Former United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage officially squelched rumors that he will run for the House of Commons this year. He announced in a Telegraph op/ed today that although the prospects may be tempting, he will not be running for a United Kingdom parliamentary seat.
Farage, who still serves as a member of the European Parliament for South East England, was expected by many observers to run for office after he engineered the stunningly successful Brexit vote last year. That victory gave him a great deal of political capital, but Farage is not ready to cash it in on a return to British politics quite yet.
“I have decided that I will not stand in this election but fight for Brexit in Europe,” Farage said.
The reasoning behind his decision is to ensure that the Brexit goes through appropriately without any deceptions. Farage has worked for decades on this project, and wants to keep international bureaucrats from sabotaging his hard work. “I have a front row seat where it matters most,” Farage said.
In the op/ed, Farage went on to comment about the state of British politics. His party, UKIP has seemingly waned after the Brexit under the new stewardship of new leader Paul Nuttall. Meanwhile, the Tories are gaining momentum as they have embraced the imminence of Brexit. This may be cause for concern, Farage claims.
“Ukip have had a transformative effect on British politics, but the job is far from done,” Farage said. “We helped to win the war with the referendum, but winning the peace is of equal importance.”
Although Farage may not be running for the House of Commons this year, it is clear that he will remain a fixture of European public life for many years to come.
