Nigel Farage has said he will not stand as a candidate in the general election on December 12.
The Brexit Party leader said on Friday at a campaign launch that it was preparing to stand candidates in the vast majority of seats across Britain unless it could strike a pact with the Conservatives.
But Boris Johnson rejected an alliance with Mr Farage's Brexit Party saying that doing deals with "any other party... simply risks putting Jeremy Corbyn into Number 10".
Now Mr Farage has said that while his party intended to field up to 600 candidates, he would not be one of them.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage to Boris Johnson: drop your EU deal or Brexit Party will contest every seat at election
He said he had thought "very hard" about whether to make an eighth attempt to become an MP, but had decided he could "serve the cause better" by supporting his party's 600 candidates "across the UK".
"I don't want to be in politics for the rest of my life," he said.
Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Farage's decision was "a bit weird" given the Brexit Party hopes to stand in most places.
The Labour leader said: "It's obviously his decision. It's a bit weird to lead a political party that is apparently contesting all or most of the seats up in the election and he himself is not offering himself for election."
Mr Farage told the BBC's Andrew Marr: "Do I find a seat and try to get myself into parliament or do I serve the cause better traversing the length and breadth of the United Kingdom supporting 600 candidates, and I’ve decided the latter course is the right one."
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Mr Farage on Friday urged Boris Johnson to drop his Brexit deal, which he claimed was “not Brexit” and would hamper the UK’s opportunities to strike free-trade deals.
The 55-year-old who has stood unsuccessfully for Parliament seven times and currently sits in the European Parliament, yesterday continued to criticise Boris Johnson's Brexit deal saying it was "virtually worse that being in the EU".
"If Boris Johnson was going for a genuine Brexit, we wouldn't need to fight against him in this election," he said.
He said the Prime Minister should drop his Brexit deal, unite in a "Leave alliance" or face a Brexit Party candidate in every seat in the election.
"I always thought that to win an election, get a big majority so we can get a proper Brexit, a coming-together would be the objective," he said.
"I still hope and pray it happens but it doesn't look like it will."
Responding, Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly said: "Nigel Farage has already admitted that a vote for the Brexit Party risks letting (Jeremy) Corbyn in through the backdoor creating another gridlocked hung Parliament that doesn't work.
"Scores of his supporters have already called for him to back Boris' great new deal as, just like us, they want to get Brexit done and let the country move on.
"We can then focus on the people's priorities - investing in our NHS, tackling violent crime, and cutting the cost of living."
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