Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable set to call for a second Brexit referendum at party conference in Bournemouth

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable is expected to call for a second Brexit referendum when he addresses his party in Bournemouth today.

Cable, who was crowned party leader in July, will argue at the Liberal Democrat conference that the public must be allowed to decide on Brexit after the negotiations with the EU have concluded.

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He is expected to say:

At the end of these tortuous divorce negotiations, the British public must be given a vote on the outcome. Let me be clear. This is not a call for a re-run – a second referendum – on Brexit.

It is a call for a first referendum on the facts: when we know what Brexit means. We know that our call will, of course, be resented by the Brexit fundamentalists.

The former business secretary is also expected to launch an attack on Prime Minister Theresa May for losing control of her cabinet this week after Boris Johnson published an essay on Brexit in the Telegraph.

Cable tweeted his disapproval of the cabinet fallout on Sunday, and today will accuse the Tories of falling into “a full-scale school riot with the head teacher hiding, barricaded in her office”.

Complete loss of authority for Theresa May. She should fire Boris Johnson on Monday morning or her credibility will be reduced to zero— Vince Cable (@vincecable) September 17, 2017