Lib Dem manifesto: the European Union

Liberal Democrats recognise the result of the 2016 referendum on the European Union, which gave the government a mandate to start negotiations to leave. But the referendum didn't ask for people's views on the shape of our future relationship with the EU on issues such as trade, travel or security.

We believe that leaving the single market, ending freedom of movement and abandoning the customs union will make the UK poorer, and that this hard Brexit is not the outcome that many leave voters wanted. Already, the value of the pound has fallen, inflation has risen, growth in the economy has slowed, and the government has increased borrowing to fill the gap in lost tax revenue. A hard Brexit is the wrong choice for the country, and Liberal Democrats will fight to prevent it.

When the government finishes negotiations, there will be a deal on the table. The Conservatives want the decision on that deal to be taken by politicians, but Liberal Democrats believe that the British people should be the ones to have the final say, in a referendum that offers a choice between the deal that has been negotiated and the alternative of staying in the EU. We believe that there is no deal as good for the UK outside the EU as the one that the UK already has as a member.

Source:
Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2017, www.libdems.org.uk/manifesto [accessed 17 May 2017]