LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, Britain's best-known advocate for Brexit, says he won't run for Parliament in Britain's June 8 election.

Writing Thursday in the Daily Telegraph, Farage said it would have been "a personal vindication to get into the House of Commons" after seven failed attempts. But he said he had decided he could have more impact on Britain's EU exit by remaining as a member of the European Parliament instead.

Despite UKIP's lack of electoral success in Britain, it was instrumental in pressuring Britain's Conservative government to call a referendum on the country's European Union membership. Farage was a major player in the victorious "leave" campaign.

Farage has been a member of the European Parliament — an institution he regularly derides — since 1999.