LONDON, Sept 15\u00a0(NNN-AGENCIES)\u00a0–\u00a0Sam 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I want to serve my country,” the 43-year-old former universities minister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n