(Adds details from interview, background)
Nov 17 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has
said that all Conservative Party candidates in the Dec. 12
election have pledged to back his Brexit deal, opening the door
to getting the agreement passed through parliament if the party
were to win a majority.
"All 635 Conservative candidates standing at this election –
every single one of them – has pledged to me that if elected
they will vote in Parliament to pass my Brexit deal so we can
end the uncertainty and finally leave the EU," Johnson told the
Telegraph newspaper in an interview published http://bit.ly/2rSSQ8v
late on Saturday.
"I am offering a pact with the people: if you vote
Conservative you can be 100% sure a majority Conservative
government will unblock Parliament and get Brexit done."
Johnson struck a last-minute Brexit deal with the European
Union last month, as the bloc granted a third delay to the
divorce that was originally supposed to take place on March 29.
Voters in the 2016 referendum narrowly voted in favour of
leaving the EU.
Commenting separately on his tax policy, the prime minister
told the newspaper that tax cuts can boost the economy, but
added that he is delaying plans to increase the 40% tax rate
threshold, stating that the aim is to first "lift the burden"
for low income groups.
"We do want to reduce the burden of taxation," Johnson said.
"That's very much our ambition, but we won't do that until we
have done more to lift the burden particularly on people on low
incomes."
Opinion polls published on Saturday showed that Johnson's
Conservatives have the highest level of support since 2017, with
the party leading opposition Labour by 10-17 percentage points
in four polls.
However, analysts have warned that Brexit, which has divided
parties and their voters, could make the result of the coming
vote highly unpredictable.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Diane
Craft and Daniel Wallis)