Cable says Brexit Britain is ‘in a state of protracted, non-violent civil war’

The “toxic” fall-out of the Brexit referendum is fuelling the rise of the populist right in Britain, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has warned.

In his keynote speech to his party’s spring conference in Southport, Sir Vince said the divide opened up by the June 2016 vote had left the country mired in a “protracted, nonviolent civil war”.

He strongly criticised the “poisonous rhetoric” of the Brexiteers – including Theresa May’s “citizens of nowhere” jibe – which, he said, was only exacerbating the divisions. 0 Vince Cable addressed his party’s spring conference

Sir Vince appealed to critics of Brexit to unite behind the Lib Dems’ call for a second referendum once the terms of the final deal were known.

With the Government divid- ed over what it wanted to achieve in the negotiations, he said it was clear the EU would end up dictating the terms.

“This will, in turn, create the sense of victimhood Brexiteers crave – being under the European yoke,” he said. “I would go so far as to say Britain is now mired in a protracted, non-violent civil war. Allied to the poisonous rhetoric about ‘traitors’ and ‘saboteurs’, and what Theresa May calls ‘citizens of nowhere’, we have a toxic brew which fuels the populist right. What a disgrace that the fool’s errand of Brexit embarked on to paper over cracks in the Conservative Party has resulted in hate crime on our streets.”