By James Tapsfield, Political Editor, For Mailonline
Published: 13:25 BST, 7 June 2019 | Updated: 18:02 BST, 7 June 2019
463
View
comments
Nigel Farage's Brexit Party won a stunning victory by coming top in the European elections last month.
But the Peterborough by-election result should set alarm bells ringing about the true impact of his 'turquoise tide'.
The Brexit Party and the Tories effectively split the same group of right-leaning voters, allowing Labour to slip through the middle and win with support from less than a third of those who cast ballots.
The outcome raises the grim spectre of a general election where both Mr Farage and - probably - Boris Johnson vie for the title of the true champion of Brexit, and only succeed in handing the keys of Downing Street to Jeremy Corbyn.
The 'first past the post' system used for UK general elections could easily produce that scenario.
Boris Johnson (pictured at his London home today) and Nigel Farage (pictured delivering a letter to No10) have been engaged in a blame game after the Peterborough debacle
Jeremy Corbyn gloated that he is ready to win a general election as he met new Labour MP Lisa Forbes (right) in Peterborough today
One of its main
