- Lib Dems: Gwynne’s comments reveal Labour’s hand on Brexit
- British Steel takeover an ‘alarm bell’ for Tories’ Brexit Britain
- Lib Dems: Brexit to blame for ‘anaemic’ economic growth
- Davey: Conservatives and Brexit party are now one and the same
- Lib Dems file proceedings at High Court for judicial review of ITV debate
- ERG and Brexit Party talks show Farage is now pulling the strings
Lib Dems: Gwynne’s comments reveal Labour’s hand on Brexit
Responding to comments by Labour’s Campaign Coordinator, Andrew Gwynne, that Labour would seek to create “reciprocal agreements with the EU27 that allow British citizens to enjoy some of the freedoms that they will lose as a result of Brexit”, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:
This shows yet again that Corbyn’s Labour party view Brexit as an inevitability. The claims from some Labour MPs that Labour will help stop Brexit are simply a pretence.
It is not good enough for Labour’s Campaign Coordinator, Andrew Gwynne, to say that Labour would only keep some elements of the freedoms we currently enjoy as members of the EU.
Liberal Democrats know that freedom of movement is overwhelmingly positive. It allows us to live, love, work, or study in 27 other EU countries.
We are the strongest Remain party. We will continue to lead the fight to stop Brexit and build a brighter future.
British Steel takeover an ‘alarm bell’ for Tories’ Brexit Britain
Responding to reports that British Steel is set to announce a deal with China’s Jingye Group, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Sam Gyimah, said:
The takeover of a strategic British industry by an overseas firm should sound the alarm bell for Britain’s role in the world economy.
Contrary to the ‘Global Britain’ image that the Conservatives are trying to paint, it’s clear that Brexit Britain risks retreating from the world stage and being overtaken by rising economic powers. The downgrading of our economic outlook by Moody’s just last week is a further indictment of the Tories’ economic track record.
The Liberal Democrats believe that the UK is stronger on the world stage within the EU. We want to protect our businesses and our economy by stopping Brexit and building a brighter future.
Lib Dems: Brexit to blame for ‘anaemic’ economic growth
Responding to the UK’s GDP growth figures, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader, Ed Davey said:
Today’s growth figures are anything but a cause for celebration. Over the last year, Britain’s growth has slowed to its lowest rate in almost a decade – a disastrous performance by the Conservatives, whose main economic policy of Brexit is a promise of yet more slow growth.
The economy under the Tories is anaemic.
Brexit has already cost us at least £55 billion in lost growth and will keep us underperforming for years. Just last week the credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the UK’s economic outlook. And the Bank of England said growth will be a whole 1% lower in the coming years.
On the other hand, the extra growth from remaining in the EU would generate a Remain Bonus of over £50 billion. The Liberal Democrats will use that money for a huge cash boost to our schools and to tackle inequality, building a brighter future for the UK.
Davey: Conservatives and Brexit party are now one and the same
Responding to confirmation that the Brexit party will not contest seats held by Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:
Nigel Farage standing down shows the Conservatives and the Brexit party are now one and the same. Johnson’s hard right Brexit takeover of the Tory party has now been endorsed by both Trump and Farage.
As Nigel Farage has admitted, the Liberal Democrats are the only party at this election that can take seats from the Conservative, stop Brexit and build a brighter future.
Lib Dems file proceedings at High Court for judicial review of ITV debate
Today the Liberal Democrats have filed proceedings at the High Court for a judicial review of ITV’s decision to exclude remain from their General Election debate.
Outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Liberal Democrat Party President Sal Brinton said:
The TV debates offer the only chance for people to see how leaders compare to each other directly, in a neutral, equal and balanced format. For many people this is the moment they decide how they will vote.
So it is vital for our democracy to have both sides of the Brexit debate represented at the top table of the Leaders’ debates.
The Liberal Democrats, on behalf of all those who want our democracy to remain fair and balanced, are legally challenging ITV to do the right, fair and balanced thing.
We need to preserve the health of our democracy, for this generation and the next.
ERG and Brexit Party talks show Farage is now pulling the strings
Responding to the reports that the ERG have been in talks with the Brexit Party over Nigel Farage’s decision to stand down candidates in Conservative held seats, Liberal Democrat Shadow Brexit Secretary Tom Brake said:
These talks show that Nigel Farage is pulling the strings behind the scenes. He is the puppet master in Boris Johnson’s Brexit horror show.
Every vote for the Conservatives is a vote for an extreme Brexit agenda backed by Nigel Farage.
The Liberal Democrats are the only party this election that can defeat Boris Johnson, stop Brexit and build a brighter future.
6 Comments
“Brexit has already cost us at least £55 billion in lost growth”
We haven’t actually left yet, so why the past tense? Growth has been patchy, to say the least, since the 2008 GFC.
If you Google {gdp USA} you’ll see a graph of what would have been possible in the UK had we adopted better policies. Compare that with {gdp UK} {gdp France} {gdp Germany} etc. They are all very patchy too. There’s no evidence that the 2016 referendum result made any difference to the UK’s performance. That £55 billion, if it isn’t just a made up number, is much more due to the continuing effect of the GFC and imposed austerity than it is due to some future Brexit.
Germany is doing even worse with no growth at all. Is that due to Brexit too?
The takeover of British Steel by a Chinese steel maker should be good news for Scunthorpe in particular and let’s hope it is. However, what’s to stop the new owners learning how they make specialised steel products and then later shifting production back to China? It wouldn’t be the first time. Think of Rover.
The unofficial ‘understanding’ between the Tories and the Brexit Party/Company might set alarm bells ringing in the Remain parties. If only the Labour would even consider unofficially to give a little and join the pact. Under FPTP it’s surely the only way that Remain may stand a chance.
Unless we are willing to stand down in around 70-80 Labour held seats where the Labour candidate is strongly pro remain, and Labour is willing to reciprocate in @ 30 seats for our candidates, it is hard now to see how Johnson can be stopped from pursuing his Brexit lunacy (Putin must be dancing around his office in joy). Under current circumstances, unless we can get Jo onto the two main leaders’ debates (BBC and ITV) we will do ver well to get as many as 35 MPs, I would imagine.
“Unless we are willing to stand down in around 70-80 Labour held seats where the Labour candidate is strongly pro remain, and Labour is willing to reciprocate in @ 30 seats for our candidates, it is hard now to see how Johnson can be stopped from pursuing his Brexit lunacy”
Labour will never stand down candidates in favour of another party. Their demands to the Lib Dems are the same as the Conservatives towards the Brexit Party – unconditional surrender.
John B: my comment was tongue-in-cheek. All Labour can offer given their well-known intransigence is to guarantee that the Tories will be the largest party after the election (very probably with an overall majority).
Thanks for your comment, Jonathan. You may have been tongue in cheek, but many on LDV seem to have a naïve view about working with Labour. I note that even Nick Tyrone, whose articles are usually quite insightful, recently suggested that the Lib Dems should not put up a candidate in Uxbridge, in order to help Labour, whose candidate was on Peston this week, expressing nothing but hatred and contempt for the Lib Dems.