The Brexit Party has announced it will field 150 Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) from its constituencies in preparation for a possible general election, it said on Friday.
Fifty names were listed on Friday, with fifty more set to be announced on Monday and a further fifty to follow on Tuesday. The news comes as the party has prepared to battle for 650 seats across the UK.
Brexit Party leader, Nigel Farage, said that UK prime minister Boris Johnson was “already watering down Brexit” and seeking to “bounce the country into an early general election”.
The chief Brexiteer said that his party’s candidates would “not stand for [former UK prime minister Theresa] May’s treaty being repackaged”, adding that it was “still the worst deal in history and a betrayal of leave voters”.
“That’s why we are ready to fight in every seat to secure the Brexit that 17.4m voted for,” he added.
Richard Tice, Brexit Party chairman, said that the party’s parliamentary candidates were what the UK needed “at this crucial time” in the UK's history and that his party would "restore common sense and confidence in Westminster".
The announcement comes after UK research firm Ipsos MORI in early July revealed that Nigel Farage held a major lead over Labour and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and UK prime minister Boris Johnson, namely due to his leadership style and approach to Brexit.
Five Candidates Explain Why They're Standing For Brexit
- Paulette Furse, Brexit Party PPC for Sevenoaks, is a local businesswoman with over twenty years of experience working in her constituency.
She said that she was “excited” to be a PPC for the Brexit Party’s “diverse and trustworthy” list of candidates. Ms Furse was the former chairman of the Sevenoaks Conservative Association and an elected Parish Councillor.
She said that she “formally deeply involved with the Tories” but could no longer believe that Conservatives could “deliver a clean Brexit and respect our democracy".
- Colin William Lambert, Brexit Party PPC for Haywood and Middleton, was the Labour leader for Rochdale council and teaches science and maths to disadvantaged students at a Pupil Referral Unit.
The candidate said that he had left the Labour Party after 40 years of membership, stating that it was “simply not the party” he had joined.
“They have let down our city and people by ignoring the democratic decision to leave the EU,” Mr Lambert said.
- Jordan Lake, PPC for Redditch, is an entrepreneur in the creative industries, having worked in events management and stage production with 14 years' experience in business.
Mr Lake said that he was a business owner that believed in an “independent Britain” and that he wanted to “maximise the opportunities Brexit will bring”.
He added: “The Brexit Party is fighting for the type of country I want to live in. Gay men and other minority groups are welcome in this party, which I believe looks past identity politics and focus on our ideas and vision for the nation as a whole.
He also said that the political establishment had “failed us” and that as an MP, he wanted to help make the UK the “most powerful and prosperous nation on earth”.
“Brexit is just the beginning,” he added.
- Nick Brown, Brexit Party PPC for Bishop Auckland, has a law degree from Cambridge and has worked in the tech industry, including the Home Office.
Mr Brown said that the British couldn’t “trust our current crop of politicians to do what we asked them to do”, adding that he had “seen first-hand how repeatedly voting for Labour” had “failed to bring any benefits” to his constituency.
He added that he would give his constituency “a voice in Westminster” and that he was “looking forward to shaking this tree”.
- Alexandra Phillips, Brexit Party MEP and PPC for Southampton, Ichtin said the she was a new MEP “battling to uphold Brexit in the European Parliament”.
“As a passionate Brexiteer I feel it is my duty to play a part in showcasing all the positives of Brexit in Westminster as well as Brussels,” she said, adding that she wanted the UK to be a “leading light on the world stage”.
- Raj Singh Chaggar, PPC for Wolverhampton is a chartered accountant and company director who has also worked as a primary school governor and property developer.
Mr Chaggar, who is also a committee member of a Sikh Temple, also helped to establish the Wednesfield Alliance as well as work with the Wednesfield in Bloom charity.
“I came to the UK when I was just 18 months old in 1968 and spent most of my younger years in a council house,” he said about his difficult upbringing. He added that he had lost his dad at a young age and that his mother raised five children”.
“I worked my way up and into a profession and my son is following me into accountancy and my daughter has just finished her law degree,” he said.
He also said that life experiences had given him a “strong belief in the NHS” as well as the UK, which he wanted to “fight to protect” for future generations.
Brexit Party PPCs were announced shortly after UK prime minister Boris Johnson lost two candidates in a by-election in Brecon and Radnorshire, narrowing his majority in Westminster by one seat, AFP reported on Friday. The pro-EU Liberal Democrat, Jane Dodd, defeated Tory Chris Davies 13,826 to 12,401, or a margin of 1,425. The by-election was called after Mr Davies faced a petition of constituents after being convicted of falsifying his expenses, according to Reuters, widely seen as a blow to PM Johnson’s majority rule since assuming office. Sputnik's own Jon Gaunt interviewed former UKIP London Assembly leader, David Kurten, who stated that Mr Farage's Brexit Party could win a general election if UK officials failed to deliver Brexit by the 31 October deadline.