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Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is attempting to sell defunct election placards to supporters for £35 each.
Farage said last month he would mothball the party given Boris Johnson’s success in delivering Brexit, but he has continued to ask for donations.
One email from party chairman Richard Tice to supporters on February 1, the day after Britain left the EU, asked backers to “support Nigel” with a £25 donation.
And the pair are now offering signed Brexit Party Correx boards which have been waved by supporters at rallies around the country for £35, along with a “stunning photo” of the Brexit night celebrations in Parliament Square on January 31, although the photo is not previewed. For comparison, a pack of 10 Correx boards is available online for £16.48.
The party lost an important revenue stream when its 23 MEPs left the European Parliament following Brexit.
It is unclear who gets the £35 given Farage’s promise to mothball the party.
HuffPost UK understands that Farage’s continued requests for donations after standing down hundreds of election candidates in Tory-held seats has angered some Brexit Party figures.
After learning of the placard sale, former Dover candidate Ed Hall laughed and told HuffPost UK: “I’ll sign my own and sell it to Nigel for £25.
He went on: “I’m a bit surprised.
“We were a grassroots movement and we don’t really have any wider organisation anymore: it’s been closed down I support Nigel, but the Brexit Party was more than one man, and we all need to understand what this is all about.
“Perhaps he can use the money to buy stamps to put on all the thank you letters he needs to send to supporters and candidates.”
Farage last month told ITV’s This Morning he would mothball the party, keeping it in the background as an “insurance policy” in case the Tories “messed up” Brexit.
He said: “What I’ll do now is put it (the Brexit Party) on care and maintenance, just in case they make a mess of it.
“In 2016, I actually believed that Mrs May was going to do the thing properly… I was wrong, so I’m not going to close it (the Brexit Party] down.
“But I think the truth of it is that Boris Johnson knows that he has got a big parliamentary majority.
“If he goes soft on this he’d lose in five years time.
“I’m actually quite optimistic.”
In December, Farage said he would turn the Brexit party into the “Reform party” once Britain left the EU and campaign for changes to the voting system and the abolition of the House of Lords.
But he has not mentioned the idea since.
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “The question used to be asked of Richard Nixon: ‘Would you buy a used car from this man?’
“Even Nixon had more style than this.
“Would you buy a used poster from this man?”
The Brexit Party has been asked for comment.