James Forsyth James Forsyth

Exclusive: Nigel Farage doesn’t want to lead the Out campaign

Nigel Farage has told The Spectator that he doesn’t want to lead the Out campaign come an EU referendum. In an interview, he said, ‘It needs a figurehead and I’m a warrior not a figurehead.’

Farage believes that if Ukip win the European Elections then a referendum will be inevitable. He says that come the referendum, he will play his part ‘I’m a fixed bayonet man, albeit that I don’t see myself as a private. But I see myself leading a division into battle, that’s where I fit in.’

The Ukip leader wants someone who ‘someone who has been very big in British politics’ to take charge of the No campaign, though Farage doesn’t give any clue as to who that person is. He does, though, say that ‘he regards the Labour MP Frank Field and the former Tory Chairman David Davis as key figures for the Out campaign when the time comes.

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