MP Antoinette Sandbach quits Tories for Liberal Democrats
Antoinette Sandbach, one of the Conservative MPs who was expelled from the party in September, this morning announced she had joined the Liberal Democrats.
The Remain supporter was one of 21 MPs who had the whip removed after voting against Boris Johnson in an attempt to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
Read more: The 21 MPs Boris Johnson has sacked from the party after Brexit defeat
The Cheshire MP will stand for the Liberal Democrats in her current Eddisbury constituency in December’s election.
Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme, Sandbach said: “People have a very clear choice. The Conservative party offers years of uncertainty, whilst the Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit.
“Our country deserves so much better than Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.”
Sandbach was not one of the ten rebels allowed back into the party in October, despite supporting the prime minister’s Brexit deal legislation last month.
She becomes the fifth Tory to join the Liberal Democrats in recent months, following Sarah Wollaston, Sam Gyimah, Philip Lee and Heidi Allen.
In October Sandbach lost a confidence vote among her local party members, saying at the time that “it most likely means that I am not going to be the Conservative candidate in the next election.”
In 2017 Sandbach won a majority of around 12,000 over Labour, with the Liberal Democrats third with 2,804.
Sandbach told the BBC that although she had considered standing down due to the abuse she had received, it is “a critical time in this country’s history.”
High-profile female MPs such as Allen and culture secretary Nicky Morgan have cited abuse as one of their reasons for stepping down.
In all, 18 of the more than 50 MPs who are standing down are women.
Read more: General election: These are all the MPs standing down at the next election
Other big names stepping aside include former home secretary Amber Rudd, David Lidington, Ken Clarke and Sir Vince Cable.
Main image credit: Getty