Lib Dems ‘spreading fear’ in Heathrow vote
THE Liberal Democrats have been accused of attempting to “scaremonger” voters over the impact of Brexit as they target Zac Goldsmith’s Euroscepticism to unseat him in a crucial by-election.
The party has issued tens of thousands of newsletters warning voters in Richmond Park that leaving the European Union will do “grievous damage” to the economy.
They also claim the country’s manufacturing and services sectors are heading for “disaster” under Theresa May’s plan for Brexit and say there could be tariffs of up to 20 per cent.
The news comes as the Lib Dems attempt to turn the by-election into a “Brexit referendum” after Mr Goldsmith, the sitting Tory MP, resigned in protest at his party’s approval of Heathrow’s third runway. Mr Goldsmith, who is standing for re-election as an independent, won the seat with a 23,000 majority last year but campaigned to leave the EU, while his constituents overwhelmingly voted to remain inside the bloc.
Mr Farron, the Lib Dem leader, said: “This election is a clear referendum on Brexit and the choice is clear – between Zac, the hard Brexiteer endorsed by Farage and Ukip, or the Liberal Democrats. This election is about how the Government is handling this. I believe the Government doesn’t have a plan or even a clue. We need to be in the single market and to protect jobs.” He said victory for the party’s candidate, Sarah Olney, would send “shockwaves” through the Government over its Brexit approach.
The Lib Dems have issued 75,000 campaign leaflets designed to look like a local paper to voters in Richmond, warning of the impact of Brexit.
“Business leaders: hard Brexit will cause grievous damage,” one headline reads. The leaflet also claims the Lib Dems are the “only free market, free trade, pro-business party now”.
Steve Baker, the Tory MP who is chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, said: “If they want to rerun the referendum and Project Fear, more fool them. The public know we’ve had a string of good economic news after the referendum which has exploded Project Fear once already. I can’t see the good people of Richmond falling for this scaremongering.”