The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
New Lib Dem MP says party’s Brexit strategy was a failure
The Liberal Democrats’ election strategy on Brexit was not successful, one of the party’s new MPs has admitted.
Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Wendy Chamberlain, MP for North East Fife, said the Lib Dems were “unashamedly a Remain party”.
But she added: “When our policy is to stop Brexit, if we were to win a majority in government then the most straightforward way to do that would be to revoke.
“But I do accept that as a strategy it has not been successful.”
The new MP, who beat out the SNP’s Stephen Gethins on Thursday, said her party was still “pro-UK and pro-EU”, despite their failure to make gains.
She said: “It’s very important, especially when you see at a UK level where the Labour Party is at, that we provide a consistent pro-European message.
“Brexit may be happening, we’ll see as I enter Parliament, this week.
“I think we absolutely represent that 48% of people who voted Remain and regardless of what our Conservative Government think, we want to represent people who believe that this is not a good direction for our country.”
The Lib Dems won 11 seats across the UK, losing one – then-party leader Jo Swinson’s East Dunbartonshire constituency.
Ms Chamberlain said that Mrs Swinson was right to say she was running to be prime minister during the campaign.
“You always have to talk about what ambitions you have as a party and as an individual,” she said.
The North-East Fife MP also said the party’s stance on Scottish independence would not change, following a number of Scottish Labour figures appearing to soften their position on the right to hold another referendum.
She said: “I would go back to our manifesto, which is pro-UK.
“We believe in breaking down barriers, not about creating them.
“Whether that be a border between Scotland and England or a border in the Irish Sea as Boris Johnson seems determined to implement.”
Ms Chamberlain maintained that as the SNP won around 45% of Scottish votes on Thursday, the same percentage as voted for independence in 2014, it is difficult to see if there is more support for separation than there was previously.