Nigel Farage has abandoned plans for the Brexit Party to contest more than 600 candidates in the General Election.
Speaking to supporters in Hartlepool he said the party would not stand in the 317 seats won by the Conservatives in the last election in 2017.
He said he had taken the decision because he feared that if they had run it would have led to a hung Parliament with significant gains for the Liberal Democrats.
The move is a significant boost for Boris Johnson amid warnings by Conservative ministers that they risked splitting the Brexit vote.
"We've decided ourselves that we absolutely have to put country before party and take the fight to Labour," Farage said.
The Brexit Party leaders had previously warned the Tories that it would stand in 600 constituencies unless Boris Johnson abandoned his Brexit deal with Brussels.
However, his offer of a "Leave alliance" electoral pact with the Conservatives was rejected by the Tories.
Farage said he still believed the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with Brussels would not deliver "the Brext we voted for" in the 2016 referendum.
However, he said he had been encouraged by statements by Johnson at the weekend saying he would not extend the planned transition period beyond the end of 2020 and that he would seek a "super Canada plus" style free trade agreement with the EU.
Farage said: "Last night I weighed up Boris' promises, and is he going to stick to them against the threat particularly in the South and the South West that we let in a lot of Remainer Liberal Democrat MPs?
"I think our action, this announcement today, prevents a second referendum from happening.
"And that to me, I think right now, is the single most important thing in our country.
"So in a sense we now have a Leave alliance, it's just that we've done it unilaterally."
Only a Conservative majority can get Brexit done by the end of January with a deal that's agreed and ready to go. pic.twitter.com/u5BUvfG3Wk
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 11, 2019
Boris Johnson released a statement on Twitter welcoming the impromptu partnership with Farage.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel