London (AFP) – Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, launched an open-top double-decker bus tour of Britain Friday to campaign for it to leave the European Union in next month’s referendum.
Joking that the bus had “the best drinks cabinet anywhere in the country” with British beer and French wine, the eurosceptic and bon vivant insisted that the “Leave” side could still win as music from the film “The Great Escape” blared out from speakers.
“I have worked for this for 20 years,” he told AFP.
“The ‘Remain’ side have not just had the British establishment working with them but also the European establishment, the global establishment working with them.
“But there is still a long way to go and it’s a mug’s game to predict how this referendum is going to go.”
An average of the six latest opinion polls by the What UK Thinks research project puts “Remain” on 55 percent and “Leave” on 45 percent, excluding undecideds, ahead of the June 23 vote.
Prime Minister David Cameron is leading the campaign to keep Britain in the EU and has received backing from figures including US President Barack Obama and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.
For Farage, the campaign is about questions such as “‘do you want control of your life, your borders, laws?’”
“Most people around the world want to control their destiny. We cannot do so because of this union,” he added.
“We want our borders back, we want our passports back, we want your country back.”
Farage, seen as a divisive figure among some voters, was not invited to join the official “Vote Leave” campaign bus which has been carrying figures such as former London mayor Boris Johnson.
However, he was full of praise for Johnson, who he tipped as a strong possibility to succeed Cameron as prime minister.
“I think Boris is a very good guy. He could be our next prime minister — if we vote for Brexit, he probably will be,” he added.
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