Nigel Farage admits Brexit vote could be reversed as Remainers gain momentum

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who was a significant force in driving Brexit, has admitted that the result of the EU referendum could still be reversed.

So-called Remainers have now got control over the future of Brexit and Britain's relationship with the European Union, Farage told the Observer on Sunday (14 January) as Leave campaigners lose control of the public debate.

He said: "The Remain side are making all the running. They have a majority in parliament, and unless we get ourselves organised we could lose the historic victory that was Brexit."

"I think the Leave side is in danger of not even making the argument. The Leave groups need to regather and regroup, because Remain is making all the arguments. After we won the referendum, we closed the doors and stopped making the argument," he added.

Just two days earlier, Farage shocked Britain by changing his tune and saying there ought to be a second EU referendum. Speaking to Channel 5's The Wright Stuff, he said: "What is for certain is that the [Nick] Cleggs, the [Tony] Blairs, the [Labour peer Lord] Adonises will never, ever give up. They will go on whinging and whining and moaning all the way through this process.

"So maybe, just maybe, we should have a second referendum on EU membership... if we had a second referendum we'd kill it off for a generation as the percentage of the vote to leave next time will be very much bigger than it was last time.

"And we may just finish the whole thing off and Blair can disappear off to total obscurity."

Following Farage's unexpected comments, multiple bookies slashed the odds of a second EU referendum by April 2019 to 5/1.

But his comments have upset some Ukip members. Speaking on Sky's Sunday with Niall Paterson, Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe said: "There should be no movement on the idea of giving ultra-Remainers the view that they're in charge of this and that they can reverse this. All he [Farage] did is give succour and comfort and support to that ideology."

Although Woolfe did admit that Farage was "absolutely right" about the strength and dominance of the Remainer arguments, he added: "There is a Leave fightback now on this ideology that Remainers are going to win."

Farage predicted that more people will vote Leave than the 52% seen in 2016, but the latest poll on 11 January found that 51% said they would vote Remain in a second EU referendum, while 43% said they would vote Leave and 6% were undecided.