Last week, I and twenty brave colleagues took the ultimate
step of defying the Conservative whip to make crashing out on October 31st
illegal. In an unprecedented move, Boris Johnson withdrew the whip from us all.
I won’t be seeking to get it back. It is with great sadness
that I’ve come to realise
the Conservative Party is no longer the party I
joined more than twenty years ago.
Back then, the party embodied the pragmatic One Nation
values I share. I am proud of what we achieved in government, including in
coalition with the Liberal Democrats: increasing childcare, same-sex marriage,
helping the low paid, balancing the books and backing business.
Since the referendum
the Conservative party has drifted
away from One Nation values and towards English nationalism.
t's populist, scorched-earth approach to Brexit, intended to
neutralise Nigel Farage and his Brexit Party, is doing profound damage to our
institutions, our economy and the integrity of our family of nations.
The change has been even more alarming since Boris Johnson
became leader.
The party has become more intolerant and doctrinaire; less a
broad church, more a narrow sect in which lively, open debate has been replaced
by oaths of allegiance.
The Conservative Party no longer has a place for people like
me.
At this critical time for our country, I still want to
contribute to public life. And as I have worked across parties these last
few months for a Brexit resolution it has become clear that the Liberal
Democrats under Jo Swinson’s determined leadership are best placed to forge a
new liberal movement on the big issues of our time.
That is why I am crossing the floor and joining the Liberal
Democrats.
And I know that if everyone who also wants a real
alternative gets behind us, their votes will count and we will change our
country for the better.
