Lib Dem Peer Hits Out At Labour For "Sitting On The Fence" On Brexit
2 August 2019, 08:51 | Updated: 2 August 2019, 08:55
The leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords said "sitting on the fence" will continue to damage the Labour Party, after the Remain-backing party won the Brecon by-election.
Lib Dem candidate Jane Dodds won the Brecon by-election with 43.5% of the vote, ahead of former Conservative MP Chris Davies on 39% after he triggered the by-election following his conviction for submitting false expenses.
Labour, which narrowly avoided losing its deposit with just 5.3% of the vote, were beaten into fourth place by the Brexit Party on 10.5%.
The result means Boris Johnson's working majority in the House of Commons has been reduced to one.
Speaking to Tom Swarbrick, the leader of the Lib Dems in the House of Lords said he was "delighted" by his party's victory in Brecon.
"I know Jane Dodds and I think she'll make a great MP, the kind of person you want in Parliament," Lord Newby said.
"You've got to remember that Brecon and Radnorshire isn't a Remain part of the country, so it's not surprising that [the Tories and Brexit Party] were doing reasonably well - yet we still overcame that.
"All the polls shows there has been a steady movement towards Remain."
Asked about the collapse of the Labour vote share, Lord Newby said: "I think clarity of position is what matters to voters at every point, they want to know what they're voting for.
"That's benefited us, it benefited us in the European elections, it benefited us in Brecon, and it'll continue to do Labour damage for as long as they and Jeremy Corbyn in particular sits on the fence."
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