LONDON, Sept 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Sam Gyimah, who once served in the governments of Theresa May and David Cameron, has switched sides in the British parliament from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats over Brexit.
Gyimah, who supports a second referendum on leaving the European Union, was introduced as the latest Tory to join the anti-Brexit opposition party at a Liberal Democrat conference late Saturday in Bournemouth, southern England.
“I want to serve my country,” the 43-year-old former universities minister said.
His defection further reduces the clout of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government at a time when the hard-line leader’s plan to leave the EU on October 31 as planned – with or without a deal – is in jeopardy.
The Liberal Democrats, which want a second referendum with the option of cancelling Brexit completely, now has 18 members of parliament in the House of Commons, including six lawmakers who have joined this year.
Gyimah was one of the 21 Conservative rebels whom Johnson fired after they voted against the government on an opposition bill that seeks to block a no-deal Brexit.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Gyimah said the Conservatives had “become more intolerant and indoctrinaire,” adding that the main opposition Labour party was also moving towards the fringes.
“We can’t give the two old parties permission to silence and push moderates out of politics, when millions hold these values,” he said.
Johnson’s government recently lost its majority and a general election may be on the horizon as politicians struggle to break the Brexit deadlock.
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