THE BREXIT party in Scotland is close to imploding with the party’s only MEP launched a furious attack on Nigel Farage’s decision to stand down candidates fighting seats held by the Tories.
Louis Stedman-Bryce, who was due to fight Labour-held Glasgow North East, says he will no longer stand at the election.
On Tuesday, Farage announced that his party would not stand in the 317 seats held by Tory MPs, citing fears about splitting the Leave vote and inadvertently stopping Brexit.
Taking to Twitter, Stedman-Bryce said: "I joined the Brexit Party to change politics for good and uphold democracy and I do not trust @BorisJohnson to deliver the type of Brexit I voted for. I believe that the deal he has proposed would be devastating to our country and our future prosperity.
“So it is with a heavy heart that I have taken the decision not to run in the upcoming general election. Whilst I supported a localised agreement with the Tories in Scotland to help prevent the onslaught of the SNP, I cannot support standing down PPC's across all Tory seats.”
2/2- So it is with a heavy heart that I have taken the decision not to run in the upcoming general election. Whilst I supported a localised agreement with the Tories in Scotland to help prevent the onslaught of the SNP, I cannot support standing down PPC's across all Tory seats.
— Louis Stedman-Bryce (@Lstedmanbryce) November 12, 2019
A spokesman for the Brexit Party said he didn’t understand Steadman-Bryce's logic: “Had Nigel Farage not announced that we wouldn't contest the 317 constituencies that the Tories won in 2017 there is every chance we would be looking at a Far Left, Corbyn government. Does Louis want that?”
Les Durance, who was due to contest the Moray seat for the Brexit Party, said he was “disappointed” by Farage’s decision.
“I do understand Nigel’s rationale, he has put country before party. In Moray I suppose the prognosis was that we would have split the vote and possibly allowed the SNP to take the seat.
“It is an enormous concession and I just hope that Boris honours his commitments.”
Durance will now contest the SNP held seat of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.
However, Sebastian Leslie, who was due to run in Gordon, said the strategy was “the best way” to beat the SNP.
He added: “I think it is a very good strategy. Our main opponent is the SNP, who have made it clear that they want to stay in the EU. This is the best way to beat them.”
The Scots weren’t the only candidates to express disquiet at Farage’s decision.
Alexandra Phillips, who was due to stand as a candidate in the Tory seat of Southampton Itchen, said she would “not vote at all” at the election. “I have been disenfranchised by my own party,” the South East MEP tweeted.
Robert Wheal, who had been due to fight in the Arundel and South Downs constituency, said Farage was “finished as a politician”.
He tweeted: “All that Farage has exposed is his duplicity to so many supporters who had put their faith in him.”
Speaking to the BBC Farage urged the Tories to return the favour and stand down in Labour seats in leave areas.
He said: “I’ve just gifted the Conservative Party nearly two dozen seats and I did it because I believe in Leave. Now if they believed in Leave what they would do is stand aside in some seats in Labour areas where the Conservative Party has not won for 100 years and will never win.
“I think what you’re seeing from this reaction is for the Conservative Party it is about them as a party, not about delivering Brexit.”
Farage said he wanted his candidates “putting out their positive message”.
“We are the party that absolutely believes in this,” he said. “If you want Brexit you can’t vote Labour anyway. Put us in there and we will hold the government to account. We’re trying to get a decent voice in [parliament].”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said a Johnson and Farage-led government would "threaten all of our regulations" and result in a deal with US President Donald Trump.
Speaking in Blackpool, Corbyn said: "I think what we have before us is an alliance which is Donald Trump and Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson.
"We know where that alliance is designed to take us - into a sweetheart trade deal with the United States that will threaten all of our regulations, all of our conditions and threaten our public services."
Corbyn added: " Farage and Johnson only offer division, division, division and a deal with Donald Trump."
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