Let me explain how we came to this difficult decision. When Boris Johnson came back with his new EU Treaty, I made no secret of my concerns. Two aspects in particular stood out. First, it did not ‘get Brexit done’ – it would mean at least another three years of agonising negotiations in which EU negotiator Monsieur Barnier would have the upper hand. And second, the Treaty meant we were committing ourselves to regulatory and political alignment with EU rules on everything from our fishing to our financial services.
That’s why last week we signed 600 Brexit Party candidate nomination forms, because I felt that in a democracy everybody deserves a genuine choice.
Last night, however, I heard something from Boris Johnson that at last made me feel more optimistic. In a video the Prime Minister said that he would not extend the Transition Period beyond the end of 2020 – a huge challenge to Barnier and Juncker.
Even more importantly, Boris said that he would seek a ‘super Canada-plus’ free trade deal with the EU, with no political alignment. That is a significant step in the right direction. It starts to look more like the Brexit that 17.4m of us voted for.
So, we have decided to give Boris half a chance, and focus on taking the fight to Labour in their Brexit heartlands. It was The Brexit Party that beat Labour here in the May European elections – and we can, with your help, do it again. There are millions of traditional Labour voters waiting for a party that is on their side, that believes in bringing more money and jobs back to the regions, that says we need sensible immigration controls. These are messages that will resonate hard in those Labour Leave areas.
How do we hold Boris to his promises? We have to start winning some of those Labour seats, by making Corbyn’s Labour pay for their betrayal of Brexit. Getting MPs into Parliament is the way we can hold Mr Johnson to account. We cannot win those seats without your help.
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