An important financier behind the new anti-European Brexit Party wants his ally Nigel Farage to withdraw from many more British constituencies. The wealthy Brexit backer Arron Banks says it is necessary to help Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives secure an election victory on December 12.
Earlier this week, Farage announced that he would not field his own candidates in over 300 constituencies where the Conservatives had only a small majority in the previous elections. Both Farage and Johnson are competing for the votes of pro-Brexit voters. Farage had already been under pressure not to stand too much in the way of the Prime Minister to avoid jeopardizing Britain's departure from the EU.
Banks now says that Farage should also withdraw from other constituencies. According to him, the Brexit Party should focus on the forty or fifty constituencies where the Tories have no chance. "There the Brexit Party can cause significant damage to Labour," said the businessman. Labour wants to renegotiate with the EU (about a limited British exit from the EU) and then hold a second referendum.
Banks expects that Brexit will only take place if Johnson wins the elections. If there is no Conservative majority afterward, then Brexit is over, he defends his decision to prioritize the Conservatives.
Farage has not yet publicly responded to Arron Banks’ new demand for an almost complete withdrawal. Yesterday, Farage faced severe criticism within the Brexit Party over his decision not to contest in more than 300 constituencies. Initially, he had offered the Conservatives a coalition, but Boris Johnson rejected that. Subsequently, Farage announced he would stand candidates everywhere, from which he has now retreated. There was also surprise that Farage did not stand as a candidate himself in his own constituency for a seat in the House of Commons.
Opponents of a British exit from the EU have also formed coalitions in several dozen constituencies to avoid running against each other. Because of this, the Liberal Democrats already seem assured of gaining several dozen seats, and the Greens and a regional party from Wales also of at least a dozen seats.