A Lichfield Liberal Democrat councillor says he hopes the the Conservatives will “use their power responsibly” after the General Election.
Cllr Paul Ray came third in the vote – which was won by Michael Fabricant – after standing in Lichfield and Burntwood.
With Prime Minister Boris Johnson now set to move forward on Brexit, the Lib Dem representative said it was important close ties with our European neighbours remained:
“It seems that the country is worn down by the Brexit debate and just wanted it over – at whatever cost.
“And I fear that there will be a heavy cost and it’s the wrong decision for the country. But I and Liberal Democrats stood up for what we believe in.
“I now hope for the good of the country – and to avoid the break-up of our union – that the Conservatives use their power responsibly and in a way that keeps us close to the EU and brings our country together.”
Cllr Paul Ray
The Liberal Democrats suffered a tough General Election, which saw leader Jo Swinson lose her seat.
But Cllr Ray said there were positives for his party to take from the outcome.
“Thursday was obviously a very difficult night for the Lib Dems and the Stop Brexit dream is over.
“For me that is a devastating result but I accept it. I also accept that there will be no People’s Vote but the Lib Dems will continue to campaign for an outward-looking role for our country.
“The Lib Dem vote did go up nationally by 4% – the most of any party – and we did double our vote in Lichfield.”
Cllr Paul Ray
Cllr Ray added that the overall result showed why the electoral system needed a shake-up.
“The Lib Dems got 3.6million votes and 11 MPs and the SNP collected 1.2million votes and they got 48 MPs.
“It just shows why we must have proportional representation.”
Cllr Paul Ray
Is he auditioning for the next Spiderman?
Johnson stood in front of Downing Street and gave the typical ‘bring the country together speech,’ within days we have two “MPs” now foisted to the HoL due to losing their seats which, after the criticism of that house during the withdrawal agreement votes, is quite something.
The nonsense of ‘enshrining in law’ the leaving date, it’s clear that Johnson’s words are hollow and he remains the populist he always was.
I’m not hopeful.