Luciana Berger joins the Liberal Democrats

Luciana Berger, the independent MP for Liverpool Wavertree, is joining the Liberal Democrats:

Former Labour MP Luciana Berger today revealed to the Evening Standard that she is joining the Liberal Democrats.

In an interview alongside party leader Jo Swinson, she told how the pair struck up a friendship in a WhatsApp group for MPs with babies.

Ms Berger finally decided to make the move this summer because it would give her more influence to prevent a “catastrophic” no-deal Brexit.

“It is a crunch moment for our country and we all have a responsibility to step up,” said the 38-year-old MP. “I got into politics to make a difference and I want to make every moment count.” [Evening Standard]

Jo Swinson welcomed her saying,

Luciana is a passionate advocate for women’s and LGBT+ rights, and she’s at the forefront of efforts to counter anti-Semitism and discrimination. I’m delighted to welcome her to the Liberal Democrats, where we can work together to stop Brexit and build a fairer, more equal society for all.

Luciana becomes the fourth MP in three months to cross the floor and join the Liberal Democrats. We’re thrilled to add her perspective, expertise and skills to our ever-growing parliamentary team.

Luciana Berger was originally elected as a Labour MP and then joined Change UK/The Independent Group. She has joined the Liberal Democrats after an extensive series of discussions and an ‘interview’ over how closely her views match those of the party.

Back in February, Richard Kemp, Liberal Democrat leader on Liverpool Council, wrote to her:

Locally and nationally I believe that there are ways in which we can work together.

Nationally we are in exactly the same place when it comes to BREXIT. Leaving the EU with a deal or without one will create massive hardship in Wavertree with the biggest hurt being to the poorest people who have least resource and resilience. Together, we can fight it or deal with the consequences of it to the people we both represent. Anti-Semitism is a gross form of racism but racism as a whole has grown in the past two years. Together, we can fight all forms of racism to create the coherent and inclusive multi-cultural society that we all believe in.

Reacting to the news today, Liverpool Lib Dem leader Richard Kemp said: