Nick Clegg: Here's how the Lib Dems will hold Theresa May to account over hard Brexit '“ and why

It is the fault of the Labour Party that the Conservatives now have a clear run at their extreme version of Brexit. An official opposition that has forgotten how to do the most basic job of holding the government to account does not deserve to be the official opposition.

For our part, we will include two commitments in our manifesto.

First, to hold the Conservatives’ feet to the fire and fight to the very end to secure terms which retain as many of the benefits of EU membership as possible.

Second, to secure a referendum on the final agreement, so that the people can judge for themselves whether it is right future for the country. That referendum will offer two choices; accept the deal, or remain in the EU. Liberal Democrats will campaign for a remain vote.

If David Davis’s promise to deliver the “exact same benefits” that we currently enjoy within the single market turns out not to be true, and the cost of that broken promise falls on the heads of the British people, then the public should have the chance to say they won’t accept it.

It is peculiar that Theresa May argues that supporting a referendum on the outcome of the Brexit talks is tantamount to thwarting the will of the people – it does the opposite, by entrenching the supremacy of the people - especially since it is a case made so forcefully in the past by ardent Brexiteers from John Redwood to David Davis.

If Brexit is going to be as popular as they argue it will be, they should surely be enthusiasts for a referendum on the final deal? It is becoming increasingly obvious that their refusal to countenance another referendum is because they fear they would lose it, not least since voters will be much more alert to the lies and fabrications so effectively deployed the first time round. It is the same reason that they brought the date of this general election forward: they know that come 2019, the prospect of Brexit might be far less appealing to many people than it appears today.

Many voters had a lot of sympathy with Theresa May when she first came to power. They knew she didn’t personally support Brexit in the referendum, but they admired what they considered to be her dutiful attempt to deliver the referendum outcome handed to her. She was merely doing the job foisted upon her by events beyond her control.

That has changed utterly now. She has called an election for nakedly party political purposes and she has chosen to pursue a hard Brexit to satisfy her party, not heal the divisions in a divided country. She and she alone is responsible for all that comes next.

The economic damage is already being felt by the people who the Conservatives have always cared about least: the poor, the insecure and the vulnerable. By the young voters who overwhelmingly voted for a different future who are now having their dreams and aspirations loftily swept under the carpet by the Government.

If Theresa May really cared about the next generation, or the Just About Managing, the very last thing she would do is impose hard Brexit on them.

From now on, she does not deserve sympathy for her predicament - just remorseless, unforgiving scrutiny for the decisions she is seeking to impose upon the country.

So the Prime Minister has seized this opportunity, in part, because things are already deteriorating and are going to get a lot worse. Don’t fall for it.

It’s the latest in a series of con tricks. They were tricking you when they said there would be £350m a week for the NHS. They’re tricking you by pretending there’s no Brexit squeeze. And they’re tricking you when they claim they can secure a deal with the exact same benefits as EU membership.

Far from ‘taking back control’, they have left our country – and especially future generations - dangerously exposed.

By allowing the Brexit hardliners in their party to call the shots, the Conservatives have thrown away our place in Europe and inflicted a needlessly harmful cost on the country.

By choosing a hard Brexit, the Conservatives have multiplied that cost. It will fall on the heads of ordinary people, not on the wealthy elites that have driven us down this path.

By choosing to be careless with your future and carefree in their approach to such a huge task, the Conservatives have placed party before country, themselves before all else, politics before the nation.

Don’t let them get away with it. They don’t deserve to rule our country unopposed. Britain needs an effective opposition to hard Brexit. That is why I urge you to vote for a real opposition - the Liberal Democrats.

Nick Clegg is the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and the party’s Brexit spokesperson. He’s seeking re-election in Sheffield Hallam.