*UNDER CONSTRUCTION* Signal-boosting #ToryBritain truths to the nation. Helping YOU be part of the fightback.
From Reuters: British Prime Minister Theresa May will fail to get her withdrawal deal with the European Union approved by parliament, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable has said.
“The problem is it has to come to parliament, and all we know about the views of different people across the political spectrum is a deal of this kind is not going to get through,” Cable told the BBC.
From The Guardian: The “centre of gravity” on Brexit is shifting towards a second referendum on the final deal, the Liberal Democrat leader has said. Vince Cable was speaking as thousands of opponents of Brexit in the south-west of England took part in the first of a series of regional days of action planned by the People’s Vote campaign across the country.
Joining Conservative and Labour MPs and a Green MEP in addressing more than 700 supporters of a second referendum at Colston Hall in Bristol, Cable rejected claims that it would be undemocratic to put the question of EU membership back to another public vote, after the 52%–48% victory for leave in 2016.
Promises of a smooth and amicable withdrawal deal and a cash boost for the NHS had proved unfounded, Donald Trump’s protectionist policies had cast doubt on Brexiters’ vision of new trade deals, and voters were now more aware of the complexities of issues such as the Irish border, he said.
“The world has changed,” Cable told Sky News. “It is perfectly reasonable to go back to the public and ask, ‘Is this what you really want, or do you want to stay in the EU and reform it from within?’ It is a perfectly legitimate democratic expression.
“It is perfectly normal in countries that have a tradition of referendums – which we haven’t in the UK – to have confirmatory votes at the end to see whether people are happy with what the government has negotiated.”
Vince Cable, leader of the Lib Dems, writes in The Times: “The Budget contained news that badly damaged the Conservatives’ reputation for economic competence. For a start, it was confirmed that we have slipped from the fifth to the sixth biggest economy in the world, behind France, and worse could follow.”
[Read column on The Times website…] (paywall, but free registration allows access to two free articles per month)
From Mark Pack’s blog: Although only elected the new Liberal Democrat leader on Thursday, Vince Cable has already several times made the point about how important social media is for the party. It provides a route to reach voters even though newspaper owners often dislike us and so many voters have letterboxes locked away behind intercoms and security doors.
[Read full article on Mark Pack’s blog…]