Nigel Farage boosts Boris Johnson's election prospects by standing down Brexit Party candidates in Conservative seats

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The Brexit Party will not contest any seats held by Boris Johnson's Conservatives at the forthcoming general election, leader Nigel Farage announced on Monday afternoon.

Farage said that his party would stand aside in 317 seats across the United Kingdom which are controlled by Conservatives. However, it will challenge the Labour Party and "Remain parties" in the rest of the seats.

Earlier this month, Farage said that the Brexit Party would contest every single seat across Britain if Johnson did not ditch his withdrawal deal with the European Union and form a "Leave alliance" with the Brexit Party.

However, Johnson is campaigning on a core pledge to "get Brexit done" by getting his deal through Parliament, and has ruled out an electoral pact with Farage.

Most experts agree that Johnson's chances of securing a parliamentary majority on December 12 would be damaged if the Brexit Party decided to stand candidates in 600 seats, as Farage threatened to do earlier this month.

This is because the staunch anti-EU party would likely secure the support of a significant number of Leave voters who otherwise would have voted for the Conservatives, and potentially cost Johnson a number of seats.

With this in mind, Farage's announcement on Monday is a boost for the prime minister, who is hoping to return a majority big enough to get his deal with the EU through the House of Commons.

Johnson currently enjoys a comfortable lead over Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party in the opinion polls.

However, the election has been dubbed the most unpredictable UK poll in decades, with a high number of seats set to change hands, and Labour hoping to shift attention away from Brexit and onto issues like the National Health Service.

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