Farron apologises for missing Brexit vote
The former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has apologised after he and his successor, Vince Cable, missed the votes on two government-backed amendments tabled by hardline Brexiters that passed with a majority of just three.
Cable and Farron, who have positioned the LibDems as the stopBrexit party, were away from the Commons on Monday night during the vote on amendments tabled by Jacob Rees-Mogg’s hardline European Research Group (ERG).
Farron was giving a talk in Sherborne, Dorset, on how he squares his controversial views as an evangelical Christian with being a liberal politician. Cable was attending a meeting away from parliament.
In an e-mail to the Guardian, Farron admitted misjudging the vote. He said: “I was authorised to be absent due to a pre-arranged engagement away from the parliamentary estate. In the end nobody expected the vote to be as close as it was – I’d actually cancelled the engagement earlier on, but then uncancelled because we expected Labour to abstain and the government to win by miles.
“We clearly called it wrong, as did Labour. I take full responsibility for my part. The Tories don’t deserve any luck, I’m so sorry I inadvertently granted them some.”
The LibDem chief whip, Alistair Carmichael, also admitted he “messed up”. He said: “The government squeaked home by just three votes in a key amendment. It should have been one ... By the time it became apparent that the vote was going to be close – it was too late to get two of our MPs back in time to vote.”
Downing Street claimed the amendments were “consistent with the Brexit white paper”, a decision that so incensed Tory Remainers that 14, including a junior minister, voted against the government.
After the government won two of the votes with a majority of just three, Remain-backing Labour MPs turned on Cable and Farron – although three Labour MPs, and a former Labour MP also backed the government.