Nigel Farage 'eyes Peterborough seat' as he mulls eighth attempt at becoming an MP

Liz Bates

Nigel Farage is said to be considering running for Parliament for the eight time.



The former Ukip leader is rumoured to have his eye on Labour MP Fiona Onasanya’s Peterborough seat, as she faces a looming court battle over a speeding fine.

Ms Onasanya is accused, alongside her brother Festus, of lying about who was driving the car when it was photographed breaching the speed limit.

Last month she was charged with perverting the course of justice at Westminster magistrates’ and is due to appear in court again on August 13.

The incident could see the Labour MP lose her Peterborough seat, prompting a by-election in the Brexit-backing area.

Ms Onasanya beat Conservative candidate Stewart Jackson in the 2017 snap election to win a slim majority of just 607, and in the EU referendum voters overwhelmingly backed Leave by 60.9% to 39.1%.

A source close to Mr Farage told The Times: “Nigel has for months been saying that he will don khaki and return to the frontline of British politics if Brexit looks like it’s going to be derailed.

“He is considering a number of options and discussions will be had in the coming weeks about what he will do next, so watch this space.

“He attended multiple public meetings in Peterborough during the referendum campaign, so it’s not an unattractive option and we are thinking of doing some polling in the seat, but at the moment there is no vacancy.”

Last month Mr Farage revealed that he was considering returning to frontline politics in response to the Government’s handling of Brexit.

Speaking on LBC, he said: “I hope it doesn’t happen, this is my 20th July in Strasbourg, I’ve done my bit in elected politics - I never want to have to do it again ever, ever ever, but if they drop the ball I’ll have no choice.”

Mr Farage has run for Parliament eight times, coming closest in 2015 when he came second in South Thanet behind Tory Craig MacKinlay, winning 32.4% of the vote.