Labour's Thangam Debbonaire hits back after Greens claim they are the only Remain party in Bristol West

Ms Debbonaire also implied a vote for the Greens was a vote for a 'protest party' that would keep the Tories in power

Labour's Thangam Debbonaire has urged people in Bristol West not to vote for a "protest party" at this election as she battles to prevent the Remain vote from slipping to the Greens.

Ms Debbonaire, who has represented the constituency since 2015, will issue a letter to voters setting out her stall as a Remainer after her rival, Carla Denyer, posted one leaflet that states that the Greens are the "only party that can win in Bristol West on a clear, unequivocal Remain platform".

In a letter of rebuttal to voters, Ms Debbonaire wrote: " I want you to know exactly where I stand on Brexit. I campaigned for us to remain in the EU and am a proud European. I strongly believe that the best relationship that the UK can have with the EU is full membership.

"I’ve done everything possible in Parliament to keep us in the EU. And I want a second referendum so people can make a fully informed choice now we know how damaging Brexit would be."

Ms Debbonaire said in her letter that Labour was the only party in a position to provide a second referendum. "In this referendum I would campaign for Remain," she declared.

She also defended Labour's decision to negotiate a softer deal with the EU, arguing that failing to secure this would risk putting Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on the ballot paper alongside the option to stay in the bloc.

"The Lib Dem/Green coalition say that they wouldn’t renegotiate a deal - this means that they would be willing to put the Tory deal or, worse, No Deal as the other option in a referendum," she wrote.  "They would play Russian Roulette with our future and I’m 100 per cent against it."

She continued: "Some people have told me that they have had enough of politics and might vote for a protest party instead of Labour. But we have a huge decision to make on 12 December, and it’s a straightforward one. Do you want Boris Johnson to be Prime Minister for another five years?

"Don’t opt out of making a decision about our future by voting for a protest party. There’s too much at stake."

'Thangam is living in the past'

Ms Denyer accused Ms Debbonaire of "living in the past" by implying the Greens were a protest party and criticised the Labour leader's decision to stay neutral in a potential second referendum.

"This year the Green party more than doubled its number of councillors, more than doubled its number of MEPs and now we’re going for the hat trick to more than double our number of MPs," she said.

"In Bristol’s most recent elections – the EU elections this May – the Green party got more votes than any other party by a margin of over 17,000 votes. Nationally we got over two million.

"I led the wave of climate emergency declarations in which hundreds of UK councils set ambitious carbon neutral targets; the UK Parliament and now the European Parliament have followed suit. "

She added: "And people all over the world are now taking to the streets in support of the kind of climate action we’ve led on for years. Does this sound like the work of a mere ‘protest party’, or the rising of a new movement? Thousands of people in Bristol are voting for us because they know that we are the future."

Ms Denyer said that what differentiated her party from Labour was that "whatever the deal is, the Greens  always have and always will campaign to Remain, as there is no deal better than membership of the European Union".

"Labour on the other hand are finally, reluctantly, supporting a People’s Vote but – incredibly – will remain neutral in that referendum campaign. With some Labour candidates saying they support Remain and others saying they support Leave, it’s impossible for Remainers to know where Labour stands.”

In an interview with Bristol Live on Thursday, Ms Debbonaire criticised the Greens for "attacking me and the Labour party, rather than the Tories - who are the ones trying to get Brexit through".

"My constituents follow politics quite closely and most people I have contact  with are aware of what I do in parliament, they're aware of my record," she said.

"Some of them have watched me on TV announcing votes where we have literally stopped Brexit.

"On the doorstep people are able to point out that actually, I have literally helped stop Brexit three times and that  is as a Labour MP and a Labour whip."

Ms Debbonaire said it was a "bit of shame" that Ms Denyer believed Bristol West should vote for Green to get a Remain MP.

"But that's democracy," she said. "That's their choice."

What do the Green party leaflets say?

Green party leaflets have been dropping through doors thick and fast in this election.

One letter to postal voters bears the slogan Stop Brexit, showing that the battle here will be dominated by the EU.

"The Greens can win in Bristol West and now there is no risk of splitting the remain vote," the party writes, referring to the fact that the Liberal Democrats have agreed to stand down in the seat to boost Ms Denyer's chances of winning.

"The choice is simple: Green if you want a People's Vote and a campaign to Remain, or Labour for a renegotiated Brexit deal and an uncertain future," it said.

"There is no such thing as a 'jobs first' Brexit and Bristol deserves better than a vague commitment to a referendum with no guarantee of Labour campaigning to Remain."

In a separate campaign leaflet, the Greens argue: "Now that the Liberal Democrats have stood aside, the Green party are the ONLY party that can win in Bristol West on a clear, unequivocal REMAIN platform.

"Labour have continued to campaign for a Brexit deal in Leave-voting areas, while claiming to be for Remain in Remain-voting areas.

"After 2017, pro-Brexit voices claimed everyone who voted Conservative or Labour voted for Brexit."

For the latest news in and around Bristol, visit and bookmark Bristol Live's homepage.