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Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd resigns party whip to vote for Theresa May’s Brexit deal

Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Lloyd has resigned the party whip in order to vote for Theresa May's Brexit deal.

Lloyd, the MP for Eastbourne, told the Eastbourne Herald: "It is with great regret that I am today resigning the Liberal Democrat party whip in parliament.

"I have come to the conclusion that I cannot honestly uphold the commitment I made to Eastbourne and Willingdon two and a half years ago, and reiterated since – to accept the result of the referendum, vote for the deal the Prime Minister brought back from the EU and not back calls for a second referendum – whilst supporting the Lib Dem parliamentary party’s formal position of voting against Theresa May’s deal and advocating a ‘People’s Vote’.

"Consequently, I have decided that the only honourable thing for me to do is resign the party whip in parliament."

The Lib Dems' official position is to support a second referendum or people's vote on Brexit, with the option to remain in the EU.

Earlier in the day the Lib Dems tweeted:

PoliticsHome revealed last month that a number of Lib Dem activists were calling for Lloyd to withdraw the whip after he made it clear he intended to support the prime minister.