London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Feb 04, 2026

General Election 2019: Boris Johnson rejects Nigel Farage's election pact offer

General Election 2019: Boris Johnson rejects Nigel Farage's election pact offer

The prime minister tells Sky's Sophy Ridge: "I've ruled out a pact with everybody because I don't think it's sensible to do that."
Boris Johnson has rejected Nigel Farage's offer to form a "Leave alliance".

With the general election campaign now under way, the prime minister told Sky's Sophy Ridge: "I've ruled out a pact with everybody because I don't think it's sensible to do that.

Brexit Party leader Mr Farage said on Friday he would hold back from fielding a candidate in every seat in Britain if the PM dropped his EU Withdrawal Agreement and joined him in a "non-aggression pact".

But Mr Johnson insisted he would not do a deal with any party leader over the 12 December election.

He said: "The only likely consequence of voting for them [other party leaders], rather than for us as Conservatives, is that you are making it more likely that you will get Jeremy Corbyn and Labour and a chaotic constellation of other parties... with nothing but dither and delay."

Mr Johnson also rejected Donald Trump's claim that his EU deal may hinder a future trade deal between the US and UK.

The prime minister said: "I'm afraid I don't wish to cast any aspersions on the president of the United States, but in that respect he is patently in error, anybody who looks at our deal can see it is a great deal.

"What it does is it allows us to take back control of our money, our borders and our laws, but also it allows us to have full unfettered control of our tariff schedules in Geneva and to do it as one United Kingdom.

"That deal is ready to go, we've negotiated it. People said it wasn't possible. But there it is."

Mr Johnson also said he was "sorry" the UK did not leave the European Union on 31 October which he had pledged to make happen "do or die".

He told Sophy Ridge: "It's a matter of deep regret. All we need to do now is get on and do it."

Launching the Brexit Party's general election campaign, Mr Farage claimed the PM's deal did not represent Brexit and described his "very big, generous offer" as a "one-off opportunity" that would secure Brexit and win the election with a "big stonking majority".

Speaking to Mr Farage on his radio show on Thursday, the US president said he had doubts over Mr Johnson's deal with the EU.

"Under certain aspects of the deal you can't do it," he said. "You can't do it, you can't trade, we can't make a trade deal with the UK.

"I think we can do many times the numbers that we're doing right now and certainly much bigger numbers than you're doing under the EU. So, I know Boris wants to be very careful of that."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Political Censorship: French Prosecutors Raid Musk’s X Offices in Paris
AI Invented “Hot Springs” — Tourists Arrived and Were Shocked
Tech Mega-Donors Power Trump-Aligned Fundraising Surge to $429 Million Ahead of 2026 Midterms
UK Pharma Watchdog Rules Sanofi Breached Industry Code With RSV Vaccine Claims Against Pfizer
Melania Documentary Opens Modestly in UK with Mixed Global Box Office Performance
Starmer Arrives in Shanghai to Promote British Trade and Investment
Harry Styles, Anthony Joshua and Premier League Stars Among UK’s Top Taxpayers
New Epstein Files Include Images of Former Prince Andrew Kneeling Over Unidentified Woman
Starmer Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before US Congress About Epstein Ties
Starmer Extends Invitation to Japan’s Prime Minister After Strategic Tokyo Talks
Skupski and Harrison Clinch Australian Open Men’s Doubles Title in Melbourne
DOJ Unveils Millions of Epstein Files, Fueling Global Scrutiny of Elite Networks
France Begins Phasing Out Zoom and Microsoft Teams to Advance Digital Sovereignty
China Lifts Sanctions on British MPs and Peers After Starmer Xi Talks in Beijing
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair to Reorient U.S. Monetary Policy Toward Pro-Growth Interest Rates
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
×