Nigel Farage today lashed out at Jacob Rees-Mogg’s sister for quitting the Brexit Party along with three other MEPs.
Mr Farage complained that his former colleagues ‘don’t understand’ the election dynamics in Labour marginals after they dramatically abandoned him, urging voters to back Boris Johnson at the election.
But in a bruising interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil he was accused of ‘smears’ for pointing out that Annunziata Rees-Mogg was related to Cabinet minister Jacob, and another of the defectors was a ‘personal friend’ of Mr Johnson.
Alongside Ms Rees-Mogg, John Longworth, the former British Chambers of Commerce chief, Lance Forman and Lucy Harris have also resigned.
In a significant boost for the PM, they have appealed for colleagues to follow their example and avoid splitting the Eurosceptic vote in the poll next Thursday.
All four will continue to sit as independent MEPs. Mr Longworth had the whip removed yesterday for allegedly voting in favour of Mr Johnson’s divorce package in the European Parliament.
Ms Rees-Mogg, MEP for the East Midlands and a former Tory candidate, said: ‘We need a strong Leave-supporting government to deliver the Brexit 17.4 million voted for.
‘The Conservatives are the only option for Brexit supporters and democrats alike.’
And at a press conference in Westminster this afternoon, Mr Forman said: ‘The Brexit Party’s strategy is misguided. it jeopardises the chance to become an independent country at the very time victory is in sight.’
Nigel Farage complained that his former colleagues ‘don’t understand’ the election dynamics in Labour marginals after they dramatically abandoned him
in a bruising interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil (pictured), Mr Farage he was accused of ‘smears’ for pointing out that Annunziata Rees-Mogg was related to Cabinet minister Jacob
Annunziata Rees-Mogg, MEP for the East Midlands said the Conservatives were the ‘only option for Brexit supporters and democrats alike’
A Brexit Party spokesman pointed to close ties between the rebels and senior Tories – including Ms Rees-Mogg’s brother Jacob (pictured together)
Mr Farage’s close ally Alexandra Phillips swiped at the defectors demanding they quit as MEPs
During the interview today, Mr Farage said: ‘One of them is a sister of a Cabinet minister, another one has a boyfriend working for that Cabinet minister, fact, and another one is a personal friend of Boris Johnson’s.’
He added: ‘They joined the coalition that I put together. Now they clearly were disaffected with Mrs May as leader and were not a Conservative Party.
‘And I’ll tell you something, Boris Johnson’s deal unamended is unacceptable and I certainly stand by that.’
But Ms Rees-Mogg earlier denied that her brother or anyone in the Conservative Party played a role in her decision to quit the Brexit Party.
‘I have had no approaches from the Conservative Party in any description and I am frankly finding it really quite disturbingly old-fashioned that people are suggesting that my brother gets to tell me what to do with my political views – he doesn’t,’ she said.
Mr Farage said he was ‘disappointed’ and dismissed the idea that the Brexit Party was risking a Jeremy Corbyn government.
A spokesman pointed to close ties between the rebels and senior Tories – including Ms Rees-Mogg’s brother Jacob.
Meanwhile, Mr Farage’s ally Alexandra Phillips branded the quartet ‘glory hunters’ and demanded they stand down from the European Parliament.
The news will fuel fears of a complete meltdown, with deep splits over whether to go all-out against the Tories on December 12 or endorse the PM’s deal with the EU.
Mr Farage said: ‘We are disappointed that four of our MEPs don’t seem to understand that we both saved the Conservative party from large scale losses to the Liberal Democrats in the South and South West of England but we are also hammering the Labour Leave vote in its traditional heartlands making it much easier for the Conservatives to win many of those seats.
‘The only vote on the Leave side that is currently being split is in areas such as Barnsley, the South Wales Valleys, Doncaster and Hartlepool where there is a risk that the Tories will split our vote.’
A Brexit Party spokesman added: ‘We also note that one of the MEPs is the sister of a Cabinet Minister, another has a partner who works in the office of the same Cabinet Minister and yet another is a personal friend of both Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
‘In the case of John Longworth, who was for years the firmest advocate of WTO withdrawal that we have ever met, he underwent a metamorphosis into being a supporter of the new EU treaty following two days of meetings in London.’
Mr Johnson today renewed his commitment to get Brexit done, saying he would stick to the January 31 departure date and the transition period will not last beyond 2020.
The Brexit Party opposes the deal in principle and has ordered all MEPs to vote against it, claiming it is not ‘real Brexit’.
Mr Longworth is a member of a committee which was yesterday ordered to vote in secret in the European Parliament in Brussels.
But he has refused to say which way he cast his ballot on the issue.
Mr Farage dramatically pulled candidates from more than 300 seats that were won by the Conservatives in 2017, saying he did not want to split the Eurosceptic vote and hand victory to Labour.
But he insisted the party will still fight Labour constituencies, arguing they are best placed to win in Leave-leaning Northern heartlands.
John Longworth (left), the former British Chambers of Commerce chief, and Lance Forman (right at a press conference in Westminster today) have resigned
Lance Forman (right) and Lucy Harris (pictured) are also resigning, although all four will continue to sit as independent MEPs
Mr Johnson (pictured on ITV’s Peston last night) has renewed his commitment to get Brexit done, saying he would stick to the January 31 departure date and the transition period will not last beyond 2020
Tories have a 10-point lead over Labour with just a WEEK until election as Jeremy Corbyn struggles to turn around his campaign
Boris Johnson and the Tories have a 10 point poll lead over Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party with the general election now just one week away.
Labour is yet to lead in any poll published during the election campaign and a new survey conducted by Savanta ComRes suggests the party is failing to gain any ground.
The poll conducted between December 2-3 puts the Tories on 42 per cent overall, down one per cent on the company’s survey from the end of November.
The Tories are still ahead of Labour in the polls – with a Savanta ComRes survey today suggesting they have a 10 point lead
But Labour is also down one point with a total support rating of 32 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems are down one point to 12 per cent, the Brexit Party is down one point to three per cent and the Greens are down one point to two per cent.
The poll is likely to spark major alarm at Labour HQ because the party is not making any progress despite the fact the battle for Number 10 is now entering its final phase.
However, the survey will calm nerves in Downing Street because it suggests that Mr Johnson is still on course to win a majority next week.
The Savanta ComRes poll comes just one day after a YouGov survey also showed Mr Corbyn is failing to gain any momentum as the campaign heads to its conclusion.
That poll, also conducted between December 2-3, put the Conservative Party down one point on 42 per cent overall when compared to the company’s previous poll on November 29.