Tim Farron says May’s Brexit mandate ‘has been rejected’

Theresa May’s mandate to take the UK into Brexit talks has been "rejected by the people", Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has said.

Mr Farron said the Prime Minister "should be ashamed" after calling a snap election which wiped out the Conservatives’ majority and left Britain with a hung parliament.

Theresa May "rolled the dice and put the future of our country at risk out of sheer arrogance and vanity", Mr Farron said.

Calling for a delay to the start of EU exit talks, the Lib Dem leader said the electorate had rejected Mrs May’s "extreme version of Brexit".

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He said: "Brexit is about to get very real, the phoney war is nearly over.

"The negotiations should be put on hold until the government has reassessed its priorities and set them out to the British public."

Mr Farron added: "It is simply inconceivable that the Prime Minister can begin the Brexit negotiations in just two weeks’ time.

"She should consider her future – and then, for once, she should consider the future of our country."

Though its national vote share fell by 0.5%, the Lib Dems defied expectations to gain four seats – taking the party to 12 in total.

Among those returning to parliament is former business secretary Sir Vince Cable, who convincingly reclaimed his Twickenham seat with 52.8% of the vote.

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Ex-cabinet minister Ed Davey also made a comeback by winning Kingston and Surbiton – the seat he lost to the Conservatives in 2015.

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems added to the SNP’s woes by gaining Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Edinburgh West and Dunbartonshire East.

It missed out on claiming another seat in Scotland by just two seats.

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Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg also lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to Labour’s 25-year-old candidate Jared O’Mara.

Sarah Olney lost her Richmond Park seat to Zac Goldsmith by a margin of just 45 votes – reversing the gain the Lib Dems made from the Conservatives in a by-election last December.

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Paying tribute to Mr Clegg, Tim Farron described the former Lib Dem leader as a "hero to me".

He said: "Not only did he lead our party into government for the first time in generations, he did so in the most difficult of circumstances and for the most noble of reasons."

(c) Sky News 2017: Tim Farron says May’s Brexit mandate ‘has been rejected’