Bexhill and Battle Liberal Democrats

As you know, Vince has now formally announced his resignation, and, as your President, I am triggering the process for the election of his successor as Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Vince for all he's done since he was elected leader in 2017. He's been a steadying influence when it was most needed - and that's led to us gaining new MEPs (exact number to be announce tomorrow evening!) and almost 800 councillors. Thank you, Vince.

Last night, the British people finished voting in the European elections. The fallout is there for all to see, with the Prime Minister finally conceding this morning that she has reached the end of the road.

Our campaigning over the last three years has kept the cause of remaining in the European Union alive, and I now believe we have a strong chance of stopping Brexit. When the votes are counted on Sunday, I expect us to do well.

This morning, Theresa May conceded defeat and announced her resignation as Prime Minister.

This will undoubtedly be spun by hardline Tories as a failure on her behalf. They'll tell us that a true Brexit believer would have been able to do it.

But a new Prime Minister won't solve Brexit. Neither will a General Election. Leaving the EU without a deal will cause our country untold harm and widen the gap between the richest and poorest in society.

That's that - polls for the European elections are now closed!

We've fought so, so hard - I'm incredibly proud of each and every single one of our candidates, campaigners and voters. 💛

In the last 6 weeks, we've:

🔶 Fought a large-scale campaign that went toe-to-toe with Labour, the Conservatives and Nigel Farage's Brexit Party
🔶 Delivered over 12 million letters
🔶 Reached over 2.5 million people via social media - on polling day alone
🔶 Knocked on 225,000 doors
🔶 Nearly tripled our standing in the polls - from 7% to 20%:

We've had an amazing campaign - and now it's nearly over. You've got until 10 tonight to get out and cast your vote for the Liberal Democrats to stop Brexit!

We're the biggest, strongest Remain party - and we're on course for an amazing result. These European elections are your chance to send a message to the pro-Brexit Labour and Conservative parties - we just want it to stop.

Tomorrow, my first ever vote is going to be a vote for the Liberal Democrats to stop Brexit.

Just in case the 'Bollocks to Brexit' campaign slogan didn't make it clear enough; every vote for the Lib Dems is a vote to Stop Brexit and remain in the European Union. They're the biggest remain party and were the first to call for a People's Vote back in 2016.

I'm proud to have been the anti-Brexit Spokesperson for a party that has been unequivocal about Brexit for three years.

Meanwhile, like many people, my colleagues and I have attempted to decipher Corbyn's riddles and work out exactly what the Labour position is on Brexit.

Labour, Conservatives, UKIP, or the Brexit Party: they all want Brexit.

1. Lord Heseltine, Tory peer

The former Deputy PM endorsed us in the Sunday Times. He immediately had the whip suspended, which as Twitter pointed out was a bit suspect:

Lord Heseltine: I'm endorsing the Lib Dems.
Con Party: That's your whip withdrawn for supporting another party.
Countless Tory politicians/Councillors/members: I'm endorsing the Brexit party.
Con Party: *Deafening silence*.

- Addy Atky (@Addy_Atky) May 20, 2019

Throughout our history, the Liberal Democrats have lead the way on green issues. The 1979 Liberal/SDP manifesto called for a "war on waste and pollution" and highlighted "the need to reserve the natural environment for future generations."

Forty years later, our 2019 European manifesto is no less radical. Just last week, Vince Cable announced our commitment to campaign for an EU-wide ban on fracking.

Tim Farron, Layla Moran and Vince Cable spoke at our last rally of the EU elections in London this evening. And they were joined by a special guest - Andrew MacKinlay, former Labour MP for Thurrock.

Read their barnstorming speeches and catch up on the action here:

TIM FARRON

What you do in the last few hours matters massively.