The Government has been take over by Brexit extremists, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Lichfield and Burntwood has claimed.
Paul Ray said his party are now the only option for voters at the General Election who are concerned about the impact of Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Mr Ray, who finished third in 2015 with 2,700 votes, said the Conservative desire to leave the Single Market and Labour’s uncertainty over Brexit had made for an unsavoury and uncertain political situation.
“Brexit extremists have taken over the Government and they are now putting their hatred of Europe before jobs and prosperity,” he said. “Leaving the Single Market was not in the referendum question.
“No-one voted to make Britain poorer. Labour have surrendered to the Brexit-backing Conservatives so only the Liberal Democrats are battling for Britain to stay in the Single Market.”
The snap General Election will be a chance for Conservatives to strengthen their hand on the way the country’s departure from the EU is handled.
But Mr Ray said the Government had failed to fully respect the views of the electorate in the in-out referendum.
“The people voted for departure, but they did not vote for a destination,” he said. “We do not believe that people voted for the Hard Brexit that Theresa May is aiming to impose on the UK.
“It should be up to the people to decide at the end of the process between the deal the government gets and staying in the EU. Liberal Democrats want to protect EU citizens’ rights in the UK, and UK citizens’ rights in the EU.
“We want to ensure continued membership of the Single Market and Customs Union and make sure Parliament is allowed full scrutiny throughout the Brexit process.”
