The Brexit Party has almost 3,000 prospective MPs willing to stand in a general election as the fledgling grassroots movement pins its hope on victory in the Peterborough by-election.

Nigel Farage’s party will hold an event at Birmingham’s NEC at the end of this month to brainstorm a new manifesto in a bid to take on the Tories and Labour in 2022.

The Telegraph has learned that the party has already vetted 200 wannabe MPs, with hundreds more lined up for interviews as it prepares for an assault on Westminster should a snap election be called in the next three years.

It comes as multimillionaire former Tory supporter and donor Mike Greene is tipped to become the Brexit Party’s first MP after a closely fought by-election in Peterborough, with Labour enjoying a last-minute surge in the polls.

Mr Farage said his party “are ready to fight a full scale general election campaign”, having recruited three full-time members of staff to the newly set up candidates department, who are currently sifting through “nearly 3,000 applications”.