Boris Johnson ‘offers Nigel Farage a last-minute election pact’

Boris Johnson offered a last-minute electoral pact to Nigel Farage vowing to ditch 40 Labour-held seats to the Brexit Party if they stood down elsewhere – but the deal was rebuffed, it was reported.    

Under the proposal, the Tories would have put up ‘paper candidates’ in dozens of Labour strongholds and done little campaigning in an attempt to give the Brexit Party a free run.

But the deal was turned down by Mr Farage, who insisted on the Tories withdrawing their candidates entirely – so they did not appear on the ballot paper, the Telegraph reported.

The Daily Telegraph reported the deal was turned down by Mr Farage, who insisted on the Tories withdrawing their candidates entirely – so they did not appear on the ballot paper

Talks finally broke down late on Tuesday but as the deadline for nominations looms, Mr Farage remains under intense pressure to make further concessions beyond the 317 candidates he has already stood down from running in Tory seats. 

Last night a Tory spokesman appeared to deny the claim saying: ‘We don’t do electoral pacts, as we have been very clear.’

This week the Brexit Party leader stood down 317 candidates in Tory held seats to try and avoid splitting the Leave vote and helping Jeremy Corbyn into No10.

But ahead of today’s 4pm deadline for candidates to put in their nomination papers, Mr Farage remains under intense pressure to make further concessions

The suggestion of an electoral pact between the Tories and Brexit Party was first made by Mr Farage in September.

By the end of last week he said he wanted the Tories not to stand in 40 Labour-held seats to give the Brexit Party a clear run.

He has suggested Mr Johnson should reciprocate after his move this week.

But speaking on the campaign trail yesterday the Prime Minister firmly rejected a pact saying the Conservative Party was the oldest political party in the world and doesn’t do pacts with other parties.

Mr Farage has suggested Mr Johnson should reciprocate after his move this week

The account suggested that informal talks between the two sides broke down on Tuesday after the Tories made their offer.

Mr Farage reportedly made it clear he did not trust the Tories to honour the deal.

He told the Telegraph: ‘I would have stood down in lots of key marginals in return for a few on the other side.

‘I would not have even asked for 40 [seats]… There would have been a guaranteed Leave majority in Parliament and they refused to do it.’

Mr Farage reportedly made it clear he did not trust the Tories to honour the deal

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn visits Birkenshaw. Boris Johnson offered a last-minute electoral pact to Nigel Farage vowing to ditch 40 Labour-held seats to the Brexit Party if they stood down elsewhere – but the deal was rebuffed, it was reported

‘It is completely maddening. I said to them, ‘I can win you the general election now’, and they chose not to take that option.’

By last night around 270 of the 300 or so Brexit Party candidates were thought to have submitted their nomination papers.

In Coventry, Mr Johnson said: ‘It is always a very difficult thing for any party leader to withdraw candidates from an election and I understand that.

‘But all I can say… for the avoidance of doubt, to repeat my central message, there is only one way to ensure that we get Brexit done … and that is to vote for us and the Conservatives.’

Jeremy Corbyn was branded ‘naive to the point of being dangerous’ last night for questioning the killing of the world’s most wanted terrorist.

In an astonishing intervention, he said that arresting Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi would have been ‘the right thing to do’.

This is despite the Islamic State chief having detonated a suicide vest when US special forces cornered him last month.

His comments, in which he questioned the American account of the raid, provoked ridicule from military and security experts.

It capped a day of disaster for Labour in which:

• Mr Corbyn flip-flopped over his stance on a second Scottish independence referendum;
• Shadow cabinet ministers squabbled in public over whether their plan for a four-day week would apply to the NHS;
• Senior figures questioned the party’s plans to ‘extend free movement’ amid Tory claims it could lead to immigration trebling;
• Experts said income tax plans announced by shadow chancellor John McDonnell would mean 1.3million people paying more;
• The centre-left Resolution Foundation think-tank said families and businesses could pay £60billion more in tax under Labour’s plans compared with those of the Conservatives.