THE Conservative Party must “do a deal” with Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party to ensure Britain leaves the European Union, a senior Tory MP has insisted.
The senior backbench Brexiteer predicted that the UK was heading towards a general election, which would help purge the party of “non-Conservatives” and turn it into a true Brexit party that could win the poll.
The MP told The Herald: “The only chance the Tories now have of delivering Brexit is to do a deal with Farage," after a snap autumn election. He warned that if it did not, then pro-Remain parties like Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and the SNP would form their own alliance to kill off any chance of the UK ever leaving the EU.
A large YouGov poll at the weekend on this week’s European elections showed that across the UK the Brexit Party was the clear favourite to win being placed on 34 per cent ahead of the Liberal Democrats on 17, Labour on 15, the Greens on 11, the Conservatives on nine and Change UK on four.
In Scotland, the snapshot put the SNP well ahead on 40 points, the Brexit Party on 20, the Greens on 11, both Labour and the Conservatives on 10, the Lib Dems on seven and Change UK on two.
Meanwhile, new figures showed Change UK and the Brexit Party spent more on Facebook advertising than any other party in the lead-up to the Euro-poll.
Data from the social media network showed Change UK - formerly known as The Independent Group - spent a total of £107,442 on the platform in the 30 days from April 19. Mr Farage's party spent £95,222 over the same period, which ran until May 18.
The Lib Dem were the fourth biggest spenders with £76,102 spent over the period on mostly anti-Brexit ads.
The party was behind Facebook itself, which spent £86,457 on adverts assuring the public that it was taking action on misinformation.
The two biggest political parties both spent significantly less on Facebook adverts during the 30-day period with Labour in sixth position with £46,516 spent.
The Conservatives were the ninth biggest spenders with £23,218, less than the Electoral Commission, European Parliament and environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth.
Change UK's adverts included a series of messages from its MPs such as Chuka Umunna, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen calling for a "People's Vote" on Brexit.
Many of the Brexit Party adverts specifically targeted people whose MPs had called for another Brexit vote with a picture of the MP and the words: "Your MP wants a second referendum. Don't let them get away with it. Vote for The Brexit Party on 23rd May."
Facebook began releasing data on ad spending on its platform last year, after facing criticism for how it shared personal data with advertisers and political groups, including Cambridge Analytica.
The platform allows advertisers to pay to target people based on information they have shared on the site, including age, gender, location and interests.
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