Beatrice Bass statement on Remain alliance in Hove

Brighton & Hove Lib Dems have received a few enquiries about the Remain alliance and whether we are standing against Peter Kyle MP. Here is a letter from our candidate for Hove & Portslade, Beatrice Bass, in reply:

"Dear member,

Thank you for your enquiry and your interest in my campaign. I am happy to explain my position in respect to a Remain Alliance and Peter Kyle MP.

As you may be aware, the Lib Dems are currently in negotiations with the Greens, Plaid Cymru and the SNP to collaborate as part of a remain alliance.

However, Labour is not part of the remain alliance. Labour has confirmed its policy to renegotiate the Brexit deal and implement it. Any Labour MP will be subject to the Labour whip and cannot be part of the alliance. Further, the local Hove Labour Party has recently also expressly voted in favour of implementing Brexit. That means Peter Kyle's previous efforts to campaign for a People's Vote or even to stop Brexit directly contradict the local as well as national Labour party policy. I have challenged him on this point and he has remained suspiciously silent on this issue.

Labour MPs, including Peter Kyle, are currently undergoing a selection and potential deselection process of which we don't know the outcome yet. My personal stance is that if Peter Kyle is deselected and joins the Lib Dems, I will stand down in Hove and Portslade and campaign with him. However, whilst he is standing for pro-Brexit Labour, I will continue to fight for the seat. Lib Dem HQ support this approach.

Some people question the logic behind standing a Lib Dem candidate. Besides the fact that the Lib Dems are the biggest and strongest anti Brexit party, we also fight to implement other key liberal policies. By way of example we have a climate emergency going on, and the Lib Dems have proven to be strong on environmental policies. We introduced the 5p plastic bag charge, doubled renewable energy and made renewable energy competitive in the UK, made UK a world leader in offshore wind technology, set European carbon emission targets etc. In contrast, Labour's policies on environment are rather weak and disappointing. The Lib Dems are also the leading advocates of equality and human rights. It was the Lib Dems who introduced same sex marriage, not Labour, and it is the Lib Dems who continue to fight to close the gender pay gap, have more women on companies' boards, fight for trans rights etc - not Labour. The Lib Dems are also a pro-business party who support investment in small to medium sized businesses - which would be so vital for Hove and the South East and which is one of my election pledges. Labour has a nationalisation agenda that is neither fit for purpose nor desirable in the entrepreneurial South East.

I don't need to recite every single Lib Dem policy to you, I am sure members know them well. It is our liberal values that should explain the logic to stand a Lib Dem candidate. No matter how much Peter Kyle might agree with such values, he still stands on a Labour manifesto and will be voting in Parliament to implement far left Labour policies. I have been canvassing in Hove and many (former) Labour voters are not pleased about Jeremy Corbyn's pro-Brexit agenda and are considering voting Lib Dem in the upcoming election even though they like Peter Kyle. We have also beaten Labour and the Conservatives in the recent European elections which demonstrates that the Lib Dems can win in Hove.

Finally I would like to invite you to trust my abilities to be an outstanding MP for Hove and Portslade, should I be elected, and I would welcome your help. We have canvassing sessions every Monday evening, regular EU street stalls and leaflet deliveries. If you could help out with any of this, please let me know at info@liberalbrighton.org. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

Beatrice Bass

Parliamentary Candidate for Hove & Portslade"