Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has pledged “to stop Brexit altogether”. But here’s more evidence showing why it’s hard to trust her on anything.
“What?!?
At party conference, the Liberal Democrats agreed to cancel Brexit if they get into power. Swinson said:
We will do all we can to fight for our place in Europe, and to stop Brexit altogether.
But if her voting record and refusal to work with Jeremy Corbyn wasn’t bad enough, a new video has emerged showing that Swinson previously backed a referendum on UK EU membership.
In 2008, Swinson said:
The Liberal Democrats would like to have a referendum on the major issue of in or out of Europe.
Oh My God!!! 😱
OH MY GOD!!!!!! 😱
You fckn WHAT?!? pic.twitter.com/9Zq6Nv4wfp— ARTIST TAXI DRIVER (@chunkymark) September 16, 2019
As her voting record shows, Swinson did indeed vote for a referendum in 2008. And indeed, despite blaming David Cameron for the 2016 referendum, the Lib Dems supported this option while Nick Clegg was at the helm, who led the party between 2007-2015:
Swinson says she doesn’t forgive David Cameron for calling the referendum. But remember she stood on a manifesto supporting a referendum. Here’s the Lib Dem leaflet at the time. Selective memory from the Lib Dems yet again! #JoSwinson https://t.co/6wGm4mau1B pic.twitter.com/M40Ii7pb8F
— Bill Esterson (@Bill_Esterson) September 16, 2019
People are struggling to follow Swinson’s “double speak”:
#JoSwinson proving in all interviews this morning just how politically immature she is. How anyone can fall for anything she says based on her track record and the double speak she spouts is beyond me.
— Derek Francis (@dfb1010) September 16, 2019
“Playing with fire”
As some pointed out, no matter how people voted in 2016, cancelling Brexit is far from democratic. This stands in complete contrast to Corbyn, who Swinson has said she won’t work with:
https://twitter.com/HanRJones1/status/1173504229794865152
Some Lib Dems also shared similar concerns. Norman Lamb MP said this new Lib Dem policy amounted to “playing with fire”. According to the BBC, he said on the Today programme:
If we take this to the very limit in a situation where one side is vanquished entirely, I think there’s a real danger that we break the social contract in our country.
“Does not compute”
Swinson wants to cancel Brexit, if her party wins a general election. And there’s evidence to suggest that she’d consider working with the Conservative Party, although she seems to contradict this position at times. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson’s promised to push Brexit through no matter what. As one Twitter user stated, this “does not compute”:
I am actually struggling to understand how #JoSwinson can consider going into a coalition with the #Conservatives, when her #LibDems position is to revoke article 50, and the Tories is to crash out with no deal.
Does not compute. #JoSwinson #LibDem #LibDemConference pic.twitter.com/bacivkSi2h
— Robin 🍉💚 (@HouseOfRedRobin) September 15, 2019
So, as SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon also noted, it’s very difficult to trust the Lib Dems:
Leopards – and it seems Liberals – don’t change their spots. According to this they’re in election talks with the Tories?! Remember this the next time you hear the Scottish Lib Dems claim that they are anti Tory. https://t.co/5RuuA9Wqku
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) September 14, 2019
This isn’t the only example of a huge inconsistency between what Swinson says and the evidence of her voting record either. For example, as The Canary reported, Swinson’s website claimed she’s “campaigned tirelessly to save our environment”. But her voting record shows she supported the badger cull, fracking, HS2, and voted to sell off public forests. Swinson also accepted donations totalling £14,000 from Mark Petterson, director of a company with several fracking licences.
Swinson did support a referendum in 2008. Of course, people’s views can develop over time. But day by day, mounting evidence shows that it’s hard to trust a single word Swinson says. In fact, it’s hard not to suspect she’ll say whatever she can to pull votes and do whatever she wants to afterwards.
Featured image via Flickr – Liberal Democrats
