Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has said the Labour Party is 'vulnerable in the most extraordinary way' in Leave-voting areas of northern England. Speaking at a rally in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, part of Labour MP Yvette Cooper's constituency, Farage claimed there was 'real anger' in such areas and that the Labour Party could face significant trouble over its stance on Brexit.
Farage told the audience that the passion seemed even stronger in Labour Leave areas than in Conservative Leave areas. He highlighted that Pontefract is a 70% Leave constituency and criticised Yvette Cooper for promising to honour the referendum result but then spending two years trying to stop Brexit. The European elections, scheduled for 23 May, will elect 73 MEPs to the European Parliament.
Farage described the European election campaign as the 'biggest and most important campaign' he had ever fought, stating that the Brexit Party could win and transform the political landscape. He said the party would publish a full slate of policies after the elections, including scrapping the HS2 rail project, but would not have a manifesto for the vote itself.
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson responded by saying there are 'only two forces that can win' in the European elections: 'that nasty nationalism of the Farage Brexit Party, or the tolerant, compassionate outward-looking patriotism of the Labour Party'. He pleaded with Labour supporters not to stay at home or vote elsewhere.
Yvette Cooper urged all political parties to come together to counter the Brexit Party's message, warning that a no-deal Brexit would threaten jobs and raise food prices, affecting hard-working families in manufacturing towns. Former Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan argued there was an alternative Brexit that could be achieved in a 'liberal, agreed, orderly and grown-up way' under a different prime minister.
