Mr Farage says he thought the idea was ‘ridiculous’ (Picture: PA/GETTY)

Nigel Farage says he was offered a peerage, 48 hours before his decision to withdraw hundreds of Brexit Party candidates in seats won by the Conservative Party.

Mr Farage handed a major boost today to Boris Johnson’s election hopes, after declaring that he would pull candidates from 317 Tory seats.

It comes after Leave campaigners expressed fears over a split Brexit vote between the Tories and the Brexit party, allowing Labour or the Lib Dems to win.

Mr Farage was offered the peerage on Friday night, according to the Mirror.


However, he denied the possibility of a peerage was behind his decision, saying he thought the idea was ‘ridiculous’ and that he ‘did not want to know’.



He told Mirror: ‘Ridiculous – the thought they can buy me, a high-paid job; but I’m not interested, I don’t want to know.’

Mr Farage has called it a ‘unilateral Leave alliance’ (Picture: Getty Images)

Mr Farage said he changed his mind after watching a video of Boris Johnson, posted on Sunday, in which the Tory leader vowed not to extend a Brexit transition period, which is due to end in December 2020.

The Brexit party will now focus on Labour seats, and will field candidates in 300 constituencies.

However, Mr Farage did not rule out the possibility of pulling out of more seats, if it was harming the chances of a Conservative government.

The former UKIP leader added: ‘I think our action, this announcement today, prevents a second referendum from happening.’

Mr Farage hailed the decision as a ‘unilateral Leave alliance’.

The decision of the Brexit Party will boost the election hopes of Boris Johnson (Picture: AFP)

Pro-EU figures have accused Mr Farage of ‘bottling it’.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the ‘pact’ between Mr Farage and Boris Johnson was a ‘Trump alliance’.

He Tweeted: ‘One week ago Donald Trump told Nigel Farage to make a pact with Boris Johnson.

‘Today, Trump got his wish. This Trump alliance is Thatcherism on steroids and could send £500 million a week from our NHS to big drugs companies. It must be stopped.’

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