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Nigel Farage will not stand for a seat at the general election

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LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 01: Leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, speaks to the media following the launch of the Brexit Party general election campaign at The Emmanuel Centre on November 1, 2019 in London, England. Founder and former leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage set up the Brexit Party earlier in 2019 resulting in many seats being won during the European Elections. Campaigning for the 2019 British general election has now begun across all parties with a vote taking place on December 12, 2019. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Nigel Farage has said he won’t stand in the general election so he can concentrate on helping other Brexit Party candidates win their seats.

Farage, who announced on Friday the party would run in hundreds of seats unless Boris Johnson agrees to an alliance, said he wanted to focus his time on making appearances across the country.

Read more: Brexit Party will run in every seat in Great Britain if Johnson rejects alliance offer

He told the BBC this morning: “I thought, ‘How do I serve the cause of Brexit best?’

“Because that is what I am doing this for – not for my career, not to be in politics for the rest of my life.

“Do I find a seat? Try to get myself into parliament? Do I serve the cause better traversing the length and breadth of the United Kingdom supporting the 600 candidates?

“And I’ve decided the latter is the right one.”

Farage said at the Brexit Party’s launch last week that the party would run in every seat in Great Britain unless Johnson dropped his Brexit deal and formed an alliance.

The Brexit Party leader said in return he would also soften his Brexit stance and canvas for a free trade agreement with the EU instead of a no-deal Brexit.

Farage has criticised the government’s current Brexit deal for staying within the European Court of Justice during a transition period and for leaving Northern Ireland in a customs union with the EU.

However, Johnson ruled out any alliance with Farage almost immediately. He said: “I’ve ruled out a pact with everybody because I don’t think it’s sensible to do that.

“We’re proud of our beliefs, we’re proud of our One Nation Conservatism.”

If this response holds, Farage said he would focus his energies on telling people that Johnson’s Brexit deal will not solve Brexit.

He told the BBC this morning: “My fear is that if [Johnson] get this treaty through then we will never achieve independence.

“What [EU chief negotiator Michel] Barnier has brilliantly written in is that in any future free trade agreement, from financial services to fisheries, we will be tied to the EU rule book, and we will have no say on how they’re formed.

Read more: Boris Johnson rejects Nigel Farage offer of an election pact

“That’s not brexit.

“Brexit was about taking back control of our laws, our money and our borders. This proposition does none of those things.”