Nigel Farage, the new interim leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip), is accusing Prime Minister Theresa May of "stealing" his party's policies. Mr Farage was speaking to Channel 4 News, according to The Independent. While saying that the new policies announced by the Prime Minister are based on what himself and the Ukip have been preaching for the last years, Mr Farage praised what he considered to be "a major shift in British politics", thanks to the role Ukip played in the Brexit referendum of June 23.
Arron Banks, the well known Ukip donor, supported these views.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Mr Banks added that Theresa May's speech is now very alike to what Nigel Farage has been saying, and which brought him condemnation from other parties, the Conservative included. Arron Banks also said that it looks like the Conservative Party is "rebranding" itself as the new Ukip.
Steven Woolfe almost defected to the Tories
The Independent also reveals that Steven Woolfe, who is being poised to become the next Ukip leader after Diane James' quitting, pondered to defect to the Conservative Party. The newspaper cites a statement where Mr Woolfe, himself, claims that he felt some enthusiasm at the beginning, immediately after Mrs May replaced David Cameron, but later he considered that "stick to the Ukip" would be the best option to tackle the challenges that, in his view, Britain is facing regarding Brexit.
Mr Woolfe pointed May' positions about new grammar schools, social mobility and the need of a "clean Brexit" as good motives to stick with his party. He also added that the party is defending a "full delivered Brexit", advocating that Britain must take a strong stance in the Brexit negotations that lay, and that it's the only way to protect "the communities of the Midlands and the North.
Last Sunday (October 2), Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March 2017. A maximum period of two years of negotiations will follow, meaning that in March 2019 the United Kingdom will no longer be a member of the European Union.
