Boris Johnson unveils manifesto for Brexit Britain - GulfToday

Boris Johnson unveils manifesto for Brexit Britain

Boris Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. File photo

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveils his Conservative Party's manifesto on Sunday, pledging to move on from Brexit and austerity in a bid to secure a general election victory.

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Having taken over a minority administration in July and unable to speed his EU divorce deal through parliament, Johnson is seeking a majority at the December 12 snap general election.

He sees Britain's third general election in four and a half years as the only way to break the logjam on Brexit, which 52 percent of voters plumped for in the seismic 2016 referendum.

Boris Johnson
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. File photo

Having got the Brexit date delayed three months from October 31 to January 31, opposition parties backed his call for an early general election.

"I'm looking forward to sharing our manifesto," Johnson tweeted on Saturday.

"We have developed a clear plan that respects the referendum, gets it done, and allows us to move on and focus on delivering real benefits for you and your family," the centre-right party leader said.

May
Theresa May. File photo

The Britain Elects poll aggregator puts the Conservatives on 42 percent, ahead of the Labour main opposition on 29 percent, the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats on 15 percent, the Brexit Party on six percent and the Greens on three percent.

The Conservatives have seen their popularity surge since Johnson took over from Theresa May four months ago.

Nigel-Farage
Nigel Farage. File photo

They also seem set to benefit from Nigel Farage's Brexit Party pulling out their candidates from more than 300 seats being defended by the Conservatives.

Parliament's lower House of Commons contains 650 MPs.

Farage had been accused of risking splitting the pro-Brexit vote and allowing anti-Brexit candidates to win seats, under Britain's first-past-the-post constituencies system.

Despite the poll lead, the election outcome remains uncertain and commentators call for caution, mindful that May had a huge poll lead in the 2017 general election which rapidly melted.

Agence France-Presse

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