Lib Dem MP who vowed to vote for Theresa May's Brexit deal faces calls to have whip withdrawn
Stephen Lloyd under pressure after insisting he will keep election pledge to back prime minister's plan
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Your support makes all the difference.A Liberal Democrat MP is facing calls to have the party whip removed over he vowed to vote for Theresa May's Brexit deal.
Stephen Lloyd provoked fury among party members he would break from the rest of his party in order to back the agreement when it is MPs are given a "meaningful vote" on the deal next month.
The Eastbourne MP said during last week's election campaign that he would support the deal Ms May brought back from Brussels and last week insisted he would keep his promise.
His constituency voted in favour of Brexit by 57 per cent to 43 per cent.
But more than 70 Lib Dem activists, including councillors and parliamentary candidates, said he should be booted out the party if he follows through on his pledge.
In an open letter, seen by Politics Home, they wrote: “The prime minister's deal offers nothing that could be construed as a liberal, or Liberal Democrat, policy position when it comes to our future relationship with the European Union.”
“It strips the EU citizenship that was the birthright of millions of our citizens in a vast raid on individuals' rights, and shuts off the four freedoms, endangering people's livelihoods across Britain. Nobody has been able to put this damaging deal to the people either at an election or through a people's vote, and nobody therefore has a direct mandate to support it.
They added: “This is the most important issue of this political generation: we do not believe that those who actively vote for an illiberal deal at the end of an isolationist process can be seen as acting in any way within the wide spectrum of beliefs that our party seeks to contain.
“It is with sadness but resolve that we therefore call upon the parliamentary party to suspend the whip from Stephen Lloyd.”
Mr Lloyd insisted he would not be swayed.
He said: “I campaigned and publicly debated for Remain during the 2016 referendum, and still believe that remaining within the European Union is in the best interests of our nation.
“I also made a promise during the campaign that I would not support calls for a second referendum, and would support the final negotiated deal the prime minister brings back to the Commons. And as my constituency Eastbourne knows, when I give my word to the town I keep it.”
Another of the party's MPs, Norman Lamb, has also refused to say how he will vote on the deal. His constituency, North Norfolk, voted 59 per cent to 41 per cent in favour of Leave
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