Trio of Tory, Labour and independent peers back Lib Dems in EU elections

A trio of Conservative, Labour and independent peers have said they will be backing the Liberal Democrats at the European elections because it is a clear choice for a referendum and staying in the EU.

Gus O’Donnell, the former civil service chief, abandoned his political neutrality to say he would vote for the Liberal Democrats.

The ex-cabinet secretary, nicknamed God, wrote in the Times that the clearest choice for a remain party was “voting Liberal Democrat in England, so that’s what I will do”.

Related: Change UK, Brexit party and Lib Dems in last appeal before European elections

He said: “I would urge all those who support remain to do the same. It feels very strange to be specifying a preference for a particular party.

“However, as a crossbencher in the Lords, and faced with a decision that will affect generations to come, I believe it is my civic duty to vote and there is now no reason not to be clear about how I use this precious power that democracies bestow on their citizens.”

Andrew Cooper, a Conservative peer and former polling adviser to David Cameron, and the Labour peer Michael Cashman said they would be doing the same, meaning they were likely to have to resign from their parties or face being kicked out.

Lord Cashman, the former EastEnders actor, said: “I can’t trust [Jeremy] Corbyn or the people around him on the defining issue in postwar Britain, so on Thursday I will not be voting for the Labour party. As Matthew Parris said, I am not a Liberal Democrat, but I support their absolute consistency. Voting Lib Dem in the EU elections.”

He added: “I think I’ve just resigned from the Labour party by declaring that I will support the Liberal Democrats in the European elections.”

Parris, the former Tory MP and newspaper columnist, had earlier added to those from other parties saying they would lend their vote to the Liberal Democrats, telling the BBC’s Newsnight: I’m not a Liberal Democrat, I belong to the Conservatives … but they are the only party in this election … that believes we shouldn’t leave without a referendum.”

He said he would recommend voting Liberal Democrat to any Tory wishing to remain in the EU.

Michael Heseltine, the veteran Tory, has already had the whip suspended for saying he would vote Liberal Democrat at the European elections this week.

The declarations mark the latest sign that the Liberal Democrats are becoming the pre-eminent party of remain in England, followed by the Greens and Change UK. There has been frustration among remain voters about the lack of an alliance among those parties. Of the three, the Liberal Democrats have consistently polled the highest.

Related: Labour panics as remain voters switch to Liberal Democrats

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, and Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat leader, took part in a head-to-head debate on Wednesday in a sign the European elections are becoming a proxy second referendum, with voters polarised along remain and leave party lines.

Farage accused Cable of not having “democracy running deep in your bones” because of his support for a second referendum. He predicted a big win for the Brexit party would “kill off another chance of a second referendum” and spell the end of May’s premiership.

Cable made the case for stopping Brexit and staying in the EU to deal with the climate emergency. “It’s not simply the damage caused by Brexit but the positives of being part of the EU,” he said.