Brexit Party fail to win a single seat but Farage claims they helped keep Labour out
The Brexit Party failed to win any seats during the general election but leader Nigel Farage insists his party helped the Conservatives win a majority.
The party only stood 273 candidates across the country after opting to stand down in constituencies where there was a risk of splitting the Leave vote.
Farage announced a month ago that they would not be standing candidates in Tory held seats, and urged Leave voters to back them in Labour strong-holds.
Read more: Election night live: Watch as results come through across UK
Ultimately they failed to win any seats, with party chairman Richard Tice losing to Labour in Hartlepool, which had been deemed to be one of the Brexit Party’s best chances.
Tice won 10,603 votes but was beaten by Mike Hill, with 15,464, who lost 14.8 per cent of his vote share.
In total, the party achieved just two percent of the vote or 642,303 votes.
Farage believes it helped Conservatives take a sweeping victory.
“We’ve used our influence and that’s the important thing,” he said as results were coming in. “If we get Brexit, given that it was in the weeds earlier this year, and we set it up, we’ve done a good job.
“I killed the Liberal Democrats and hurt the Labour Party. My purpose was to try to get the right kind of Brexit. If we get half a loaf out of it, well, that’s what we’ve achieved.”
However it is a notion that has been dismissed by some Tories, who believe they would have won more seats from Labour had the Brexit Party not split the vote.
“Nigel Farage has cost the Conservatives several seats,” tweeted Tory MEP Daniel Hannan. “Fair enough: it’s a democracy, and anyone is free to stand. But his claim to have helped deliver a Tory majority is absurd.”
Read more: General election 2019: Johnson hails ‘stonking mandate’ for Brexit
Following the results, Farage told the BBC that he may help Donald Trump next year in his Presidential campaign.
Asked by Andrew Neil if he would travel to America to act as a warm-up speaker at Trump rallies, Farage admitted: “If I’m asked to help I may.”
He also said that he would change the party’s name to the Reform Party following Brexit.