Why is Nigel Farage not standing to be a Brexit Party MP in the general election?

NIGEL Farage has been the most vocal Brexiteer in Britain for more than 20 years.

But he's been accused of running scared after announcing he will not stand as an MP for the Brexit Party in the December 12 General Election. Here's the latest.

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Why is Nigel Farage not standing to be an MP?

Mr Farage has revealed he has decided not to run as a Westminster MP.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr he wanted to focus on campaigning across the UK instead of in just one place.

"I have thought very hard about this: How do I serve the cause of Brexit best?" he said.

"Do I find a seat and try to get myself into Parliament or do I serve the cause better traversing the length and breadth of the United Kingdom supporting 600 candidates, and I've decided the latter course is the right one."

He also revealed his party WILL stand in 600 seats across the country, which will be a huge threat to Boris Johnson and his Brexit deal.

The decision not to stand has stunned his own supporters - including his friend and biggest former donor billionaire Arron Banks.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also lampooned Mr Farage for his controversial decision.

Corbyn said: “It’s a bit weird to lead a political party that is apparently contesting all or most of the seats up in the election and he himself is not offering himself for election.

“He’s obviously very comfortable on his MEP’s salary.”

How is Nigel Farage involved in the Brexit Party?

Farage is the founder of the new right-wing party.

He founded the new political movement in an attempt to “fight back against the betrayal of democracy” by Theresa May, as he sees it.

Mr Farage said the party was inundated with “just under 1,000” requests from people wanting to be a candidate in the European elections in May 2019.

He said the “Westminster bubble” had completely misunderstood the mood of people across the country - who just want to leave the EU.

The MEP left Ukip in December 2018 after 25 years.

Ukip won the European Elections in 2015 with 27 per cent of the vote, and the Brexit Party won 29 seats and 30.52 per cent of the vote in 2019.

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What has Farage said about the General Election?

Mr Farage previously promised to fight Boris Johnson in every seat unless the PM dropped his Brexit deal and formed an election pact.

He gave Mr Johnson a deadline of two weeks to join his "Leave Alliance" or face 600 Brexit Party candidates in a battle for voters.

He told his party's election launch: "Boris tells us it's a great new deal, it is not. It's a bad treaty. Simply, it is not Brexit.

"Boris' deal gives us all of the burdens of EU membership but no say whatsoever."

But he later relented and agreed to stand down in the 317 seats the Tories won in the last election so as not to split the vote to leave.

Why did Nigel Farage leave Ukip?

Mr Farage stood down as leader for the second time following the Brexit referendum in 2016.

He said at the time: "During the referendum I said I wanted my country back ... now I want my life back."

Since then Ukip has been in almost perpetual chaos, with four leaders in two years.

His successor Diane James quit after 18 days, and Mr Farage had to return as acting leader until Paul Nuttall took over.

But Nuttall quit after disastrous election results in 2017, and there followed the embarrassing saga of Henry Bolton who was hounded out as leader amid controversy over his model girlfriend.

Gerard Batten took over from April 2018 until June 2019.

Batten was accused of lurching to the far right by focusing less on Brexit and more on immigration and anti-Muslim policies.

Mr Farage warned the party risked becoming ";the new BNP".

Mr Batten sparked outrage by appointing former EDL leader Tommy Robinson as an adviser on Asian rape gangs.

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And on December 4, 2018, Mr Farage revealed he was handing in his membership card after 25 years.

He said the party under Mr Batten's leadership was "turning a blind eye to extremist politics".

Farage announced he was quitting on his LBC radio show, claiming Mr Batten was "obsessed" with Tommy Robinson and the religion of Islam.

Batten quit as the head of the party after a disastrous European Election result saw him lose his seat.

Richard Braine then took over the reigns but stepped down in October 2019.

The positions of leader, deputy leader and deputy chairman are still vacant (as of November 4, 2019)  as the country heads towards a General Election on December 12.