LONDON: Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s anti-EU party UKIP, took the first step towards seeking a seat in parliament yesterday, putting himself forward for selection by his party to run in a southern constituency controlled by the ruling Conservatives.
Farage, who wants to take Britain out of the European Union, rode a tide of Euroscepticism and discontent about immigration to win European elections in May.
But despite that success and gains in local elections, the UK Independence Party has never managed to win a seat in the House of Commons. The 50-year-old former commodities trader said he was seeking selection by the party he leads to run for the South Thanet seat on England’s eastern coast.
“I have thrown my hat in the ring, but so have others,” Farage said in an article in the Independent newspaper.
“I stand a good chance of winning,” he added. “I have fought the seat before and it is in my home county of Kent and an area I have represented in the European Parliament since 1999.” Farage has said UKIP could hold the balance of power if the 2015 national election produces a hung parliament.
Reuters
