Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage acts like a winner as EU election disaster looms for UK’s two main parties
- Election being held across the 28 EU countries between Thursday and Sunday
- Hard-core Brexit supporters have become increasingly eager to cast ballots for Farage’s newly formed Brexit Party
Almost three years since the UK voted in a referendum to leave the European Union, the country goes to the polls Thursday to elect 73 members to the European Parliament, the EU’s legislative body.
According to the latest opinion polls, the populist Brexit Party, led by the veteran Eurosceptic MEP Nigel Farage is set to grab 32 seats.
“A change is coming,” Brexit Party candidate Katharine Harborne warned, a reference aimed at fans of TV series Game of Thrones.
The party was only founded four months ago and has no other policies or profile apart from crashing out of the EU with no agreement.
Thursday’s election is not supposed to be happening at all.
Britain was expected to leave the EU at the end of March. But the deadline was extended until October 31 after Prime Minister Theresa May’s failed three times to get the withdrawal agreement she negotiated with the bloc passed in the House of Commons.
That meant the UK is legally obliged to participate in the European Parliament elections held in all EU member states on May 23-26, a prospect dreaded by the Conservatives who are expecting a dismal result.
