London: Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party and a champion of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, is considering forming a new pro-Brexit party, the Sunday Times reported.
Farage is dismayed that Ukip, which long opposed Britain’s membership in the EU, has been riven by internal politics and scandal in the 18 months since he resigned as leader, the Sunday Times said, citing unnamed people close to Farage. The paper quoted a person close to him as saying that Farage would “head back to the front line” if there was chance of Brexit not being delivered.
Farage held talks earlier this month with Arron Banks, the British businessman and political donor who helped found the Leave campaign and was a major Ukip backer when Farage was party leader, about bankrolling the new party, the Sunday Times said. It also said that Richard Tice, a real estate investor who also co-founded the Leave campaign, would have a role in the new party.
The new movement would be modelled on the UK’s ruling Conservative Party, with local associations around the country and policies determined in part by the results of focus groups, the paper said.
Farage had been expected to announce a new party as long ago as September, when it appeared Anne Marie Waters, a Ukip politician known for virulently anti-Islamic views, would win Ukip’s leadership vote. But he held off after Bolton unexpectedly prevailed, the paper said.
— Bloomberg
