Sajid Javid refuses to rule out electoral pact with Brexit Party after Nigel Farage moots idea
Conservatives ‘don’t need electoral alliance with anyone,’ says chancellor, but refuses to rule it out
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Your support makes all the difference.Nigel Farage wants the Conservatives to enter an electoral pact with the Brexit Party, giving it a free run at targeting traditional Labour heartlands in the North, Midlands and Wales.
And while Chancellor Sajid Javid said the Conservatives “don’t need an electoral alliance with anyone," he refused to rule it out.
The former UKIP leader said the offer of a non-aggression pact was “100 per cent sincere” and would help return prime minister Boris Johnson to Downing Street.
Mr Johnson’s plans to hold a general election were thwarted earlier this week when the government proposed a snap poll but an insufficient number of MPs backed the move.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Farage said he wanted to see his party not face Tory opposition in seats like Wansbeck, currently held by Labour chairman Ian Lavery, and West Bromwich East, that of deputy leader Tom Watson.
In return, the Brexit Party would not contest seats where they could split the so-called Leave vote, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Mr Farage wrote: “If the general election which this country so badly needs is to result in the pro-Brexit outcome which the majority of voters crave, Mr Johnson must agree an electoral pact with the Brexit Party.
“Johnson should cast his mind back to the European elections in May, in which his party came fifth, and ask himself: does he want the Tories to find themselves in a similarly disastrous position when the results of the next general election come in, or does he want to sign a non-aggression pact with me and return to Downing Street?
“We are not playing political games. I have spent more than 25 years fighting for Brexit. It is now within our grasp.”
Chancellor Sajid Javid, speaking to the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, said: “We can stand on our own two feet, put our message across - which is not just the message on this key issue, which is leaving the EU, no more further dither and delay – but it is also about bringing the nation together.”
When asked directly whether he could rule out an agreement with the Brexit Party, Mr Javid would only reply: “We don’t need an alliance.”
Meanwhile, the Brexit Party has taken out adverts in a number of Sunday newspapers with “an election offer for Boris”.
The Brexit Party took 30.5 per cent of the national vote at the European elections in May and gained 29 of the 73 United Kingdom seats, while the Conservatives won only four seats and 8.8 per cent of the vote coming in fifth.
Press Association contributed to this report.
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