The decision of Farage that the Brexit Party will not stand against 317 Tory candidates in the Election reflects the fact that Farage is more Tory than Brexit as no doubt numbers of non-Tory Party supporters will observe.
But there is a wider story here and one that the political reporters in the Westminster Bubble are unlikely to grasp.
Political Parties have members who decide policy and direction. They have local organisation which when it comes to Elections does the hard slog of identifying supporters, contacting them and making sure they vote.
Does the Brexit Party have any of these?
No.
You cant be a member of the Brexit Party only a supporter.
Who elected Farage as leader? No one. He appointed himself.
Of course with a friendly media (see Question Time passim) he can generate lots of publicity. He can fund social media campaigns with cash he gets from, er, somewhere or another. But when it comes to getting supporters to actually vote, does he have the organisation to do that in most areas? No
You could argue that the Brexit Party is a post-modern party but I suspect the reality is that Farage and many of his supporters are rather keener on spending the next few weeks celebrating Xmas than they are going on doorsteps in the wet and cold
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