The Evening Standard, edited by the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne, has urged readers to consider voting Liberal Democrat in the European elections, in the latest sign of David Cameron-era Tories breaking with the party over Brexit.
The London newspaper said the Lib Dems had the “courage from the start to say the referendum result was a mistake” and as a result, “voters have started to think again about them”.
However, the Standard stopped short of a full endorsement for Vince Cable’s party, simply saying “we wish them well”.
Other prominent Conservatives have been punished by the party in recent days for endorsing the Lib Dems in the elections, including the former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine. It is not known whether Osborne remains a paid-up member of the Conservative party, but the carefully phrased endorsement means he is likely to escape being censured. » | Jim Waterson, Media editor | Wednesday, May 22, 2019
