Nigel Farage, the British politician who became the public face of anti-European Union sentiment in the run-up to a 2016 Brexit referendum, thinks the country's departure date could be pushed back by a year.

Farage said during an interview with The Associated Press after Parliament voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's latest divorce deal with the EU on Tuesday that the U.K.'s political chaos and EU's upcoming legislative elections preclude a smooth withdrawal any time soon.

Farage said: "Let's be realistic. We've got a new European Parliament coming in...."I don't see the next phase of (Brexit) negotiations even starting until November. So I would say that the extension, realistically, has to be a year."

As leader of the euroskeptic U.K. Independence Party, Farage campaigned for Brexit. He represents the party in the EU parliament and says a 12-month postponement might mean the U.K. has to take part in the May elections.

He says he'd rather not go through another campaign, but 'If we've got to fight more European elections, I will fight them."