Nigel Farage warns of bombshell ‘flashpoint’ in Brexit battle ahead of vote | Politics | News

Nigel Farage has warned Andy Burnham will say one thing to voters and another to Labor MPs as he “positions himself for power”.

The Reform UK leader branded the Mayor of Greater Manchester the “open borders Burnham” and added that people “deserve honesty” in the upcoming Makerfield by-election.

He said his Labor leadership rivals had sent “the clearest signal yet” and were “preparing to completely betray Brexit voters”.

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting said on Saturday that “Britain’s future lies in Europe”, while Mr Burnham told ITV there was a “long-term case” for rejoining the bloc.

However, he will not make this claim during the crucial midterm elections on June 18, leading to fears of deliberate deception.

Mr Farage told the Express: “It has been clear for months that Keir Starmer has been trying to sleepwalk us into the European institutions.

“But this weekend has sent the clearest signal yet that Labor is preparing to completely betray Brexit voters.

“The upcoming contest in Makerfield will be a flashpoint in this battle. “It is increasingly clear that while Andy Burnham wants to say one thing to Labor voters in his constituency, he wants to say something completely different to Labor MPs as he positions himself for power.

“Voters are not stupid and they deserve Burnham’s honesty on open borders.

“Andy Burnham’s stance raises serious questions. At a time when millions of voters are demanding control of our borders, he continues to advocate rejoining a European project built around the free movement of 500 million people.”

Mr Burnham’s supporters want him to be crowned at a time when Sir Keir Starmer is floundering in Downing Street as he desperately tries to cling to power.

In his speech on Saturday, Mr Streeting called on Britain to rejoin the European Union, saying: “Britain’s future lies in Europe.”

The former health secretary described Brexit as a “devastating mistake” and added that Britain needed a new “special relationship” with the trading bloc.

And Mr Burnham said: “I have said there is a case for it in the long term, but I am not advocating it in this by-election.

“What I’m really saying is that the focus now needs to be domestically, Britain needs to focus very much on the here and now and the issues that affect people.

“So, you know, one of the big ideas I’ll be putting forward in this campaign is the re-industrialisation of Britain, building industries for the future and bringing them into areas like Makerfield, and then technical alongside that, reforming education so that young people can take a technical path and be on par with the university route.”

But Makerfield voted to leave the European Union in 2016 with 65 percent of the vote.

And Mr Farage’s party won all eight of the council wards, which cover the majority of the district.

Reform UK will make “Brexit betrayal” one of its key lines of attack in the byelection campaign.

They might even print Mr. Burnham’s words on pamphlets.

But Labour’s leadership hopefuls’ interference in Britain’s historic decision to leave the bloc has sparked anger in the current Government.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy criticized Mr Streeting and Mr Burnham for restarting their “Brexit war”.

He told Trevor Phillips on Sky News’ Sunday Morning: “The Government that he was a part of until recently is trying to take a much more pragmatic approach to bringing us closer to Europe and repairing some of the damage that a bad Brexit deal has done to people’s living standards in parts of the country like mine, rather than restarting the Brexit wars and going back down that road again.”

Ms Nandy added: “If the solution is to rejoin the EU then we are essentially saying to people: ‘Life was good in 2015, we need to get back there’.

“I know Wes will be joining the by-election campaign very soon. He will hear loud and clear from people in places like Wigan, Ashton, Winstanley that this is simply not the case. And the answer needs to be bigger.”

Tory Kemi Badenoch said the debate showed Labor “has no plan for this country”.

He told Sky News: “The country wants us to make the most of Brexit, to make the best of leaving the EU.

“The idea of ​​starting over, going back, doing all these negotiations is a sign that Labor doesn’t have a plan for the country, so they want to go back and re-fight wars that were decided long ago. And I say we’re the only ones who have a plan.”

Leading Brexiteers will gather this week for a conference organized by the Freedom Association.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith will tell the meeting in London: “Labour has no electoral mandate to override the biggest vote this country has ever seen in voting for Brexit.

“We must defend the overwhelming democratic vote of the British people and fight to make sure Brexit is not betrayed.

“Labour’s internal leadership psychodrama must disguise the fact that they plan to drag the UK back into the expensive clutches of the EU. In short, Labor wants to ruin Brexit.

“But there is no power for them to do so. They promised at the general election to stand behind the Brexit vote, but now they plan to break that promise and take us back into the EU. In every election since Brexit, the vast majority of voters have supported parties that rejected efforts to reverse Brexit.”

“The British people will have to pay huge costs but they will not have the right to vote.

“Today we all say together, Starmer, stop this deceptive plan to drag us back into the clutches of the EU and keep your promise not to challenge the vast majority of the British people.”