Brexit Party MEP Robert Rowland Rules Out Electoral Pact With Tories

4 August 2019, 15:26

Brexit Party MEP Robert Rowland tells LBC he is "absolutely not" in favour of a pact with Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, after a Remain-alliance helped the Liberal Democrats beat both parties in the Brecon by-election.

Lib Dem candidate Jane Dodds beat both the Conservatives and Brexit Party in the Leave seat last week, reducing Boris Johnson's working majority to just one.

The pro-Remain party, which formed a 'Remain alliance' with the Greens and Plaid Cymru beat the other parties after securing 43% of the vote.

But speaking to Clive Bull, Brexit Party MEP Richard Rowland said he is "absolutely not" in favour of forming a 'Brexit pact' with the Conservatives in order to prevent a similar outcome in other constituencies.

Mr Rowland said: "The Brecon result yet again displayed the split the country is at.

"A vote for the Tories is a vote for a party that is still split on Brexit and has failed to deliver it in three years, and is now desperate to preserve itself," he added.

The MEP told Clive that blame for the Tory Brecon defeat on the Brexit Part was "self-preservation", but Clive pressed him on whether standing a candidate against the governing party contributed to "splitting the Brexit vote".

Mr Rowland replied: "In our case, as we saw in Peterborough, had [the Conservatives] stood down we would have won that election."

Brexit Party Chairman Richard Tice told Andrew Pierce that "there is nothing of [a pact] going on at all", and that the party was "focussed on taking votes from the Conservatives and Labour Party".

Watch above.