• Cable: Brexiters losing argument and votes
• Schools resorting to desperate tactics to tackle funding emergency
• Cable: IMF report should put to bed Brexit fantasies
• Govt must bring together all MPs to agree to a People’s Vote

Cable: Brexiters losing argument and votes

Following the votes in the House of Commons tonight, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:

Parliament has now taken back control and the UK is on course for an extension to Article 50 and European Parliament elections.

Brexiters are losing the argument and losing votes in the Commons by healthy margins.

The Prime Minister must now show leadership by offering a People’s Vote. It is her only chance to get her deal through Parliament and a crucial opportunity to show the changing will of the public, who are swinging firmly behind Remain.

Schools resorting to desperate tactics to tackle funding emergency

An investigation published today by The Guardian has discovered that more than 700 schools across England are crowdsourcing for donations whilst 300 have created Amazon wishlists to buy basics such as pencils, dictionaries and other teaching supplies.

Reacting to this investigation, Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Layla Moran MP said:

This investigation shows how desperate the schools funding emergency has become. An Amazon wishlist is what you use when asking your mum for birthday presents. It is not the way to fund a vital public service.

The Tories should be ashamed of their record on education. It’s the most vulnerable children – such as children with special educational needs and disabilities who rely on support staff – who are the first to lose out. But all families lose in the end.

We must demand so much better. That’s why Liberal Democrats would immediately reverse the cuts to schools budgets made since 2015.

Cable: IMF report should put to bed Brexit fantasies

Responding to the warning from the IMF that a no-deal Brexit could plunge the UK into a two-year recession, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:

The IMF’s warning that leaving the EU without a deal would cause a two-year recession should put to bed Brexiter fantasies about WTO rules and a “managed no-deal Brexit” without any significant economic costs.

Despite the attempts made to undermine and ridicule economic experts, the IMF has a good record of analysis and understanding trends in the world economy. It has no axe to grind where the UK is concerned.

Although Parliament has done its best to rule out a no-deal, and it is now unlikely, it remains the default position and the UK is now reliant on the EU to give another extension of the negotiations to avoid it.

Any form of Brexit will be bad for our economy. That is why the people must be given a vote on the deal, with the option to stay in the EU instead.

Govt must bring together all MPs to agree to a People’s Vote

Responding to the news that Labour and the Conservatives have once again failed to reach agreement and will pause until Thursday, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:

The fact that talks seem to have broken down again is not a surprise, since neither side seemed interested in negotiating a compromise because they are more concerned with protecting party political interest.

May and Corbyn must stop avoiding the elephant in the room; only a People’s Vote can secure a cast iron majority.

The Prime Minister must now chair a cross-party committee, including the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Plaid Cymru, and independent MPs, to agree to a confirmatory referendum on the deal with an option to remain in the EU.

If MPs commit to working together we can pull the UK back from the brink and ensure that the people, not politicians, have the final say on Brexit.