Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage says his party will not stand candidates in Tory-held seats

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has announced his party will not stand candidates in any seats the Conservatives won at the last election.

It may be a boost for the Tories and their leader, Boris Johnson, as it means the "pro-Brexit" vote will not be split in marginal seats which the Conservatives are defending from Labour or the Liberal Democrats.

Examples include Middlesbrough South and East, a seat which the Conservatives took from Labour in 2017 with a majority of 1,020, or 2.1% of the vote

While we don't know how many people voted for the Brexit Party in this constituency in the 2019 European Elections, we do know that 45% of voters in Middlesbrough backed Nigel Farage's party. The results were published at local authority level.

It also means that defending Conservative candidates in relatively safe Tory-held seats such as Hexham and Berwick-upon-Tweed, both in Northumberland, can rest easy in the knowledge that they will not face a challenge from a Brexit Party candidate. 

In the North East region as a whole, the Brexit Party won 38.73% of the vote. It was never likely that the party would gain anything like this share of the vote in a general election, but it suggests that there is support for the party.

A poll published by YouGov over the weekend found that 19% of voters in the North East said they would back the Brexit Party if the election was held tomorrow. 15% said they would vote for the Lib Dems, 32% for Labour and 26% for the Conservatives,

It remains to be seen whether Mr Farage's decision will help the Conservatives, as It's possible that taking away the option of voting for the Brexit Party could help Labour in some seats.

It's thought that there may be some traditional Labour voters who are unhappy with Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the party but could never bring themselves to vote Conservative. Those voters might consider backing the Brexit Party - reducing Labour's vote - but might return to Labour if the Brexit Party does not stand.

Speaking to supporters in Hartlepool, Nigel Farage said his party would not stand in the 317 seats won by the Conservatives in the last election in 2017.

He said he had taken the decision because he feared that if they had run it would have led to a hung Parliament with significant gains for the Liberal Democrats. 

The move is a significant boost for Boris Johnson amid warnings by Conservative ministers that they risked splitting the Brexit vote.

"We've decided ourselves that we absolutely have to put country before party and take the fight to Labour," Mr Farage said.

Labour Party chair Ian Lavery said the Brexit Party decision to stand down candidates in Tory-held seats was part of a bid to satisfy US President Donald Trump and privatise parts of the NHS.

"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," he 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."