Lib Dem leader Ed Davey refuses to rule out joining Labour in a coalition government after the next election – as one of his senior frontbenchers says the party STILL wants Britain to rejoin the EU
The leader of the Liberal Democrats refused to rule out propping up a Labour government today – after one of his top lieutenants said the party still wanted to take Britain back into the EU.
Sir Ed Davey, who served as a minister in the Coalition under David Cameron, swerved questions about whether he would be willing to work with Sir Keir Starmer.
In a BBC interview during the Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Bournemouth he claimed he had ‘fought the Conservatives all my life’, claiming he stood up to them while in Government.
But he warned his predecessors had been ‘distracted from the task in hand’ by focusing on what they would do if there was a hung parliament.
It came as one of his top team appeared to go rogue over Europe. Layla Moran, who challenged Mr Davey for the leadership after the 2019 election, told a conference fringe that the party wanted Britain to rejoin the European Union.
‘We want to rejoin. We want, as part of it, to get back into the Single Market,’ the Telegraph reported her as saying.
‘We recognise that, in order to do that, we have to do stuff before, to get to that relationship. How do we talk about it in a way that doesn’t push people away, so where is that sweet spot?’
However, Sir Ed this morning told the BBC that rejoining was ‘currently not on the table’.
Sir Ed Davey, who served as a minister in the Coalition under David Cameron, swerved questions about whether he would be willing to work with Sir Keir Starmer.
Knocking down the blue wall? This morning Sir Ed told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘There’s no way we could deal with the Conservatives. They’ve ruined our country.’
It came as one of his top team appeared to go rogue over Europe. Layla Moran, who challenged Mr Davey for the leadership after the 2019 election, told a conference fringe that the party wanted Britain to rejoin the European Union.
‘We want Britain to be at the heart of Europe but we’re also deeply realistic about what’s going to have to be done to enable us to improve our relations with Europe,’ he said.
This morning Sir Ed told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘There’s no way we could deal with the Conservatives. They’ve ruined our country.
‘I fought them in Government every day… at the moment I’m just focusing on removing Conservative MPs and electing as many Liberal Democrat MPs as we can.
‘That’s why we’re focusing on the NHS, focusing on the cost of living, focusing on the environment.’
Pressed on whether he would agree to a deal with Labour, he said: ‘I’ve worked with a lot of Liberal Democrat leaders and when they have focused on that question they have been distracted from the task in hand.’
His remarks came after Sir Keir last week called for a closer UK relationship with the EU if he takes power.
His remarks to a conference in Montreal about less ‘divergence’ from Brussels were seized on by the Tories, who said they went much further than he has previously been prepared to admit.
Cabinet ministers said the footage obtained by Sky News raised questions as to what Sir Keir thought was ‘the point’ of Brexit if Britain did not diverge.
But speaking to broadcasters today an angry-looking Sir Keir stood by what he said, saying he would looked at possible sector-by-sector improvements to the deal when it comes up for discussion in 2025.
He told reporters in the City of London there was ‘no case for rejoining the EU, no case for the customs union or single market’ and laws would be ‘made in this country for the public interest’.
But he added: ‘That does not mean that a Labour government would lower standards on food or lower the rights that people have at work.
‘That’s been consistent Labour Party policy for years. Incidentally, that’s also Government policy.’
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