The European Community, an institution that we built, that delivered peace, that promoted equality, kept us safe and opened the doors of opportunity, will no longer play part of Britain’s future. As one of the 16 million remain votes and a passionate pro-European the result hurts me deeply.
With this vote, the very fabric of our country has changed, the whole fabric of Europe has been changed.
Even though the vote was close, the majority of British people want us to leave. We must accept that decision but we refuse to give up on our beliefs.
Our optimistic, hopeful, diverse and tolerant Britain is needed now more than ever.
The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand for a better kind of Britain than the one painted by the Leave campaign. Since the polls closed thousands of people have joined our party as they look across at Labour party who dont seem to care. Their spineless leadership has meant we have sleepwalked to Brexit.
As Gladstone said almost 130 years ago – ‘We are part of the community of Europe, and must do our duty as such.’
We must not let this vote allow our country to turn to division, isolation and decline. Our national interest does not end at the cliffs of Dover.
I believe that this vote was not a vote on the European Union alone. It was a collective howl of frustration – at the political class, at big business, at a global elite.
Years of frustration, dissatisfaction and people feeling ignored have been building to this point. Too often the European Union has been used as a distraction from failures in government.
The pressures on our schools, the pressures on our hospitals and GP surgeries, the pressures on our infrastructure are problems made in Westminster, in our own Parliament, by British politicians.
For the last few weeks I have stood alongside progressives, in Labour, Greens and Conservatives. It felt so much like there was more that united us than divided us.
We must not allow this unity to fade away.
When other parties are divided and wounded, I will reach out. I am proud of the campaign that my party has run, it was positive, energetic and hopeful. That’s the sort of party we are, and that is my offer to the country. It is my offer to all people who share our values.
I can offer you a home for a new modern breed of politics – liberal, hopeful, international, rational – driven by real British values.
Positive about Europe, furious with those who led us to this disaster. Determined that we will not walk away from this fight.
There are 16 million of us saying that this fight is not over. This is our country too. If you are as angry and heartbroken as I am, I need you to join us today.
Content from our partners
Related
