Nigel Farage abandoned plans for the Brexit Party to contest more than 600 candidates in the General Election on Monday.
Mr Farage said the party would not stand in the 317 seats won by the Conservatives in the last election in 2017.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson broke his alcohol ban momentarily as he sipped a pint in a Wolverhampton pub.
Here are some of the highlights of Monday’s campaign trail:
– Brexit Party will step aside in Tory-held constituencies
Boris Johnson signalled a major change of direction which makes us more optimistic. pic.twitter.com/7tUi1HhAxU
— The Brexit Party (@brexitparty_uk) November 11, 2019
Nigel Farage said his party would stand aside in 317 Tory-held seats in a bid to “stop a second referendum” by putting “country before party”.
The Brexit Party will still stand in Labour-held seats, many of which the Tories are also targeting to try to win a majority in the Commons.
– Pledges to the armed forces on Armistice Day
Both the Tories and Labour made pledges to support armed forces veterans on the day the country remembers the fallen.
Boris Johnson wants to end unfair trials of veterans where no new evidence has been produced while Jeremy Corbyn proposed improving working conditions for armed forces personnel.
– Liberal Democrats propose £10,000 skills wallets for adults
What exactly is a Skills Wallet?
It’s £10,000 that the Lib Dem will give every adult to spend on education and training throughout their lives.
Learn more about our plan for a #BrighterFuture here > https://t.co/2QuWhk2Cat pic.twitter.com/VTlmT8Z1aj
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) November 11, 2019
The Liberal Democrats have promised every adult in England £10,000 to spend on education and training throughout their life.
The so-called “skills wallet” scheme will see people get £4,000 at 25; £3,000 at 40 and another £3,000 at 55, the party said.
The money can only go towards approved education and training courses – and will be paid for by reversing cuts to corporation tax to bring the rate back to 20%, according to the party.
– Sturgeon demands oil revenue spent on decarbonising economy
The Scottish First Minister and SNP leader wants to see areas such as Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland “supported to make the transition to new low or no-carbon industries”.
– PM ‘wets his whistle’ despite alcohol ban
Asked if he would taste the beer, he replied: “I’m not allowed to drink until Brexit is done.” He added, “I’ll wet my whistle” before indulging in a sip.
Tweet of the day
Jeremy Corbyn took aim at political leaders both at home and across the pond as he responded to Nigel Farage’s Tory election pact.
Referencing the Brexit Party leader’s conversation with the US president on LBC last week, the Labour leader tweeted to declare that the move played right into Donald Trump’s hands.
One week ago Donald Trump told Nigel Farage to make a pact with Boris Johnson.
Today, Trump got his wish.
This Trump alliance is Thatcherism on steroids and could send £500 million a week from our NHS to big drugs companies. It must be stopped.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 11, 2019
Picture of the day
It wouldn’t be a traditional election campaign without at least one baby to hold.
Boris Johnson met one of his youngest supporters during a campaign stop in a Wolverhampton pub.
Boris Johnson welcomes the Brexit Party move to give his party a free run in more than 300 seats, adding that his plans for the country would be “so much easier if we could get Brexit over the line”.
