On Tuesday, the UK parliament agreed to hold a snap general election on 12 December. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly called for an early election to break the deadlock over his renegotiated Brexit deal, which prevented the country from leaving the bloc on 31 October. The new campaign has given rise to speculation about possible party alliances.
"The Liberal Democrats will not be able to reach a pre-election pact with Labour. Nobody in full possession of his or her senses is going to do a deal with Mr Corbyn ... I would hope that not even what passes for leadership within the Lib Dems would be that crazy", Vachha claimed.
According to the politician, "only common ground" that the two parties have is that "they are determined not to really leave the EU, and do not want to destabilise the government in a manner that would trigger a general election".
The fact that the Liberal Democrats and Labour are now "very close in the polls", Vachha went on, increases the possibility of the pro-Remain vote split, making the current period an "ideal time for Leavers to call an election".
Speaking of the Conservative Party, the UKIP politician suggested that it should not campaign on the renegotiated deal, which, he says, is actually a "fourth incarnation" of Theresa May’s divorce agreement with minor changes. The politician expressed belief that it was "the same rotten vassalage treaty", less unacceptable than its predecessor but "still wholly unacceptable".
"The Cons must be reasonable now. They should not be fighting this election on the basis of their current withdrawal treaty proposal. They will do irreparable harm to the country and to their own party if they do so. They should not make it a manifesto pledge, or do anything to jeopardise a WTO Brexit in December, which a majority [in parliament] would allow them to deliver", he pointed out.
The UK is set to face an election following a sequence of defeats in parliament that obliged Johnson to seek a Brexit extension, against his wishes.
The prime minister's Conservative Party is, however, faring well in the polls. Thursday saw an Ipsos MORI survey record the Tories surging ahead with a 41 percent approval rating whilst Labour lagged behind with only 24 percent. The Liberal Democrats are struggling to keep up with Labour, gaining a 20 percent approval rating.
On Friday, the Tories ruled out a possible electoral pact with the Brexit Party, prompting the latter’s leader Nigel Farage to warn that his political force would compete against the government in all possible constituencies unless a "Leave" alliance was formed.