General election 2019: Brexit Party will not stand in Tory seats

The Brexit Party has announced that it will not stand candidates in the 317 seats won by the Conservatives at the 2017 general election.

Party leader Nigel Farage said standing candidates across the country could increase the chances of another EU referendum taking place.

But he said the party would stand against all other parties - and focus on taking seats off Labour.

It had vowed to stand more than 600 candidates. The Commons has 650 seats.

Launched in April, the Brexit Party does not hold any Commons seats - but the party was the clear winner in the UK's European elections in May.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the move, calling it "a recognition that there's only one way to get Brexit done, and that's to vote for the Conservatives".

But Tory chairman James Cleverly added there was still a "danger" the Brexit Party could split the vote in target seats, leading to the election of MPs who could "frustrate the Brexit process".

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Explaining his decision to supporters in Hartlepool, Mr Farage said Mr Johnson had recently signalled a "big shift of position" in his approach to Brexit.

He cited a pledge by the PM not to extend the transition period that would follow the UK's departure from the EU. This would see Britain sticking to the European Union's rules on issues such as freedom of movement until December 2020.

Mr Farage also said he was encouraged by recent commitments from Mr Johnson to seek further divergence from EU rules in a post-Brexit trade deal.

He added that this was a "huge change" from the kind of trade pact that had been planned under former PM Theresa May.

'Unilateral Leave alliance'

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Donald Trump "got his wish" when Mr Farage announced his electoral strategy.

He said the Brexit Party leader was offering a "Trump alliance" that would lead to "Thatcherism on steroids" and threaten the future of the NHS.

The US president had previously urged the Mr Farage to team up with Boris Johnson, saying they would be "an unstoppable force".

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Farage's decision "shows the Conservatives and the Brexit Party are now one and the same".

Mr Farage had previously offered to not to stand candidates against the Tories in certain seats if the prime minister changed aspects of his Brexit deal.

But the proposal was rejected by Boris Johnson, who said deals with "any other party" would "risk putting Jeremy Corbyn into No 10".

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Image captionMr Farage made the announcement in Labour-held Hartlepool - a top target for his party

Polling expert Sir John Curtice said it was "pretty clear" the Tories would benefit from Mr Farage's move, although it was "not as big a boost as we might imagine".

He said Mr Farage's strategy would not provide assistance to the Tories in marginal seats they are hoping to take off Labour.

"Nigel Farage's offer doesn't really give the prime minister the price he would really want, which is a free run against the Labour Party," he told BBC News Channel.

Mr Farage said he had "genuinely tried" to forge a so-called "Leave alliance" with the Tories, but his efforts had gone nowhere.

"In a sense we now have a Leave alliance, it's just that we've done it unilaterally," he added.

Mr Farage has already confirmed he will not be standing himself in the election, saying he wanted to concentrate on helping his party's candidates.