Theresa May leaves door open for Nigel Farage to get a peerage after she fails to deny talks have taken place
Rumours Ukip leader could join House of Lords boosted after he hinted at re-joining Tory party yesterday
THE CHANCES of Nigel Farage being handed a peerage by Theresa May were boosted today after she refused to say if talks had taken place.
She clammed up when asked about the issues and told MPs in the House of Commons today such matters were not "normally discussed in public".
Rumours the Ukip leader could join the House of Lords swirled yesterday after he hinted at re-joining the Tory party.
And if the Prime Minister was hoping to shut the conversation down she instead only managed to leave the door open with her comments this lunchtime.
She was asked by the SNP’s George Kerevan if there were any discussions at any level taking place about the possibility.
"All I can say is that such matters are never normally discussed in public,” she replied, leading to an intake of breath from the Chamber.
Senior Ukip members have long suspected that Mr Farage’s ultimate ambition was to end up a Lord.
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The MEP has failed seven times to be elected as an MP, most recently in Thanet at the 2015 General Election.
Steven Woolfe, a former colleague and the man tipped to succeed him as leader before he quit the party last month, claimed secret talks had taken place.
In a recorded conversation leaked to The Sun last year, Mr Woolfe said he would go into a pact with the Tories.
"He wants the House of Lords, which is currently being negotiated with the Conservative Party,” Mr Woolfe said.
“Nigel has been kept out of it, but negotiations are going on."
Mr Farage set tongues wagging in Westminster after suggesting he was contemplating a return to the party he quit in 1992 over the Maastricht Treaty.
Despite spending the past week trashing Mrs May after they clashed over his relationship to Donald Trump, he said “let’s see what happens” when asked.
A spokesman later insisted Mr Farage thought he was being asked whether the Tory Government could be trusted to deliver Brexit.
After PMQs Mrs May's official spokeswoman, speaking outside the House of Commons, said the PM was making a point about process.
She said: "We don't comment on individuals, there's a process to be followed.
"You will have heard the Prime Minister talk in October about her views on the honours system and making sure that it recognises people who really contribute to society and their communities."
Ukip has just three peers in the House of Lords - Lord Pearson of Rannoch, Lord Willoughby de Broke, and Lord Stevens of Ludgat - all of whom were originally Conservatives who later defected.