LONDON, Sept 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost his working parliamentary majority ahead of a crucial Brexit vote after Conservative MP Phillip Lee defected to the pro-EU Liberal Democrats.
“The Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce that Bracknell MP Phillip Lee has joined the party,” the Lib Dems said in a statement.
Johnson was braced for a showdown in parliament on Tuesday over his Brexit plan in a vote that could derail Britain’s exit from the European Union next month.
Members of Johnson’s own Tory party, including Lee, have worked with opposition lawmakers to draft a bill to force him to delay Brexit if he cannot agree divorce terms with the EU in time.
Johnson has warned he will prevent any Tory MPs who support the bill from standing for the party in any upcoming election, which is looking increasingly likely.
“This Conservative government is aggressively pursuing a damaging Brexit in unprincipled ways,” said Lee.
“It is using political manipulation, bullying and lies. And it is doing these things in a deliberate and considered way,” he added.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said she was “delighted” by the defection.
“He shares our commitment to prevent a disastrous No Deal Brexit, and to stop Brexit altogether,” she said.
Swinson said: “The Liberal Democrats are growing. Phillip follows both Chuka Umunna MP and Sarah Wollaston MP in bravely crossing the floor to join us.
“These representatives join over 30,000 new members, who have joined the Liberal Democrats since our best ever results in the European Elections in May.”
Lee defected in dramatic fashion, walking across the chamber while the PM made a statement to the House.
The pro-EU former justice minister walked across the Commons chamber, to sit with Jo Swinson’s party, meaning the prime minister now leads a minority government – the first since 1996.
It came in the most striking fashion – as the prime minister opened his statement on the G7 summit – and, for a few seconds, most MPs didn’t realise it was happening.
Cheers then broke out, drowning out Johnson as he told the Commons about global efforts to stem the fires in the Amazon rainforests.
The defection appeared to subdue Conservative MPs who failed to give their leader any rousing cheers – prompting Scottish National Party (SNP) taunts that he had endured the “shortest political honeymoon in history”.
The defection is the third to the resurgent Lib Dems in recent months, after Chuka Umunna, a former Labour MP, and Sarah Wollaston, an ex-Conservative, joined the ranks. — NNN-AGENCIES
