Lib Dems manifesto calls for EU to close Strasbourg EU parliament

The European Parliament should no longer have two seats of power and Strasbourg should go, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have pledged.

Scottish Lib Dem Leader Willie Rennie photographed in St Andrews for SoS interview 16/02/19

The party has said that to “improve the democracy and efficiency of EU institutions, the European Parliament should only have one seat - Brussels”.

And it called for more accountability and transparency about the voting in the European Council, as a way of combatting people’s concerns with the EU, with MPs being able to better hold government ministers to account for decisions they make in Brussels.

Launching the manifesto yesterday leader Willie Rennie said it set out a “positive vision” for the UK’s place in Europe. He added: “We want Scotland as part of a Britain that has remained at the heart of a dynamic European Union.

“The manifesto sets out how we will work with strong liberal allies across the EU for our economy, for our public services and for our safety.

“For our economy, business needs to trade without new barriers. Companies are already making plans to leave. Our farmers can’t get the seasonal workers they need. For our public services we have hundreds of thousands of EU nationals living in Scotland.

“Our message is that if you want to stop Brexit so we can be a successful outward looking country then the Liberal Democrats are for you.”