Brexit Party in tacit alliance with British Conservatives

317 seats won by the Conservatives in 2017, to avoid splitting the vote in favor of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (EU).

کد خبر: ۹۳۶۷۴۱

تاریخ: ۲۱ آبان ۱۳۹۸ - ۰۹:۰۵

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage announced the decision which he claimed was based on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's committment not to extend the transition period beyond 2020, and to seek a free trade agreement in the style of that signed between the EU and Canada. 'We've decided ourselves that we absolutely have to put country before party and take the fight to Labour,' Farage stated.

According to the far-right populist politician, this strategy will prevent the December 12 general elections from resulting in a hung Parliament without a conservative majority, or a victory of the Labour Party, which has promised to negotiate a new Brexit deal and subject it to a referendum.

Johnson, who last week refused to sign an electoral pact with Farage, immediately greeted the announcement and described it as recognition that the only way to finalize the break with the European bloc is to vote Tory.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Labour Party Ian Lavery warned that this political move will lead to an alliance between Farage, Johnson and the president of the United States, to 'sell out our country.'

'We urge voters to reject this Thatcherite 1980s tribute act, which would lead to more savage Tory attacks on working class communities. Our NHS (National Health Service) is not for sale,' Lavery stressed, alluding to Trump's wishes to sign a free trade agreement once the United Kingdom leaves the EU.

According to BBC political analysts, although the tacit alliance announced by Farage could favor the Conservatives, the ruling party needs to win many more than those 317 seats to secure the parliamentary majority it needs to finalize Brexit on January 31.

The presence of Brexit Party candidates in the remaining 333 constituencies of the country could be counterproductive for the Tories, especially in places where the majority voted in favor of remaining within the European bloc in the 2016 referendum.

On the other hand, anti-Brexit parties such as the Liberal Democrats, the Welsh nationalists of Plaid Cymru, and the Greens have agreed not to run against each other in 60 seats in England and Wales, while the Scottish National Party also advocates against the controversial Brexit.