Nigel Farage says Boris Johnson's Conservatives offered to make him a Lord in exchange for standing down Brexit Party candidates
- Nigel Farage says Boris Johnson's Conservatives offered him a peerage.
- The Brexit Party leader claimed that was offered the chance to become a Lord on Friday.
- He made the claim after revealing that the Brexit Party would stand aside in all 317 seats controlled by the Conservatives at the upcoming election.
- Farage said, "they thought they can buy me, a high-paid job; but I'm not interested."
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Nigel Farage says he was offered a peerage by Boris Johnson's Conservative party days before he decided to stand down Brexit Party candidates in hundreds of seats at the upcoming general election.
Farage announced on Monday that the Brexit Party will stand aside in the 317 seats held by the Conservatives when Brits go to the polls for a snap election on Thursday, December 12.
Following the announcement, Farage claimed that Johnson's Conservative party had offered him the chance to become a member of the House of Lords, but he had refused.
Asked whether he was offered a peerage in exchange for stepping aside, Farage said: "I was offered one last Friday.
"Ridiculous - the thought they can buy me, a high-paid job; but I'm not interested, I don't want to know."
Despite refusing the offer, Farage said he had "unilaterally" decided to form a pact with the Conservative party, in order to prevent a hung parliament dominated by Remain-supporting parties after the general election.
The opposition Labour party accused Johnson of bein in "alliance" with Farage.
"This is a Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson alliance with Donald Trump to sell out our country and send £500 million per week from our NHS to US drugs companies," Ian Lavery, Labour Party Chair said.
"We urge voters to reject this Thatcherite 1980s tribute act, which would lead to more savage Tory attacks on working class communities. Our NHS is not for sale."
Business Insider has asked the Conservative party for comment.
'Lord Farage' gives Johson a general election boost
On Monday, Farage said that his anti-European Union party would stand aside in 317 seats across the United Kingdom which are held by Conservative incumbents, in order to prevent a hung parliament dominated by Remainers.
"If we do field 600 candidates, there will be a hung Parliament," he said at a speech in Hartlepool, north east England.
"That is by far the most likely outcome. And that's not something that people really want."
Earlier this month, Farage said that the Brexit Party would contest every single seat across Britain if Johnson did not ditch his withdrawal deal with the EU and form a "Leave alliance" with the Brexit Party.
However, Prime Minister Johnson has repeatedly ruled out an electoral pact with Farage, and is campaigning on a core pledge to "get Brexit done" by securing parliamentary approval for his Brexit deal.
Despite this refusal, Farage said that he had taken the "unilateral" decision to step aside in Conservative areas, following comments by Johnson that his government would not extend the Brexit transition beyond December 2020.
Farage's announcement on Monday is a boost for the prime minister, who is hoping to win a majority in the election.
Most experts agree that Johnson's chances of securing a parliamentary majority on December 12 would be damaged if the Brexit Party decided to stand candidates in 600 seats, as Farage threatened to do earlier this month.
However, the Brexit Party still intends to field candidates in Johnson's key target seats in Leave-voting areas of England and Wales, which the Conservatives likely need to win to return a parliamentary majority.
YouGov's Chris Curtis told Business Insider that the announcement was "unlikely to be a game-changing moment."
He said: "Finally, whilst the practical effect might be quite small, we don't know what effect Farage's message might have on broader perceptions of the parties. It could be that even in seats where the Brexit Party is standing, voters that might otherwise have supported the party now feel more comfortable voting Tory after Farage's comments.
"However given the Brexit Party was already trending downwards in the polls, it looked like this was happening already. So overall, despite today's drama, this is unlikely to be a game-changing moment."