I’m proud to have been the anti-Brexit Spokesperson for a party that has been unequivocal about Brexit for three years.
Meanwhile, like many people, my colleagues and I have attempted to decipher Corbyn’s riddles and work out exactly what the Labour position is on Brexit.
Labour, Conservatives, UKIP, or the Brexit Party: they all want Brexit.
We’ve urged him to back us on key votes.
We’ve tabled amendments to give the people the final say on May’s shambolic deal, inviting him to join us in the voting lobbies.
We’ve marched on the streets. But all the time, we’ve been left wondering. Where’s Jeremy Corbyn?
And it’s not just Labour. Labour, Conservatives, UKIP, or the Brexit Party: they all want Brexit.
I’ve spoken to Parliamentarians and voters from various parties. They despair at their parties’ determination to deliver Brexit. A decision we all now know will be damaging for our economy, our NHS, and jobs across the country. I sympathise with those who have held out hope that their party leaders might yet emerge from their self-imposed Brexit maze with a sensible policy.
Political allegiances are often lifelong: they aren’t just a fad or a club that you’ve joined. Being part of a political party speaks to who you are, your values and what you want for the country. I know that those who are leaving a party or voting differently as a result of their Brexit stance, aren’t doing so lightly.
But I also know that if those people recognise that Britain is better off in the EU, then these are not the parties for them this Thursday.
We’ve always been clear on a people’s vote. We’ve always welcomed any progressive development of our democracy.
When Liberal Democrats first announced our policy of campaigning for a people’s vote, with the option to stay in the EU, we felt very lonely. No other major party stood with us. But over the last three years, we have welcomed the presence of others who’ve joined us in this fight.
We’ve always been clear on a people’s vote. We’ve always welcomed any progressive development of our democracy. I can completely empathise with Parliamentarians who could no longer sit back and watch their parties deliver Brexit. Those like Mike Gapes who left the Labour party or former Tory Deputy PM Michael Heseltine who is voting for the Liberal Democrats.
Thursday is an opportunity for us all send a message on Brexit. Like it or not, the result will be interpreted as a proxy-referendum, an opportunity to test the water. As things stand, Liberal Democrats are standouts in the polls. Remainers in huge numbers are getting behind our clear message – stop Brexit.
Frustratingly, in spite of the milkshake misadventure, Farage’s Brexit party are also lurching ahead.
This is where the battleground now lies both nationally and regionally. In some parts of the country, we are going head-to-head with the Brexit party for MEP seats. The voting margin, as to who will win, is falling in the margin of error. Every vote will count.
My message to them and all Remainers who despair at the embarrassing state of British politics is to get behind the Liberal Democrats.
Many who were denied a vote in 2016 will be given a say this time – namely young people who weren’t 18 three years ago and EU citizens. Both are groups disproportionately affected by this Brexit mess and both will be given a voice on Thursday.
My message to them and all Remainers who despair at the embarrassing state of British politics is to get behind the Liberal Democrats. We’re going into Thursday as the strongest voice for staying in the EU and keeping the UK together. We’ve just won over 700 council seats. We have the activists to speak directly to voters and get their voices represented in Brussels and Westminster.
We also have a clear message: every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to stop Brexit. Regardless of your past political allegiances, it’s time to realise that Brexit is bigger. It is wrecking our country and the other main parties have failed to put country before their ideological obsessions. It is time to vote for a party that is clear: it’s time to say bollocks to Brexit. It’s time to vote for the Liberal Democrats.