Nigel Farage

London : Nigel Farage, former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the most prominent campaigner for Britain to leave the European Union (EU), has announced that if the country’s exit from the EU was delayed, he would stand as candidate for a new pro-Brexit party.

Farage made the announcement in an op-ed for The Telegraph daily on Friday, reports CNN.

“I have made it clear many times that I will not stand by and do nothing, so should this (European Parliament) election need to be contested, I will stand as a candidate for the Brexit Party and I will give it my all,” he said.

“In defence of democracy, we stand ready for battle.”

The party’s current leader, Catherine Blaiklock, a former UKIP member, had registered the group on Tuesday.

Farage saw the EU referendum result as a personal victory when the public voted in June 2016 to leave the bloc by a margin of 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

A high-profile Eurosceptic, Farage has been accused of peddling racist and xenophobic views — especially when it comes to immigration in the UK, CNN said.

He argued in 2016 that the open immigration policy Britain agreed to with the EU led to an influx of people that created divisions within society.

Before the Brexit vote, UKIP unveiled a campaign poster with the slogan: “Breaking Point. The EU has failed us all”, showing an image of migrants entering Europe in 2015.

Opposition leaders called it “divisive” and “hate-filled”.

The UK is due to leave the EU on March 29.

However, British Prime Minister Theresa May still needs to secure a deal that has approval from both the EU and UK and unless she seeks an extension on Article 50, the country will crash out of the bloc.

—IANS