After insurance multimillionaire Arron Banks confirmed his plan to run in the upcoming snap election, his political rival, former UKIP MP Douglas Carswell, announced that he was quitting Parliament.
Carswell revealed on Thursday that he will not seek re-election and will vote Conservative during the general election on June 08.
“Having been an MP for about half my adult life, I believe that it is time for me to move on to other things. I look forward to being able to read newspapers without appearing in them,” Carswell said in a statement.
“I have stood for Parliament five times, won four times, and helped win the referendum last June. Job done. I’m delighted,” he also said.
Prime Minister Theresa May called for the general election earlier this week as she wanted to secure the backing of the British people for her Brexit negotiations.
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Banks, the major UKIP donor who bankrolled the Leave.EU Brexit campaign, later confirmed that he will fight for Carwell’s seat in Clacton despite knowing “nothing at all” about the constituency.
The insurance tycoon admitted that he had spent very little time in Clacton was not aware of the issues affecting voters there.
“I know nothing at all about Clacton,” he told BBC Radio Essex. “I’ve got a reputation for just saying it like it is. My plan is, to go down to Clacton, see what the issues are and then we’ll start campaigning.”
Banks later said on Twitter: “Honesty the best policy. I'll be down there next week for six weeks getting to know people and finding out all about Clacton.”
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