Jo Swinson’s comments to the new Speaker

Jo Swinson said this as she congratulated Sir Lindsay Hoyle on his election as Speaker last night:

I thank the Father of the House for the way in which he conducted this election. Congratulations from the Liberal Democrat Benches on your new role, Mr Speaker-Elect. You have been clear that you want to be a strong champion for Back Benchers in this place, and have always conducted yourself with good humour and taken great care of Members in this place. The focus that you placed on the importance of health and wellbeing—particularly mental health—in your election campaign is very welcome indeed for those who work here, including Members and others in different roles.

Mr Speaker-Elect, you take the Chair at a time of great challenge for our democracy. The issues of security that you have championed as Deputy Speaker are more important than ever, with increasing threats. The focus on stamping out the unacceptable culture of bullying and harassment is hugely important. I hope you will also continue the work of modernisation of this place that we have seen in the past decade. I welcome your pledge on outreach to make sure that we reach out to disadvantaged groups. We should none of us be happy until this place properly represents the communities that we serve.

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LibLink: Chuka Umunna: What are ITV playing at excluding Jo Swinson from its Leaders’ Debate?

Chuka Umunna has been meeting senior executives at ITV to try to persuade them to include Jo Swinson in their Leaders’ Debate.

And he used this week’s Independent column to take them to task for not inviting her to take part:

He first highlights ITV Chief Executive Carolyn McCall’s positive record on diversity issues:

Dame Carolyn is widely regarded as a role model for many women in leadership and has said “we need to inspire the next generation of women leaders”. She clearly takes this seriously and, with regard to ITV’s own record on equality and diversity on and off screen, has said ITV is “focused on on-screen … but we have more to do”. In ITV’s latest annual report the company declares: “We want to increase social mobility, while also improving and promoting better representation across gender.”

He looks at the reasons why Jo should be allowed to take part:

The decision sends a terrible message when it comes to equality.

“Surely you are not arguing Jo Swinson should be included in the debate simply because she is a woman?” is a question I was ironically asked by an ITV news outlet yesterday. Of course not. Under section 6.2 of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code “due weight must be given to the coverage of parties and independent candidates during the election period” and “broadcasters must take into account evidence of past electoral support and/or current support”. Crucially, candidates with “significant views and perspectives” should receive appropriate coverage.
And Jo has a better claim to a place in the debate than Nick Clegg did back in 2010:
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Lib Dem campaign launch: £50 bn Remain Bonus

We launch our general election campaign today.  We haven’t yet had time to get fed up of our new slogan –  Stop Brexit, Build a Brighter Future  because it was only unveiled last weeK. We start to talk about what that brighter future might look like – in the form of more money to spend on public services that is directly linked to deciding to remain in the EU.

Stopping Brexit, we argue, will generate a Remain Bonus for the public finances because under Remain, the economy will grow faster than under Brexit, leading to higher GDP and consequently higher public sector current receipts. This adds up to £50 billion over 5 years.

That is there or thereabouts where   the Institute for Fiscal Studies was  in its Green Budget 2019.

Jo said:

The Liberal Democrats are the only party standing up to stop Brexit and build a brighter future for the UK.

Brexit has taken far longer and cost far more than anyone said it would. But any form of Brexit will damage our jobs, our economy and our public services, starving them of vital cash as the economy struggles along.

The Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit and then use the £50bn Remain Bonus to invest in our public services.

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4 November 2019 – today’s press releases

  • Trump and Johnson are two peas in a pod
  • Lib Dems: Tory Gower candidate should be removed
  • Blocking intelligence report undermines the democratic process

Trump and Johnson are two peas in a pod

Responding to President Trump’s comments that Boris Johnson was “the right man for the time” and he should “come together” with Nigel Farage, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary Chuka Umana said:

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are just two peas in a pod. They have the same old right wing, nationalist politics. No wonder the President is falling over himself to find an opportunity to endorse Johnson.

With his desperation to please

…

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Jo: Lib Dems will take any action required to make sure voice of Remain heard in debates

Surrounded by Lib Dem women candidates and MPs, Jo Swinson this afternoon said that the Lib Dems were considering legal action to make sure the voice of remain was heard in the leaders’ debates. Watch her here.

An hour or so later, Sky announced that she would be invited to take part in their debate:

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ALDE Party Congress – a first time delegate’s thoughts

In the shadow of the ancient Athenian acropolis where Aristotle and Socrates once lectured on ideas that would go on to change the world, Hans van Baalen, president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) launched the organisations 40th congress under the banners “mission is possible” and “liberal renaissance”. His audience included delegations from 67 full and associate member parties, as well as individual members who had assembled from across the European continent.

I had applied to the International Office upon learning of the exciting opportunity to attend the ALDE party congress as a Lib Dem …

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Intelligence report must be published before election – Umunna

The Liberal Democrats have written to the Cabinet Secretary, Mark Sedwill, to demand that everything in his power is done to ensure the publication of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report before the dissolution of Parliament.

In the letter, Chuka Umunna MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, raises concerns that No.10 are sitting on the Intelligence Security Select Committee’s report on potential Russian interference in the UK’s democratic process. The report contains information of significant relevance to the upcoming General Election.

Umunna calls on the Cabinet Secretary to clarify the process and timelines for publication of such a report …

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2-3 November 2019 – the weekend’s press releases

  • Lib Dems lodge election debate complaint with ITV
  • Lib Dems: Dithering Labour leadership shows they’re not fit for office
  • Lib Dems: Labour have no plan to tackle the climate emergency
  • Election debates should be set independently – Liberal Democrats

Lib Dems lodge election debate complaint with ITV

The Liberal Democrats have lodged a formal complaint to ITV for excluding Jo Swinson from their election debate and warned “failing to have Liberal Democrats in the debate is misrepresenting the current political reality.”

In a letter to ITV Chief Executive, Dame Carolyn McCall, the President of the Liberal Democrats Sal Brinton said “voters of this country deserve …

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LDV’s election chill out zone

Any election is hard work.

This one, taking place in the cold and dark, is going to be even tougher.

We’ll be providing a regular slot which reflects the lighter side of the campaign.

Send us your funny stories from the campaign trail to [email protected] or tweet me on @caronmlindsay. You can DM me if you want your story to get out but your anonymity to be preserved…

My first proper election canvassing session yesterday was a wet affair. The rain held off until I was at my furthest point from my lift home. It was proper rain, too – the sort that reminds you of the scene at t he end of Four Weddings and a Funeral.

One of my  highlights of this weekend was finding out that one of my fellow campaigners was a Strictly superfan. I wasn’t expecting that from him, but it’s good to know that when it’s cold and dark, we can talk sequins, voltas and throwaway oversways.

Alex Cole-Hamilton woke up with a start, though:

For those of you who don’t know, Minivan is the Lib Dems’ canvassing app. It’s been really good to see our new MPs’ looks of delight and confusion as they get used to it.

I actually sync my data on the way round as I’m always worried that I’ll drop my phone in a puddle or something and all the info will be lost.

I also want trousers like Sam Gyimah’s. He wore them at the Conference rally where he was unveiled as a new MP.  Did he get them specially or did he have them already?

I’d also take Jo’s or Siobhan’s jacket. I’m loving that fashion seems to be very on brand for Lib Dem messaging at the moment.

Tune of the day

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Labour’s refusal to back Remain is “Red meat for Lib Dems”

Labour’s Rebecca Long-Bailey, talking to Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge, refused to say whether Labour would back Leave or Remain in a referendum on any deal.

The Labour position is that they would form a government, negotiate their own deal and then put it to the public, but can’t say at this stage whether they would back Leave or Remain in that referendum. They don’t dare say Remain because their leader is not committed to that position and they daren’t say Leave because they will lose even more votes to us. But if they have negotiated a deal, the presumption has to be that they will back it. I mean, they aren’t going to say to the people “Don’t back this great deal we’ve done”, are they?

And they think that this is credible? They want their voters to do the equivalent of buying a lucky bag.

Sky News reporter Rob Powell said that this was “red meat for the Liberal Democrats.”

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Sal Brinton complains to ITV about Jo Swinson’s exclusion from Leaders’ Debate

If you are incensed about the decision to exclude Jo Swinson from the ITV leaders’ debate due to take place on 19th November, sign our petition here

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are running scared of debating the woman leader of the strongest party of Remain.

The voters of this country deserve to hear from Jo Swinson on the debate stage, not just from two men who want to deliver Brexit.

Sal Brinton wrote to  ITV Chief Executive, Dame Carolyn McCall to raise an official complaint about Jo’s exclusion:

Here is her letter in full:

Dame Carolyn McCall
Chief Executive, ITV
2 Waterhouse Square
138 – 142 Holborn
London EC1N 2AE

Dear Dame Carolyn,

I am extremely disappointed that ITV are planning to exclude the Liberal Democrats from your General Election debate on 19th November.

Corbyn and Johnson both are pursuing Brexit and represent the two tired establishment parties. A debate between just them offers no real alternative and stifles the conversation.

The voters of this country deserve to hear from a Remainer on the debate stage, not just from the two men who want to deliver Brexit. They deserve to know that there is another way. That there is a Party they can vote for who will offer a real alternative. That the Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit and build a brighter future.

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Celebration of Steve Hitchins’ life to take place on 21st November

It’s about six weeks since former Lib Dem Islington Council leader Steve Hitchins died suddenly.

There will be a celebration of his life at 2pm on Thursday 21st November at St Mary’s Church on Upper Street N1 2TX; the church is about 200 yards south of Islington Town Hall and mid-way between Angel Tube on the Northern Line Bank branch, and Highbury & Islington on the Victoria line/London Overground/rail line from Moorgate.

All are welcome. Speakers will include past Chief Executives and Leaders/ Deputy Leaders of Islington Council (as well as Simon Hughes!)

Lib Dem Peer and former MEP Sarah Ludford, Steve’s partner for 45 years – wife for 37 – said:

This is indeed firmly a celebration, at which we hope to have a few laughs as well as respect expressed for his achievements; so people should feel free to wear normal, preferably brightly-coloured clothes. There is even a rumour that The Land might be sung…

With December 16th the 20th anniversary of Islington Lib Dems winning control of Islington Council and Steve becoming Council leader (with the day after Steve’s celebration being the 40th anniversary of Roy Jenkins’ ‘break the mould’ Dimbleby lecture),  the very best tribute that LibDems could make to Steve’s memory is to work their socks off in the General Election to get lots of LibDem MPs elected!

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Observations of an ex pat: Socialism vs Brexit

Boris Johnson made it clear. An election has been called to break the parliamentary deadlock on Brexit.  A “People v Parliament” poll.

Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn, however, appears to have failed to hear properly. In his opening salvo of the campaign battle he hardly mentioned Brexit. Instead the dyed-in-the-wool far-left Socialist took the opportunity to declare a class war on the “Establishment Elite.”

Corbyn is attempting to flip the 2019 election agenda away from Brexit in much the same way as he did in 2017.  This is for several reasons: 1- his party is hopelessly split on Brexit; 2- Corbyn’s plans to deal with Brexit are an inconsistent mish-mash 3- he needs an electoral platform that will appeal to both Leave and Remain Brexit voters and, finally, 4- the chaotic state of British politics offers  Jeremy Corbyn the best chance he has of ushering in the Socialist workers’ paradise that he has dreamt about for his entire political career.

The current disreputable state of British politics creates opportunities for demagogic figures to tout their over-simplified sound bite solutions to complex issues. What could be more simple – or divisive–than a clarion call to class war.?

On the other extreme end of the political spectrum sits a prime minister who appears determined to replicate the 17th century battle between the executive and parliament.  After a series of civil wars and a Glorious Revolution that battle ended with the establishment of parliamentary sovereignty. The 2016 referendum was not the “will of the people”. It was a narrow victory for an ill-conceived exit from Europe without due regard to the consequences. The country remains hopelessly divided on the issue and the parliament which Boris Johnson disdainfully dismisses is a reflection of that division– as it should be.

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Matthew Parris to leave Conservatives and vote Lib Dem

The extreme hard Brexit Conservatives have lost another moderate voice.

Matthew Parris announced in his Times (£) column that he would be voting Liberal Democrat in the coming election.

When it becomes clear which way the wind is blowing, “count me out” may be all that’s left to you. But if it’s all that’s left to Philip, Anna, Antoinette, Dominic, Guto Bebb, Ken Clarke, Sam Gyimah, Justine Greening, Oliver Letwin, Anne Milton and Rory Stewart, proper Conservatives every one of them … then count me out too and I hope that in their place I would have been as brave. I am a conservative not a Liberal Democrat but will unhesitatingly vote Lib Dem to defeat Tory zealotry over Europe, this time.

He was pretty scathing about the new Conservative leadership.

So here I find myself, unwilling to support a leader who is a stranger to honesty or principle and who surfs a foolish populist wave for the sake of ambition alone, leading a governing party whose centre of gravity has shifted decisively away from the broadly centrist political force Conservatism once was. Johnson has come; Johnson will finally go; but now most likely ambushed from the right. We all have our breaking point, but for me the time has arrived to give up hoping for a return to Tory sanity.

You can feel his pain at leaving his political home of half a century:

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LISTEN: Jo on Matt Forde’s The Political Party podcast

Jo Swinson spent an hour on Wednesday evening recording The Political Party podcast with Matt Forde.

https://twitter.com/mattforde/status/1190228081707012097?s=20

It’s hilarious, thoughtful and relevant. And can you guess the point where I almost choked on my wine? Did she actually say that?

Areas covered include:

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1 November 2019 – today’s press releases

  • Farage warns Tories of Lib Dem General Election threat
  • Trickett’s comments show Labour are a Brexit party
  • Swinson: Liberal Democrats can win in seats we have never won in before
  • Lib Dems: Johnson and Corbyn running scared of Swinson

Farage warns Tories of Lib Dem General Election threat

Commenting on the Brexit Party’s campaign launch, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Ed Davey said:

Nigel Farage is correct that the Conservative Party should be very worried about the Liberal Democrats in this election. We are the strongest national party of Remain and we are ready to take the fight to Boris Johnson as well as Jeremy Corbyn.

…

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Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are too scared to debate Jo Swinson

So, ITV is holding a leaders’ debate of sorts.

They’ll have two divisive men fighting out which form of brexit they want on 19th December.

I can’t think why Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn  don’t want to be shown up by an assured, articulate, likeable woman presenting the argument for remain with vitality and emotional intelligence.

Ed Davey said they were running scared:

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Stop Brexit. Build a brighter future. (The movie)

Here is the video that accompanied the launch of our election slogan yesterday. Enjoy!

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Hope for a brighter future

In this election there is everything to play for. Traditional voter loyalties have completely broken down, and nearly half the electorate are now regarded to be floating voters.

When talking to voters on the doorsteps and asking their thoughts on the current state of politics, the responses are dominated by the words “mess” and “shambles”.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are not popular, and are not seen as being good options to lead our country. If we get smart we can easily present ourselves as the Stop Brexit, Liberal Democrat and None of the Above party, and hoover up enormous amounts of those floating voters.

It is fear that will deter people from voting Liberal Democrat. Not fear of our policies or any character flaws in our leader, but fear that voting for us lets in the populist or the revolutionary socialist, or fear that we will prop up Corbyn or Johnson in exchange for some scraps of power.

Saying we will support neither is not enough. We have to have an offering that shows our supporters that we have a path to power, and we have to have an offering that shows the floating voters that we can stop the cartoon villains that they so fear.

That offering is a proportional electoral system.

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Stephen Lloyd returns to the fold

Stephen Lloyd MP has announced that he will be campaigning in the General Election in Eastbourne as a Liberal Democrat, fighting to stop Brexit.

Stephen was first elected as the Lib Dem MP for Eastbourne in 2010. He narrowly lost his seat in 2015 but regained it in the snap election in 2017.

The background to this announcement is that Stephen Lloyd voted Remain in the referendum, but Eastbourne largely voted Leave. In the 2017 election Stephen promised to honour the will of his constituents and to support Brexit in the Commons. About a year ago he resigned the party whip and has been sitting as an Independent while remaining a member of the party.

He has explained his position to his constituents in this video.

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Mark Pack on “the other elections”

Quite rightly, nearly all our attention now is on winning public elections: winning those council by-elections coming in before the general election and winning then in the general election too.

There is also the tail-end of the party’s internal elections, with voting closing at 5pm on Friday next week (8 November) and most likely, given some of the problems with the voting system, quite a few members still to vote. (If you haven’t yet received your ballot paper, [email protected] can assist.)

Those internal contests matter. They will determine, for example, who is on the Federal Policy Committee (FPC), the group that will …

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Lord William Wallace writes… Labour and the Liberal Democrats

Labour at Westminster is angry with the Liberal Democrats. They were – several Labour peers have insisted – moving slowly towards accepting that there would have to be a confirmatory referendum. And they felt that Boris Johnson would end up with no other way out than to accept such a referendum. And now, they complain, we have ‘given’ the Conservatives the election they want.

Don’t fall for this Labour narrative, if you hear it from a Labour activist near you. Their underlying fear is that they are in no state to win an early election, so the …

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31 October 2019 – today’s press releases

  • Stop Brexit. Build a brighter future.
  • Brexit hinders growth in green, clean cars
  • Davey: Labour’s spending plans “can’t be squared with the cost of Brexit”
  • Self-harm and assaults in prisons preventing rehabilitation
  • Lib Dems: Donald Trump and Boris Johnson both unfit for office

Stop Brexit. Build a brighter future.

Today, Jo Swinson’s Liberal Democrats are launching their slogan for the General Election campaign: Stop Brexit. Build a brighter future, alongside a campaign poster launch.

This election is a once in a generation opportunity to reshape our politics, and give hope to the millions of people who want a fairer, brighter future.

The Liberal Democrats’ slogan reflects a positive …

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Antoinette Sandbach MP joins the Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce that Antoinette Sandbach has joined the party.

Antoinette, who is the MP for Eddisbury in Cheshire, will contest her seat as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the coming General Election.

She is the eighth addition to the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party in the last few months.

Liberal Democrat MP Antoinette Sandbach said:

This general election will be the most important in my lifetime. People have a very clear choice, the Conservative party offers years of uncertainty whilst the Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit.

I’m so proud to stand alongside other Liberal Democrat candidates across the country to

…

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We need to talk about how we use Facebook

For the AGM of our local party, our diligent party secretary recently emailed the local members outlining the elected positions (Membership Secretary, Diversity Officer etc.) of the local exec. He helpfully included a link to the party’s website with some guidance on what’s involved in each role, and what help and support is available from the party. For one role I looked at, the top 3 sources of support are:

It strikes me that, intentionally or otherwise, a large part of our party’s support network is being run through Facebook. This could mean that people who don’t have a Facebook account don’t get the support they need; or are put off from getting more involved in the party; or aren’t even aware of developments within the party. This strikes me as problematic:

  • Young people simply don’t use Facebook to the extent that people in older age cohorts do. If we’re relying on Facebook to organise ourselves, then we may be excluding a lot of people under 30.
  • Even for those people who do have a Facebook account, all the indications are that usage has dropped off a cliff, especially over the last 18 months.
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Jo Swinson: The Prime Minister this country really needs

This country is suffering because we have a Prime Minister and a Leader of the Opposition who play up fear and division. Britain needs a leader who can cut through the noise and grab people in the heart, highlighting the best of us, not the worst. We need someone to inspire us to be for each other, not against each other. Jo Swinson is that leader.

She combines humour, candour and plain speaking to bring people in. She reaches well beyond the liberal democrat comfort zone of our party by connecting with people. The way she wrote about the birth of her son Gabriel for his first birthday in June was absolutely beautiful. Don’t click on that if you are at all troubled by descriptions of childbirth.

And, during the Summer, after Boris Johnson, the man who famously toured the country in a bus with a great big lie on the side,  revealed that he liked to paint model buses, there was this:

When you connect with people on that very human level, they are much more likely to listen to what you have to say about the future of the planet, about what needs to happen to make our lives better.

Jo has an exceptional ability to communicate complicated messages in a way that means something to people. “Putting people and planet first” is practical and engaging.

And when did you last hear a politician talking about a loving country? We need more of that.

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+++Breaking news – our campaign slogan for the general election

The Liberal Democrat slogan for the General Election has now been unveiled. It was heavily trailed in advance so it should not come as a surprise to anyone!

 

 

 

 

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“Get Brexit done” – the historic big lie

In the General Election campaign, the electorate will be presented with a Tory promise to ‘Get Brexit Done’.

This is one of the slogans that will be repeated over and over again.

The message is that ‘chaos has reigned’, and now voters have a chance to vote Tory and ‘get it all over with’. The proposition is that if re-elected, PM Johnson’s regime will approve the two key pieces of Brexit legislation, and then immediately pull the UK out of the EU.

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Something which might be an essential investment for the winter campaigning!

Thanks very much to Jane Reed from York Liberal Democrats, who has emailed us about “touchscreen gloves”.

These are gloves which keep your hands warm but allow you to input data into your mobile phone or tablet.

Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 1 Comment

Jo: Is he going to run scared of debating with a girly swot?

The smell of chicken pervades the political atmosphere this morning.

Probably the most predictable aspect of this General Election is that Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn would try to cut Jo Swinson out of the Leaders’s Debates. I mean, why would they want to be completely shown up by a fresh, original opponent with compelling arguments?

And so it looks very much like they are doing just that.

Jeremy Corbyn’s spokesperson told the BBC

However, when asked about a three-way discussion with Ms Swinson, the spokesman replied: “There are only two people who can be prime minister at the end of this campaign and I think the British public have a clear right to see them debate head-to-head on TV and hear their cases.”

And when Jo put Boris Johnson on the spot in  Parliament yesterday, he ignored her, choosing to make some bizarre crack about how Lib Dems were about dither and delay on Brexit. You couldn’t actually get much clearer than “Stop Brexit.” Watch here:

The exchange in full from Hansard:

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