Brexiteer peer accuses Remainers of sharing Trump’s refusal to give losers’ consent

Baroness Fox voted for the UK-EU future arrangements deal “reluctantly” as she would have preferred a “clean break”, but praised the government for delivering on sovereignty issues.

The non-affiliated peer told the Lords: “While many in this place sneeringly traduce sovereignty as xenophobic nationalism, only embraced by knuckle-dragging gammon, it is historically and now the only basis for democratic accountability.

“The demos voted to remove the unelected legislature in Brussels unanswerable to UK voters.

“Now that is the reality, they may look at unelected lawmakers closer to home. Good.

“Good also that now government has nowhere to hide and will need to look the electorate in the eye and own each and every decision they make, including the egregious parts of this agreement.

“Voters matter. Listening to the hours of contributions last week – I was culled from speaking – I noted a rather self-congratulatory, back-slapping tone from the government benches. It rang rather hollow.

“In truth it was the perseverance and steely courage of millions of voters who used the ballot box time and time again to use electoral vehicles, such as the pivotal Brexit Party, to pile on the pressure, and it was that which forced the Conservative Party to finally honour the referendum.

“So, let’s acknowledge it’s the voters who got Brexit done and against all the odds, and against the machinations deployed by the highest echelons of the technocratic establishment.

“And against many in this place who really did believe they had the right to overturn 17.4 million votes and shared with Donald Trump a refusal to give losers’ consent, who even now today lack the imagination to see life beyond Brussels or Erasmus or to see Brexit beyond the narrow prism of GDP.”

Liberal Democrat Lord Shipley said he “disagreed profoundly” with much of Lady Fox’s speech.

At this point, Lady Fox could be seen punching in the air in the chamber.