Leavers, beware: Theresa May is offering the exact opposite of what you voted for Tim Farron
By Tim Farron Lib Dem leader and MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale in The Guardian
Originally published by South Lincolnshire Liberal Democrats
Quitting the single market while keeping immigration at current levels and smearing all criticism of rock-hard Brexit as treachery - that seems to be the plan
Theresa May's tactic is clear: to accuse anyone who dares question her headlong, blindfold charge towards hard Brexit of being democracy deniers. This despite it looking increasingly likely that the result of her reckless, divisive Brexit will be to leave the single market and not reduce immigration - the very opposite of what Brexiteers pitched to the people.
As the vast Unite for Europe march last weekend showed, the anger is not ebbing, it is growing, and among some who voted leave as well as remain. Realisation is growing that the Conservative Brexit government is stealing the result of the referendum by wilfully misinterpreting it - and then having the brass neck to accuse anyone who reminds the Brexiteers of their promises of somehow being an enemy of the people.
Similarly, anyone who dares question what ripping Britain out of the world's largest market will do to our economy is "talking Britain down" - cynically distracting attention from the harm the government is about to inflict on living standards and opportunities.
It was May's choice to plumb for the hardest and most divisive Brexit, taking us out of the single market before she has even tried to negotiate. That's why we believe the people should have the final say. Someone will: it will either be politicians or the people. If the people decide they don't like the deal on offer, they should have the option to remain in the European Union.
This is simply too big to trust to politicians. May wants to hijack David Cameron's mandate from the general election to deliver hard Brexit. Meanwhile, the recent tough talk from Keir Starmer won't hide Labour's feeble deeds: voting for Brexit, failing to stick up for the right of EU nationals to remain, and even now only really threatening to abstain rather than vote against the final deal. I have heard of loyal opposition, but this is craven.
Meanwhile Britain powers towards the cliff edge. By triggering article 50, May is giving herself an incredibly tough, self-imposed deadline to agree what could prove the messiest divorce in history. The EU is asking for a reported £50bn; May will apparently offer £3bn. The EU says it won't discuss a future relationship until this is settled, and unless the deadline can be extended or an interim arrangement struck, Britain will be locked out of the single market without any new trade agreement in place.
And you can see why. The CBI estimates we will need 34 regulatory agencies to replace EU ones. Do you have faith that the merry band of Brexiteers, even now, have the faintest understanding of the sheer scale of the Brexit challenge?
And what happens if we don't sign a deal? For a start, all UK trade would be subject to tariffs immediately. This is not a matter of negotiation, as pro-leavers claim. World Trade
Organisation rules require that the minimum "most favoured nation" tariff is applied to everyone unless there is a future trade agreement in place. So if we wanted to continue trading with the single market without tariffs, we would need zero tariffs on our trade with the rest of the world too.
Immediate customs checks would be required at the EU border, including possibly between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
And there are so many more problems, from City firms losing passporting rights, to the EU no longer being obliged to trail terror suspects, to travellers having to pay a fee to travel to continental Europe and be limited in the time they could stay. The future of UK citizens living in the EU would be thrown into doubt, while British students would no longer enjoy free access to EU universities. All the protection for our beaches, air quality and energy efficiency would be at the caprice of a Conservative government that includes climate sceptics.
So May is triggering article 50 knowing she will almost certainly not have replacement deals in place. And not having a deal will be a disaster. Rarely has Britain been worse governed, or had a feebler official opposition.
But Liberal Democrats remain clear: after article 50 is triggered, we will continue the fight against hard Brexit, and will not stop until the Conservative Brexit government concedes that the people, not politicians, have the final word.