Cable: The Conservative Government is in meltdown
Responding to the resignation of Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable said:
The Government started Britain on a journey with no actual idea of their route or their destination. The Conservative Government is in meltdown and it’s clear the Conservatives are now driving the country off a cliff.
The Tories are finally realising what we have always known. There is no way to prevent Brexit from leaving our country worse off.
A People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal, where they can choose to remain in the EU, is the only route out of this uncertainty. It is time people had the power to end this mess.
Cable: PM’s incompetence leaves UK unprepared for all options
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable has today criticised Theresa May for failing to prepare for no Brexit, despite admitting it was an option.
Speaking in response to the Prime Minister’s Brexit statement in the House of Commons today, Vince Cable said: “The Prime Minister rightly asserts that there are two alternatives to her plan, no deal and no Brexit.”
He added: “The Government is investing considerably in contingency planning for no deal. What contingency planning is she doing for no Brexit? Including, for example, advising the Commission that Article 50 may have to be withdrawn? And is she herself preparing for the fact, however much she hates it, that the House may instruct her to carry out a People’s Vote?”
In response, the Prime Minister confirmed the Conservative Government was making no plans for no Brexit.
Following the exchange, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:
For the livelihoods of people right across the UK, there is no deal better than the deal we currently have as EU members. That is why the Liberal Democrats have consistently made the case for remaining in the EU.
Given the Prime Minister’s botched deal is falling apart already, it is beyond incompetent that she has left the UK unprepared for the very real reality of no Brexit at all.
The future of our country should be decided by the people. The people must be given the final say on Brexit, including the option to remain in the EU.
Brexit chaos hitting UK businesses hard
Responding to reports that UK- focused firms have been hit hard by the PM’s proposed Brexit deal, with RBS, Lloyds, Barclays, Marks and Spencer, Barratt, Berkeley and EasyJet all seeing falls in their share prices, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said:
Ministerial resignations and Brexit chaos are hitting UK-based businesses hard.
But the short-term damage caused by a rudderless Government will be nothing compared to the permanent harm the PM’s bad deal or catastrophic No Deal would inflict on UK Plc.
That is why we need a People’s Vote to get us out of this mess and secure an exit from Brexit.
Cable: ‘No Brexit’ clearly on the table
Responding to Donald Tusk’s invitation to the UK to remain in the European Union, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:
Donald Tusk is right and it’s good to see that ‘No Brexit’ is clearly on the table from the EU.
Any sensible Government would be contingency planning for no Brexit, and I am pleased to see that the EU is now planning for it too.
The PM too has acknowledged now that there is a choice between no Brexit and no deal if her plans fail.
Recent events have shifted a People’s Vote from being possible to becoming probable. We must prepare to win the argument in the country: there is still time to exit from Brexit.
Cable: PM in Brexit denial
Responding to the Prime Minister’s press conference today, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:
The Prime Minister took a long time to say nothing this afternoon. She appears to be in denial.
The facts haven’t changed. There is no majority in Parliament for her deal, and she has rightly conceded that “No Brexit” is the real alternative to it.
There must now be a People’s Vote to break the deadlock and get the country out of this mess.