Ex-Lib Dem leadership contender Norman Lamb threatens to quit ‘stubborn’ party over Brexit
The North Norfolk MP tore into the Lib Dems and said they had betrayed their ideals by being so “intransigent” over Brexit – and “not willing to move”
EX-LIB DEM leadership contender Norman Lamb is threatening to quit the party – claiming they’re just as stubborn as Tory Eurosceptics.
The North Norfolk MP tore into the Lib Dems and said they had betrayed their ideals by being so “intransigent” over Brexit – and “not willing to move”. And he admitted he could stand as an independent.
The backbencher – whose fans were dubbed ‘Normtroopers’ in the party’s 2015 leadership contest – was the only the party’s 11 MPs to vote in favour of a customs union in Monday night’s ‘Indicative Votes’.
He told the BBC: “The whole essence of my liberalism is that you seek to try and bring people together, you find and build consensus.
“I just worry that it looks like we are almost like the mirror image of the ERG – intransigent in a position, not willing to move to at all, not willing to respect the alternative point of view.
“I think that’s very dangerous … I’m not convinced it’s a very attractive message.”
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Asked if he was considering quitting the whip, Mr Lamb said: “I’m thinking about all of this.
“I’m a liberal and I will stick with my membership of the Lib Dems for as long as I’m allowed to stay.
“Whether I should remain subject to the whip is something I’m thinking about.”
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