Nigel Farage must be fuming.
Today was supposed to be his day of victory, but it’s a damp squib. Thanks to almost 3 years of Lib Dems fighting, we’re closer than ever to a People’s Vote.
And we’re not stopping there – we have the momentum.
We’ve come an incredibly long way.
Tim Farron’s was a lone voice when he said the people must be given the final say on Brexit.
Remain voters thought Brexit was a done deal.
And Jeremy Corbyn was demanding that Article 50 be triggered immediately.
27 Labour MPs broke the whip and voted against a People’s Vote on Wednesday night. If they hadn’t, it would have had a majority.
So it was left to us to lead the way forward. We knew that people had no voted for a specific Brexit – and they deserved the final say once a deal had been negotiated. What started with democracy must end with democracy. The referendum result was a departure and not a destination.
Under Vince, we have continued to lead this fight, demanding better than Brexit every step of the way.
Look just how far we’ve come.
We’ve defeated Theresa May’s extreme Brexit plan by the biggest margins in Parliamentary history. Three times.
We’ve ruled out crashing out of the EU today.
And polls show we’ve brought the people with us – a clear majority now want a People’s Vote.
And they want it badly.
Over a million of us marched through London last weekend calling for a people’s vote.
And on Wednesday night, more MPs supported a People’s Vote than any other option.
In short, we’ve never been closer to ensuring people – not politicians – get the final word on Brexit.
This hasn’t happened by accident.
We’ve spoken with more than a million people on the doorstep and contacted millions more with our leaflets and letters.
We have reached more than 5 million people online through our digital advertising campaign.
What started with democracy must end with democracy.
We have welcomed a staggering 260,000 people who have signed up to support our campaign.
And we’ve marched seven times at national anti-Brexit marches in London and many more times in other parts of Britain.
That we’re closer than ever to stopping Brexit is in no small part down to us. To you.
And what have the other parties done?
Theresa May’s Tories have made an absolute hash of Brexit.
And she’s been allowed to. Why? Because Jeremy Corbyn has aided and abetted her every step of the way.
27 Labour MPs broke the whip and voted against a People’s Vote on Wednesday night. If they hadn’t, it would have had a majority.
But we know it’s worse than that. Jeremy Corbyn has never been interested in Remain. He is less than lukewarm about his own party’s policies. Where was he when over a million people marched in London to demand a People’s Vote? If Brexit gets through, it’ll hit society’s most vulnerable the hardest. And it’ll be thanks to him.
But the Liberal Democrats haven’t abandoned vulnerable people. We haven’t abandoned fellow remainers. We never will.
I am so proud at how far we have come.
There is a long way to go, and we have more fights ahead of us.
But right now, I want to savour this moment.
It is March 29th, and Britain is in the EU. We continue to stand with our European neighbours, EU citizens in the UK, and we continue to be European.
Tomorrow, the fight for Remain continues.
And I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be fighting with.