Brexit Party: Tories ‘Deliberately Misrepresenting’ Our Peace Offering

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage launches his party's manifesto ahead of the General Elect
(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali
Victoria Friedman

A Brexit Party spokesman has said that Conservative MPs are “deliberately misrepresenting” Nigel Farage’s offer of a “Leave Alliance” after the Tories have said they cannot accept a no-deal Brexit.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage launched the Brexit Party’s election campaign on Friday, telling Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “drop the deal because it’s not Brexit”. Mr Farage said that his offer of an election pact with Mr Johnson remains on the table.

However, Conservative party chairman James Cleverly and Brexiteer Spartans Mark Francois and Steve Baker rejected the offer of a Leave Alliance. Mr Baker, chairman of the European Research Group (ERG), said in comments reported by the Daily Mail that it was “completely inconceivable” the Tories would back a no-deal Brexit.

“I am no more willing to be bullied by Nigel Farage than anyone else into acting against my best understanding of the national interest,” Mr Baker said.

“The reason every Conservative Eurosceptic MP backed the deal is that it can deliver a Brexit worth having,” he added.

However, the Brexit Party said that the Tories are “misrepresenting” the party’s position. A party spokesman told Breitbart London: “If Mr Baker is indeed telling this to the media, he is deliberately misrepresenting our very reasonable position, which Nigel clearly laid out today. We have, and continue to, put county before party.”

During the Brexit Party launch on Friday, Mr Farage said he would compromise on his pledge to seek a “clean-break Brexit” if Prime Minister Johnson were willing to pursue a “genuine” free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU.

Writing in The Telegraph on Friday night, Mr Farage said:

All we are asking for is the prime minister to drop this dreadful new EU treaty and go for a Canada-style free trade agreement by July 1st. This is the very same thing that Donald Tusk once offered the UK, only to be rejected by Theresa May. If the EU fail to agree to this sensible offer, or to mutually agree with the UK to apply article 24 of the GATT treaty, we should leave the EU on July 1st 2020 on WTO terms. If Boris adopts this policy within the next few weeks, I would be willing to compromise and wait a little longer for a clean break Brexit.

The Times reported on Saturday that the Conservative Party would drop the reference to leaving the EU in a clean-break, no-deal scenario from its election manifesto as it reportedly seeks the backing of centrists and Brexit sceptics.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.