LONDON- The leader of Britain’s Brexit Party, Nigel Farage said on Friday he would go on campaigning for years to come, setting out an agenda beyond securing an exit from the European Union, focused on reforming the country’s political system.
The Brexit Party, initially seen as a pivotal player in Britain’s Dec. 12 election, has fallen in opinion polls after deciding not to contest seats held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote.
Farage himself is not standing in the election.
On Friday, the party launched a “Contract with the People” which grouped together its policy proposals on issues ranging from tax breaks to electoral reform, and promising to fight for “A Political Revolution”.
Asked whether he would continue as leader of the Brexit Party if it failed to win any seats in parliament, Farage said: “Whatever role it is in, I am going to go on campaigning for years to come on many of the things that are there in that document.”
“We’ve already changed the landscape of politics, and we will change it very much more greatly in the years to come.”
Farage, 55, was one of the driving forces behind Britain’s decision to hold an EU referendum in 2016, and the subsequent vote to leave the bloc. He is one of the country’s most recognisable politicians and an elected member of the European Parliament.
Despite stepping back from front-line British politics after the Brexit vote, he made a return earlier this year because he felt the type of exit being proposed by the government did not represent what people voted for.
His party advocates a clean break from all EU institutions, a harder stance than that envisaged by Johnson, and is hoping to win seats from the opposition Labour Party that will allow it to put pressure on the Conservatives.
(Content and photos syndicated via Reuters)
