LGBT Liberal Democrat members have been invited to a meeting with the party’s new MP, Phillip Lee, next week in an attempt to prevent more people from leaving in protest of his voting record and political views, BuzzFeed News has learned.

Jennie Rigg, the chair of the party’s LGBT+ group, quit the party last week when Lee dramatically defected from the Tories. She has since been followed by the group’s vice chair, Zoe O’Connell, and executive member Sarah Brown, along with other LGBT members.

In a letter to Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson and chief whip Alistair Carmichael, more than 50 party members warned that “a lot of hurt has been done” and the party had not done enough to “avoid the tragedy of further resignations”. In a separate letter, one member described Swinson’s actions as “disgraceful”.

Their chief concern is Lee’s proposal in Parliament in 2014 that people coming to settle in Britain should have to first prove they do not have HIV or hepatitis B, saying his views “strongly conflict with our pro-LGBT, pro-immigration stances as a party”.


Party chiefs have said they are satisfied Lee’s proposal was not discriminatory and was motivated by a desire to protect public health. But members are not convinced and his defection has sparked a deep split within the Lib Dems, just weeks before a likely general election when the party needs to put on a united front.

Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine, the party’s women and equalities spokesperson, said in a private Facebook group there had been a “lot of unhappiness, frustration and apprehension” among party members over Lee’s defection.

“I have been facilitating a meeting between Phillip Lee and some of those concerned at conference,” she said.

But Jardine added: “This is an incredibly important time for all of us in the party and we need to pull together. Have mistakes been made? Yes. But can we please try to work together to ensure we handle things better in future?”