Vince Cable’s challenge to Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn: Debate Brexit live on TV Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have been challenged by the Liberal Democrat leader to take part in a three-way television […]

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have been challenged by the Liberal Democrat leader to take part in a three-way television debate on Brexit and domestic issues ahead of May’s local elections.

With around a year until Britain leaves the European Union, Sir Vince Cable said a debate would be an ideal moment to update voters on the parties’ competing visions of Brexit.

“It would be quite useful to have a reality check on where the parties are” The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. Sir Vince Cable

In an interview with i, he also said he believed there was now a “one in three chance” of Mrs May being forced to call a referendum on her eventual Brexit agreement. And he forecast that Tory and Labour MPs could break with their parties over the issue.

Sir Vince was speaking ahead of the Lib Dem spring conference where activists will discuss tactics for defying grim opinion ratings and capturing council seats in the 3 May contests.

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Issuing the call for a televised debate, he said: “It’s the half-way point in the Brexit process. It would be quite useful to have a reality check on where the parties are.”

He added: “Because it’s not a general election, and there is less to lose, they might be willing to be more courageous and go out and debate their case.”

Backing ‘growing for fresh referendum’

Sir Vince argued that public and political backing was growing for the party’s commitment for a vote on the outcome of the Brexit talks, and suggested Mrs May could be forced to call a fresh referendum.

“It may be that the government takes the view that it’s such a mess, that there’s no point going to the stake over it, and say ‘we’ve done our best, we should hand it back to the people’.

“I find it difficult seeing Theresa May doing a U-turn, but she did on the general election.”

He played down the prospect of other MPs joining the small band of Liberal Democrats in the Commons when the issue of Brexit comes to a head in the autumn.

But he added: “What is probably more likely you get a bloc of Labour and/or Tory MPs who do break away and we have to find a working relationship with them.”

Lib Dems stuck in single figures

Nearly eight months after Sir Vince became leader, the Lib Dems remain stuck in single figures in the opinion polls, although they have notched up a series of gains in council by-elections.

Explaining he was pursuing an approach of “strategic patience”, he said: “We have a general problem that with our current representation in parliament, it is difficult to get called and therefore difficult to get into the national media.

“So we do have an issue about being heard, but there is no point whingeing about it we have to carry on doing what we do – leafleting, improving our social media competence, getting through to people in other ways.”

Tory sources reacted coolly to a suggested TV debate, stressing that Mrs May would be “getting out on the doorstep” to make her case.