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Politics June General Election liberal democrats

Paddy Ashdown: “Britain has blown a raspberry at hard Brexit”

The former leader of the Liberal Democrats on the PM's reckless gamble—and what it means for his party

By Alex Dean  
June 10, 2017

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown. Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Archive/PA Images

“The prime minister asked for a mandate for a hard Brexit. And the people of Britain blew her the largest raspberry possible.”

In an exclusive interview with Prospect, Paddy Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, offered his take on Thursday’s staggering general election—and the woman who called it. “What kind of authority has she to negotiate in Europe now? They’ll treat her as a joke, and rightly so.”

Ashdown, MP for Yeovil from 1983 to 2001, and Lib Dem…

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Alex Dean

Alex Dean is senior editor at Prospect

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