Boris Johnson rejects Nigel Farage offer of election pact as it increases ‘risk’ of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected an offer from Nigel Farage to work with the Brexit Party during the general election.
Farage had called on Johnson to drop his Brexit deal, seek a free trade deal with the EU and “build a Leave alliance” with his party or face a candidate from the Brexit Party in every seat.
Read more: Brexit Party will run in every seat in general election, says Farage
US President Donald Trump suggested it would be a good idea and that the pair would be “an unstoppable force”.
However, Johnson has ruled out creating a pact with any other party because it increases the “risk” of Jeremy Corbyn getting into power.
“I’ve ruled out a pact with everybody because I don’t think it’s sensible to do that,” Johnson told Sky News. “We’re proud of our beliefs, we’re proud of our One Nation Conservatism.
“The only likely consequence of voting for them [other party leaders], rather than for us as Conservatives, is that you are making it more likely that you will get Jeremy Corbyn and Labour and a chaotic constellation of other parties… with nothing but dither and delay.”
Trump is wrong
Johnson also rejected the notion from Trump that his withdrawal agreement from the EU would hinder a trade deal between the UK and US.
“I’m afraid I don’t wish to cast any aspersions on the President of the United States, but in that respect he is patently in error, anybody who looks at our deal can see it is a great deal.
“What it does is it allows us to take back control of our money, our borders and our laws, but also it allows us to have full unfettered control of our tariff schedules in Geneva and to do it as one United Kingdom.
“That deal is ready to go, we’ve negotiated it. People said it wasn’t possible. But there it is.”
Johnson also told the BBC there was “no question of negotiating on the NHS” as part of any trade deal with the US and that there are “lots of reasons” why a Labour government would be a “disaster”.
Read more: Brexit stockpiling fails to save UK manufacturing from a recession
He said it would lead to another negotiation with Brussels on a new Brexit deal and then another referendum.
“Why go through that nightmare again?” he said.