Pro-Brexit and anti-immigration activist Nigel Farage returned to the forefront of British politics on Monday, announcing that he would take the leadership of the right-wing Reform UK Party and run for parliament in the July 4 election.
AdvertisingIn his eighth bid to win a seat in the House of Commons, Nigel Farage has said he will stand as a candidate in the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea.
The announcement came days after Farage said he would not stand as a candidate in November’s US presidential election because it was more important to support his ally Donald Trump.
Although Clacton has some chance of defeating the incumbent Conservative president and being elected on July 4, he has admitted that his main aim is to lead a “genuine” opposition to a Labor government if the Conservatives lose.
Farage said he wanted to “lead a political uprising.
The aim is to repeat the populist political pressure that won the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union.
In a spirited announcement speech, Farage, a member of the European Parliament for more than 20 years until Brexit, stuck to his familiar script of denouncing career politicians, out-of-touch elites and mass immigration.
The 60-year-old politician also said he would take the leadership of the Brexit Party’s successor, Reform. The role has been held since the reform was founded by Richard Dice, with Farage serving as honorary leader and charismatic figurehead.
The center-right conservatives, in power for 14 years, are battling a widespread sense of hunger for change.
On July 4, voters across the United Kingdom will elect members of parliament to fill the 650 seats in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the leader of the party which can secure a majority in Parliament alone or in coalition.
