REBELS COSY UP TO LIB DEMS
New group in weekly talks with Cable’s MPs on tactics for Brexit
‘Focus on securing a People’s Vote’
REBEL MPs from the Independent Group will formally meet the Liberal Democrats to discuss Brexit.
The talks will raise the prospect of the two groups joining forces in the House of Commons as it takes a series of crucial votes on Britain’s departure from the EU.
A party source confirmed the Lib Dems, with 11 MPs, will stage weekly meetings with the Independent Group, which is formed of 11 ex-Tory and ex-Labour MPs.
If the 22 MPs were to secure an agreement to frustrate Brexit – for example, by demanding another referendum – it could cause huge problems for Theresa May as she attempts to win backing for her deal.
Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable yesterday made overtures to the splinter group and even pledged not to stand candidates against them in general elections.
The Independents share their anti-Brexit stance with the Lib Dems. A party source said they would now share whipping information and party resources where possible.
The source said they expected there would be some sort of joint Brexit agreement with the group.
Sir Vince said: ‘We will hold out the hand of friendship to the Independent MPs with whom we already have a good working relationship.
‘In the short term we will be concentrating on securing a People’s Vote, with an option to stay.’
He also hinted at a possible electoral pact, telling the BBC: ‘It would be foolish for my party and this Inde- Group to fight with each other and compete with each other in elections. The first-past-the-post system means that we would damage each other very badly. It would be a foolish thing to do, so we have to co-operate.’
He added: ‘We totally share their views about Brexit. We are going to have to work with them and others to make sure the damage that Brexit could do is stopped.’
Questions have been raised about what sort of policies the new Independent Group of MPs could offer, and where they stand ideologically.
The first divisions emerged yesterday after Anna Soubry was asked if she supported the Tories’ 2010 policy of austerity.
She defended the record of the coalition government in which she served – including the ‘necessary’ austerity measures taken by former chancellor George Osborne.
Miss Soubry said: ‘I think the things we did to the economy were absolutely necessary at the time, I don’t have a problem with that.’
However, when asked about Miss Soubry’s comments, ex- Labour MP and Independent Chris Leslie said: ‘Obviously I am anti-austerity.’
He then added: ‘We are all coming from different backgrounds, and [have different] voting records. We have a duty to keep focused on what happens from now on.’
While the group is united in calling for a second referendum, it was not clear whether they would accept Brexit-supporting colleagues.
Labour MP Ian Austin, who was rumoured to be joining the group, has a Leave seat and supports Brexit. Mr Leslie yesterday said they would have to ‘cross that bridge’ later.
The ideological differences have led to question what sort of policies could unite the group. The Independents said they would not join the Lib Dems and instead called for them to defect and join them.
Mr Leslie said: ‘ We’re not joining the Liberal Democrats. We’ll have to make that absolutely clear.
‘There are problems with all the parties. While the liberals haven’t had the problem with the ideological extremes, they have got a clear trust issue and it’s pretty fundamental.’
Heidi Allen, who was elected as a Conservative before splitting away yesterday, added: ‘It would be great if some of them wanted to join us.
‘This is new, this is clean, this is fresh... We’re not jumping on your bandwagon, we’re starting again.’
Earlier, Miss Soubry had urged ‘like-minded Lib Dems’ to join them in breaking away from their parties.
On Monday, Chuka Umunna, one of the former Labour MPs who broke away, also ruled out the splinter group joining another political party, saying: ‘ There are going to be no mergers. If there are other MPs who share our values we’re offering, then join our movement.’
Yesterday, it emerged French president Emmanuel Macron’s digital guru is advising one of the groups preparing a new centrist political party, according to the Times.
Guillaume Liegey, who also worked on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, is said to have held talks with a group formed by Tony Blair’s former chief of staff Jonathan Powell.
This group is in preliminary negotiations with MPs in the newly formed Independents about the launch of a new party, the paper claimed.