Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage is considering a return to frontline politics with a run for Mayor of London in 2020.
The man viewed by many as the spiritual leader of Brexit has been keeping busy by hosting a radio show on a London talk station and sharing his philosophy on an Australian lecture tour, which suffered from poor tickets sales at a number venues.
With the incumbent Mayor, Labour’s Sadiq Khan, looking a good bet to secure a second term and many high-profile Conservative figures rejecting the chance to run, Farage is believed to have spotted an opportunity to become the main challenger for the job, keeping his name in the headlines in the process.
The former Conservative Party member who quit and formed UKIP in 1993 has made seven attempts to become an MP, losing on every occasion. He has been returned as MEP for South East England three times.
Farage told the Financial Times that he was “thinking about it” when asked about the Mayoral bid claiming it would be a good opportunity to “make arguments”. He predicted that if he did run “the Tories would probably come third.”
Meanwhile, UKIP members across the country have been urged to join the Conservative Party by Leave.EU co-founder Arron Banks. The aim is to ensure that if Theresa May is ousted as leader, her replacement will be a diehard Leaver.
Former UKIP MEP Steven Woolfe has been accepted, but Mr Banks’ own attempt to join the Tories failed when his application was rejected by the party.
