Umunna launches new project to expose “wild promises” and u-turns of Leave campaign

Chuka Umunna has launched a new campaign to hold Leave campaigners accountable for the “wild promises” they made during the referendum campaign following a series of u-turns.

The Streatham MP will show where Brexit campaigners are backtracking on their promises, including that leaving the EU would free up an extra £350m a week to spend on the NHS and that Brexit posed no threat to the UK economy.

Vote Leave Watch will highlight both reversals on promises and false pledges. The campaign encourages grassroots involvement so the public can mobilise to prevent Outers ignoring their promises.

Umunna is joined by figures from across politics and business, with Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb, Innocent Drinks co-founder Richard Reed, and broadcaster and campaigner June Sarpong all being patrons of the group.

The founders hope it will bring together voters from both sides of the argument by fostering a greater understanding of Brexit and Britain’s relationship with Europe.

Umunna said voters were “promised the Earth” by the Leave campaign but had since seen politicians reverse these promises, or claim to have never made them in the first place.

“The British people, whether they voted Remain or Leave, were promised the earth by the Brexit campaigners during the EU referendum. They were told that leaving would not damage our economy; that it would free up £350 million a week to be spent on the NHS; that we could access the EU’s Single Market while restricting European immigration, and much more.

“Just two weeks after Britain voted to quit Europe, the Leave campaigners are already backtracking on these pledges. They think the referendum is ancient history, and that they can wriggle out of any responsibility for the clear failure of the vision they put forward during the campaign.

“They are wrong. The voters have a right to expect that the promises made to them are kept, and a right to know if they are being dropped or proven untrue.”

Umunna went on to say in a piece for LabourList: “This change of heart demonstrated just how little the Tory Leavers care about our NHS. For them, it was always a cynical campaign ploy, and never a matter of conviction.”