Nigel Farage demanded the Tory party “step aside” to give the Brexit Party an opportunity to take seats from the Labour Party as he hailed his party for “shattering the status quo of politics”. He told a crowd of 5,500 supporters during a rally in Birmingham the Brexit Party was “not just a protest movement”. He said: “There are many seats in the country, especially Labour-held seats, where we are the main challenger.
“Now we can only beat the Labour Party. By voting Conservative, they let Labour win.
“If you vote Tory, you will get Corbyn and you should stand aside for the Brexit Party who can beat them in those constituencies.
“Brexit Party has shattered status quo of politics.”
READ MORE: Brexit LIVE
To a roaring crowd, who waved blue glowsticks in the air, Mr Farage unveiled his party’s 100 candidates who would be ready to stand in a snap election, warning the Conservative and Labour Party “this is the new politics”.
More than 5,000 party supporters cheered the prospective candidates on to the stage at a rally at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre,
The would-be MPs, including teachers, an economist and a forklift truck driver, were introduced to the crowd before Mr Farage attacked both the Tory and Labour stances on Brexit.
After making his way on to the stage to join the candidates as supporters waved glow sticks, Mr Farage told the crowd: “This fine group of people are but a start.
“By the end of next week we will have 650 approved prospective parliamentary candidates. There is a big message that Westminster needs to hear – we are not a protest movement.”
“We have a big vision for the future of our country. We are upbeat and optimistic. We believe in Britain. Brexit is the greatest opportunity any of us will ever see in our lifetimes.
“We launched the Brexit Party just 49 days ago down the road in Coventry and what we have achieved is quite an extraordinary thing in less than 50 days.
“The reds and blues have broken their promises, the yellows are fighting for the other side and purple have gone wrong.
“It is time for turquoise, time for Brexit Party.”
Mr Farage also unveiled his spending plans to take the Brexit Party forward, including plans to scrap the £100billion HS2 high speed rail project, scrap business rates for new businesses outside of London, refuse to send £39billion to Brussels, scrap the £14billion foreign budget and “invest in the rest” with a cash injection to regional parts of the UK.
Urging party supporters to help its campaigning activities in any way they could, Mr Farage said of the rally: “I think the rest of the world will be looking at this, wondering about this because this is the new politics.
“I have to tell you, aside from the 650 candidates, there are many things that I want you to do.
“I am asking for your help because beyond the general election, maybe even before the general election, we will have to find thousands of people to stand up and fight local elections for us, right across the country.”
Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice also revealed the party’s plan to reject a traditional party conference in September to instead hold 11 regional rallies.
Mr Tice said: “We want to be the biggest party in Westminster. That is what today is about, we have to keep heading forward.”
Meanwhile, Brexit Party MEP Annunziata Rees-Mogg, a former Tory and sister to Jacob Rees-Mogg told crowds: “MPs sitting in their offices in the Westminster bubble should be scared.”
