While talk of electoral pacts seem to be something of a theme in the upcoming Westminster elections, Boris Johnson will presumably have little difficulty rejecting Nigel Farage's offer of a 'Leave alliance.'
Never one to shun the limelight, the Brexit Party leader has inserted himself into this campaign with an ultimatum so unappealing that even the most hardline eurosceptics in the Tory Party barely hesitated before rejecting it.
Mr Farage has said he will field a candidate in every seat in Britain if the prime minister does not drop his EU withdrawal deal and cooperate in a 'non-aggression pact'.
He insisted a 'Leave alliance' would win a big majority in parliament that would deliver a 'genuine Brexit.'
Polling expert Sir John Curtice has pointed out that if the Brexit Party stands in every constituency it would be more likely to hurt the Tories rather than hurt Labour.
Is Nigel Farage really prepared to risk a Jeremy Corbyn government or yet another hung parliament that could ultimately result in a second referendum?
There is no doubt that Mr Farage is a formidable activist whose hastily assembled Brexit Party scored a remarkable victory in the European Parliamentary elections in May, taking 29 seats with a 31 per cent share of the vote.
The Conservatives fared spectacularly badly taking just four seats with just nine per cent of the vote.
Clearly, those results were aimed at sending out a particular message, but six months on and the landscape has altered somewhat.
For one thing, the Tories have a new leader who is seen as an ardent Leaver. Mr Johnson also managed, against the odds, to get a deal with the EU which managed to pass in principle in the House of Commons, winning support from the most hardline Brexiteers.
And while he has undoubtedly missed his 'do or die' October 31 deadline for leaving the EU, it would make absolutely no sense for the PM to abandon the deal that represents his main achievement to date, especially when the opinion polls appear to be running in his favour.
It is worth remembering that while Mr Farage has been successful in European elections, he has failed to win a Westminster seat, despite standing on no fewer than seven occasions.
Even so, his intervention will add to the sense that this is shaping up to be a most unpredictable general election.
