International News

LONDON, (MILLAT+APP/AFP) – A local by-election for
parliament in the posh London suburb of Richmond on Thursday is threatening to turn into a mini-referendum on Brexit, with the defending MP a Brexiteer in a pro-EU heartland.
Liberal Democrat challenger Sarah Olney, whose party wants a second
referendum on Brexit, is hoping the result will shock Downing Street, as the
government ploughs on towards the EU exit door.
Olney is running against Zac Goldsmith, who held the seat for Prime
Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party but quit in protest after the
government backed expanding the nearby Heathrow Airport.
He is now standing as an independent candidate.
“Speaking to voters, what was becoming increasingly clear was that
while some people feel very strongly about Heathrow expansion, lots more people feel much more strongly about Brexit,” Olney told AFP.
“That’s really alarmed and upset people and they want to use this
opportunity to send a message.”
In the June referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union,
52 percent nationwide voted to leave.
But in the well-heeled borough of Richmond in southwest London, 69
percent voted to remain in the bloc, the 19th highest of 326 voting areas.
The 82 percent turnout, one of the highest in the UK, showed it was
an issue locals felt passionate about.
The centrist and unambiguously pro-EU Lib Dems, reduced to a rump in
the 2015 general election, are eyeing a comeback by filling the void for
disgruntled ‘Remain’ voters.