leave-voting Labour constituencies who were represented by pro-Remain MPs. “Those five million are the most vulnerable group of voters to the Brexit Party in this country,” he added.
“I will be out in those Labour constituencies. I’ll be in the East Midlands, I’ll be in South Wales. I’ll be in the North East. I want the country to know the sheer extent of Labour betrayal.”
There was dismay among senior Tories after Farage confirmed he intended to run candidates in more than 600 constituencies.
Rees-Mogg insisted Johnson’s deal represented a “complete Brexit” as he called on Farage to recognise the campaign to leave the EU had been a success. “I think he would be well-advised to recognise that that battle he won. He should be really proud of his political career,” he told LBC radio. “It would be a great shame if he carries on fighting after he has already won to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
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