Former U.K. Education Minister Joins Lib-Dems in Brexit Revolt

Steve Geimann

15 Sep 2019, 03:10 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Former U.K. Education Minister Sam Gyimah joined the Liberal Democrats on Saturday after his opposition to the government’s no-deal Brexit policy led to his ejection from the ruling Conservative Party.

Announcing his decision on the first day of the Lib-Dems annual conference, Gyimah -- who supports a second Brexit referendum -- said centrists were being “cast out of both main parties,” according to the Press Association.

“There is now no orderly way for the UK to leave the EU,” Gyimah said, according to PA. “If the prime minister got a deal at the European Council on October 17 and 18, it would not be possible for us to leave on October 31 in an orderly way."

Six members of Parliament have defected to the party in recent weeks, including former Tory Philip Lee and ex-Labour members Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna. Gyimah was one of the 21 Tories removed after rebelling against Boris Johnson in a bid to pass legislation that would block a no-deal Brexit.

Johnson still wants a general election to break the Brexit impasse in Parliament. He was in campaign mode during a speech Friday in northern England -- where his Conservatives are hoping to win over pro-Brexit voters in the opposition Labour Party’s traditional heartlands.

Gyimah, 43, quit as minister for universities and science in November, saying he couldn’t support the Brexit agreement that Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, signed with European Union leaders.

In July, he was one of more than a dozen candidates seeking to replace May after she quit as Conservative Party leader over her failure to deliver a Brexit deal. He withdrew after eight days, and on Saturday said he knew he had "no chance" of winning.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Geimann in Washington at sgeimann@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Steve Geimann, Ian Fisher