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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Matthew Weaver

Trump says he could meet Farage and Johnson next week – as it happened

Donald Trump said he could meet his ‘friends’ Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson on his state visit to the UK next week
Donald Trump said he could meet his ‘friends’ Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson on his state visit to the UK next week Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

We’re going to close down this live blog now. Thanks for reading and for all the comments.

Trump’s last visit to the UK was somewhat overshadowed by his enthusiasm for Boris Johnson.

Last year he hailed Johnson, who had just resigned a foreign secretary as a future prime minister, a day before he was due to have bilateral talks with Theresa May.

Trump described Johnson as “a very talented guy” for whom he had “a lot of respect”. He claimed he was not trying to pit Johnson against his host, but added: “I am just saying I think he would be a great prime minister. I think he’s got what it takes.”

At the time he added Johnson “obviously likes me, and says very good things about me. I was very saddened to see he was leaving government and I hope he goes back in at some point. I think he is a great representative for your country.”

Last year a leaked recording of Johnson revealed that the former foreign secretary was “increasingly admiring of Donald Trump”. The Conservative MP said that Trump would negotiate Brexit “bloody hard”, adding: “There’d be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he’d gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very, very good thought.”

At an awkward press conference at Chequers, Trump still insisted Johnson would make a good prime minister, as Theresa May stood beside him stony-faced.

“I said he’ll be a great prime minister. He’s been very nice to me, he’s been saying very good things about me as president,” he said.

Summary

Here’s a summary of how what’s happened so far today:

Here’s more on Jeremy Corbyn resisting pressure from shadow cabinet ministers to commit to campaigning immediately for a public vote.

Trump’s favourite channel, Fox News, thinks Farage could be “the next prime minister of Great Britain”.

Trump could meet Farage and Johnson next week

Donald Trump with Nigel Farage when they met met face-to-face to discuss why the President should back a no-deal
Donald Trump with Nigel Farage when they met met face-to-face to discuss why the President should back a no-deal Photograph: Tia Dufour/The White House/PA

Donald Trump has said he might meet with Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson during his trip to the UK next week.

“Well I may,” Trump said when asked about a potential summit.

“Nigel Farage is a friend of mine, Boris is a friend of mine. They’re two very good guys, very interesting people. Nigel’s had a big victory, he’s picked up 32% of the vote, starting from nothing and I think they’re big powers over there I think they’ve done a good job.”

Trump was giving a typically freewheeling press conference after arriving back in Washington DC from his trip to Japan. It was hard to hear reporters’s questions over the sound of the presidential helicopter, but someone appeared to ask Trump if he was thinking about supporting either Farage or Johnson.

“I like them, they’re friends of mine, but I haven’t thought about supporting them. Maybe it’s not my business to support people but I have a lot of respect for both of those men.”

Updated

Former education secretary Justine Greening, the first openly gay woman to serve in a Conservative cabinet, has criticised leadership candidate Esther McVey for backing parents who want to take their children out of lessons about same-sex relationships (see earlier).

Labour MPs, Stephen Doughty and Stella Creasy also criticised McVey’s comments.

Updated

One more for the Saj.

Meanwhile, Rory Stewart continues to get high-profile praise from outside the party.

But so far only three Tory MPs have said they will back Stewart for leader, according to Conservative Home. We know that both Victoria Prentis and Nicholas Soames, have backed Stewart. The identity of the third supporter is still something of a mystery.

Updated

Donations to the Conservative party have fallen sharply, according to figures from the Electoral Commission.

The party accepted £3.68m between 1 January and 31 March from 220 separate donors, compared with £7.447m from 230 donors in the final quarter of 2018. In the first quarter of 2018, the Conservatives accepted nearly £5m from 234 donors.

Data shows the major UK parties accepted a total £6.8m in the first quarter of 2019. This was more than £3.7m less than the amount accepted in the previous quarter.

The fall in Tory donations was largely responsible for the drop. Between 1 January and 31 March, Labour accepted more than £3.5m from 102 donors, compared with more than £3.7m from 90 donors in the final quarter of 2018.

Jeremy Hunt is still leading the leadership race but Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are closing the gap according to Conservative Home’s running tally. With almost half of Tory MPs expressing a preference (149 out of 313) for one of the candidates in the race, Hunt has 29 supporters and Gove and Johnson 26 each. Raab is fourth on 22 supporters and Javid is now on 14.

The Guardian’s Martin Kettle reckons the winning candidate is likely to come from the centre ground of the parliamentary party.

The centrist contenders are fishing in a significantly bigger pool of votes. Their candidates have an advantage. It is even possible, though far from certain, that the final elimination could throw up two centrists – repeat, loosely defined – and no rightwinger.

This is not at all the impression you get from much of the media coverage. This depicts the contest as one in which the Tory centrist candidates are jockeying to appeal to the parliamentary party’s rightwing hard-Brexit minority, and to the millions of voters who flocked to Nigel Farage’s party last week. But this is a false and self-serving narrative of the right.

Corbyn backs soft Brexit and says second referendum 'some way off'

Jeremy Corbyn has insisted that a Labour government would try to negotiate a soft Brexit rather than remaining in the EU.

In pooled TV interview in Dublin, Corbyn was asked what he would do differently on Brexit if he was elected as prime minister.

He said:

I would go back to the EU, explain that we had fought an election campaign in order to make sure there was a good relationship with Europe in the future, that we weren’t afraid of public opinion on this, and ask them to seriously consider what we are suggesting, which is a customs union with a British say and trade relationship with Europe, and a dynamic relationship on rights would not be undermining Europe on workers rights, on consumer rights, on environmental protections.

Asked if this amounted to tinkering with the withdrawal agreement, Corbyn said:

It would mean there would have to be a different relationship with Europe and whether that would mean changing the withdrawal agreement whatever we can negotiate out of it. The EU would recognise that a Labour government in office, determined to tackle, the inequalities and injustices in our society and ensure that we have that good relationship with Europe in the future. Not having the noises off the whole time from the Tory right saying ‘they just want to get off the ship all together’. I think it would be a very different relationship.

Earlier Corbyn said Labour would back a referendum on a deal but warned against repeating the last vote. He said: “The referendum would be on a negotiated deal or alternatives to that. It’s not a re-run of 2016.”

Asked if there would be “leave” and “remain” options in a second referendum, Corbyn said: “It would be on the basis of whatever we have succeeded in negotiating.”

In his pooled interview Corbyn said the need for a second referendum was “still some way off”.

We don’t back a re-run of 2016 that happened that’s gone. What I do say is that if parliament comes to an agreement then its reasonable that if parliament wishes it there should be a public vote on it. But that is someway off.

Updated

Ed Davey will call on the Queen to stop a no-deal Brexit if he is elected as leader of the Liberal Democrats, PA reports.

Launching his leadership campaign Davey said he would propose a “cross-party humble address to Her Majesty, requiring the prime minister to revoke Article 50 if we got to the cliff edge.

He added: “I hope Jeremy Corbyn will join me in that address.”

A humble address is a direct communication from the House of Commons to the Queen, calling on the Government to comply with a request. If approved, humble addresses are considered to be binding on the House.

Davey added: “Under my leadership, the Lib Dems will continue to lead the fight to stop Brexit, nothing is more urgent in British politics today.”

The party claimed 20% of the vote and won 16 MEPs in the European elections, boosted by a strong pro-EU message.

Praising the party’s EU election campaign, Davey added: “Bollocks to Brexit was correct and courageous.”

Davey expected to face competition from deputy leader Jo Swinson.

Former cabinet minister Sir Ed Davey, who has launched his campaign to succeed Sir Vince Cable as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Former cabinet minister Sir Ed Davey, who has launched his campaign to succeed Sir Vince Cable as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Photograph: David Mirzoeff/PA

Updated

Summary

Here’s a summary of what’s happened so far today:

Updated

The Telegraph’s Europe editor has accused Raab of distorting the truth by claiming he was on the brink of a deal of the Irish backstop as Brexit secretary.

In a detailed Twitter thread, Foster claims Raab knew the plan for a three-month time limit was unrealistic and would be rejected by Ireland.

Raab launches personal video attack against Corbyn

Dominic Raab has launched a personal video attack on Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party and its failure to tackle allegations of antisemitism. Drawing on the experience of his Jewish ancestors, Raab said: “You’d be surprised how many British people take this personally.”

He then told the story of his Jewish father Peter, who fled Czechoslovakia in 1938 and how his great-grandparents were murdered by the Nazis.

He accused Corbyn and John McDonnell of failing to stand up for tolerance. He accused them of turning Labour from a “once great party” into “a stain on our country”.

Updated

May backs cut in tuition fees and restoration of maintenance grants

Here are the key points and passages from May’s speech about further education funding.

  • There is “much to be said” for cutting tuition fees, May said.

We need to look again at the level of tuition fees.

When in 2012 the tuition fee cap was raised to £9,000, most predictions were that the full amount would only be charged by the top universities for the highest quality and most prestigious and potentially lucrative degrees. That is not what has happened.

The vast majority of degrees are now set at the maximum fee. And the panel’s report rightly question whether that is acceptable.

So there is much to be said for the panel’s proposal to cut fees and top up the money from government protecting the sector’s income overall, but focusing more of that investment on high quality and high value courses.

  • She rejected scrapping tuition fees as unfair and unaffordable.

I know there are some, including the Labour opposition, who will reject this finding because they want to abolish fees altogether. Such a move would be regressive, and destructive, hurting our institutions and hindering the opportunities for our young people.

It would be completely unaffordable and is therefore completely incredible. It would socially regressive disproportionately benefiting students who go on to earn the most.

It cannot be right to expect people working hard in low-paid jobs to fully fund the education of students of well-off families who will go on to earn much more as a result.

Scrapping fees would be the wrong approach, unaffordable, unsustainable and unfair. But reducing the cost of higher education would make a real difference to many students.

  • May backed reintroducing maintenance grants for the poorest students.

I’ve seen how young graduates starting out in their adult lives feel weighed down by the burden of student debt. So I was not surprised to see the panel argue for the reintroduction of means-tested maintenance grants both for university students and those studying for higher technical qualifications. Such a move would save those from the poorest backgrounds over £9,000.

  • The prime minister called on her successor to implement the review.

It will up to the government to decide at the upcoming spending review whether to follow their recommendation. But my view is very clear: removing maintenance grants from the least well off students has not worked and I believe it is time to bring them back.

Theresa May gives a speech in response to the Augar Review into post-18 education.
Theresa May gives a speech in response to the Augar Review into post-18 education. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

There’s been a mixed reception to the Augar review from MPs.

Former universities minister, Jo Johnson, and former education secretary Justine Greening claim reducing tuition fees would destabilise university finances and benefit only the highest earning graduates.

Robert Halfon, chair of the education select committee, backed the call for the restoration of maintenance grants.

So far the leadership contenders have not commented on the report except Sajid Javid, who is sitting on the fence.

Green MP Caroline Lucas dismissed the review as “tinkering”.

Shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said it did nothing to address “burning injustices” in education.

Updated

Rory Stewart has apologised for smoking opium in Iran.

Stewart, who is currently the international development secretary, smoked the class-A drug while in Iran.

Speaking to Sky News, Stewart admitted that it was against the law in the country at the time when he took it.

“I think it was a very stupid mistake and I did it 15 years ago, and I actually went on in Iran to see the damage that opium was doing to communities.

“I’ve seen it as a prisons minister. It was something that was very wrong, I made a stupid mistake. I was at a wedding in a large community meeting and somebody passed this pipe around the room and I smoked it – I shouldn’t have done, I was wrong.”

Stewart told the Telegraph that the opium “had no effect” on him “because I was walking 25-30 miles a day”.

He said: “I was invited into the house, the opium pipe was passed around at a wedding. I thought – this is going be a very strange afternoon to walk – but it may be that the family was so poor they put very little opium in the pipe.”

Updated

Owen Jones reckons it’s time to put Ed Miliband and Laura Pidcock in the Shadow Cabinet.

Updated

Home secretary Sajid Javid has said further education would be a priority if he is chosen to succeed May.

But he stopped short of backing Augur call to cut tuition fees or reintroduce maintenance grants.

May was reluctant to discuss the Tory leadership race and Brexit in questions from reporters.

Asked to comment on the size of the field of candidates to succeed her she said: “This is country of opportunity.”

May insisted she wasn’t trying to bind her successor by backing the Augar report.

This is a report that will obviously have to be studied in detail by the government. They will be looking at the costings and the implications of the various recommendations.

This is hugely important for the future of our country.

I’ve set out why I think we need to look again at that decision that was taken in relation maintenance grants.

May said the cost of tuition fees should not put off students from going to university.

Shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said the review did nothing to reverse the cuts in further education.

May: 'much to be said' for cutting tuition fees

Theresa May has endorsed a review led by Philip Augar of post-18 education funding at the Policy Exchange thinktank.

Under the review disadvantaged students in England could receive grants worth £3,000 a year to encourage them to remain in education after leaving school.

May accepted there was “room for improvement” in the tuition fees system but rejected Labour’s plan to scraps fees as “regressive” and “unaffordable and unfair”.

May said there was “much to be said for cutting tuition fees” to £7,500 as suggested in the review. And she agreed it was time to bring back maintenance grants.

Updated

Tory leadership hopeful Esther McVey has backed parents who want to take their children out of lessons about same-sex relationships.

Speaking to Sky News, she said: “The final say is with the parents and if parents want to take their young children out of certain forms of relationship education then that is down to them.”

Asked about the row in Birmingham over lessons about LGBT relationships, McVey urged parents not to protest outside primary schools.

“People shouldn’t be protesting outside primary schools. Everybody has to be a little bit more adult in what they do outside primary schools.”

But she added: “I believe parents know best for their children. Whilst they are still children the parents need to have the final say in what they want their children to know.”

The former work and pension secretary also reiterated her insistence that the UK should leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal.

“There will be absolutely no extension, that will be the date,” she said.

Asked about threats by the chancellor and others to vote down the government to block a no-deal, McVey said:

That isn’t how parliament works. The only thing that parliament has voted for is article 50 and the default position is we are coming out without a deal and that date is the 31 October.

Updated

ITV claims Cherie Blair is poised to join the I-am-Spartacus campaign of Labour members declaring they voted for the Lib Dems in solidarity with Campbell.

Earlier this week Tony Blair said he voted Labour “without any enthusiasm”.

Jeremy Corbyn has further muddied the waters on Labour’s line on a second referendum by suggesting such a vote may not include the option to remain.

Challenged in Dublin on whether Labour envisioned an in-out referendum, he said: “It would be on the basis of whatever we have succeeded in negotiating.”

The Irish Times has more:

Asked if a second referendum was now the only way forward for the UK, Mr Corbyn said: “The referendum would be on a negotiated deal or alternatives to that. It’s not a re-run of 2016.”

Labour to review Campbell expulsion

Labour said the decision to expel Alastair Campbell from the Labour party after he voted for the Liberal Democrats will be reviewed.

Shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “Now there will be a review, which is appropriate. I don’t want to cut across this review, I’m not part of that process. I would not like to see this drag on.”

She added: “Political parties have rules about people who support other parties, but I hope this case will be reviewed.”

Asked if Campbell’s expulsion was “spiteful” as deputy Labour leader Tom Watson claimed, Chakrabarti said: “I don’t believe that was the intention. Both main parties have these automatic exclusionary rules for people who express public support for other parties. They are a bit automatic, but now there will be a review which is appropriate.”

And she denied that the party had displayed double standards.

She said: “Merely voting for another party is not in itself a grounds for exclusion or expulsion. I want the the large numbers of people who did that last week for heart felt reasons to be rest assured.”

Updated

Chakrabarti says Labour could back Leave

Shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti has said Labour could still back leaving the EU in a second referendum.

In an interview with the Today programme she added to confusion about Labour evolving policy on Brexit by saying it was for the party to decide whether it would back leave or remain.

She said: “As to whether we would take one line or another in a referendum that would depend on what the deal was.

“Was it going to be a Labour deal with the closest possible relationship with Europe, or was it going to be a deal we thought less than satisfactory.”

Asked about a claim in the Guardian by Labour’s chair, Ian Lavery, that some were remainers were sneering at ordinary people, she said:

He is voicing a significant feeling in the country and the country includes some Labour voters. Some people present a second referendum as a means of stoping Brexit. For Labour it would be reluctant means of breaking a deadlock that has been in parliament for the last three years.

Updated

Chancellor Philip Hammond has said he could not serve in a no-deal Brexit cabinet.

He told Sky News: “I couldn’t support a government policy stance that said as a matter of choice we are going to pursue a no-deal exit.”

Ahead of a speech on Thursday, where he will warn Tory leadership hopefuls against “reckless” solutions offered by “populists,” Hammond again did not rule out voting against a Conservative government in an attempt to block no deal.

He said: “The national interest trumps party interest. If I am presented with a difficult choice, I will act with what I believe will be the best interests of the country.”

Summary

Welcome to Politics Live.

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has warned Tory leadership hopefuls that Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement is not up for renegotiation. In an interview for the New York Review of Books he said:

If the UK wants to leave in an orderly manner, this treaty is the only option. If the choice is to leave without a deal—fine. If the choice is to stay in the EU—also fine. But if the choice is still to leave the EU in an orderly manner, this treaty is the only option. This is all that our legal constraints allow.

Barnier, who is a possible successor to Jean Claude Junker as president of the European Commission, also blamed the Brexit vote on British nostalgia and austerity cuts. He said:

Looking at the causes of Brexit, we also find typically British reasons: the hope for a return to a powerful global Britain, nostalgia for the past—nostalgia serves no purpose in politics. In my country, too, some politicians still prefer to live in the past. But there were, also, people voting for Brexit who simply don’t want to accept rules. Some based in the City of London voted to leave, as they don’t want to accept the Union’s regulations on their trading; they want to speculate freely and the Union doesn’t allow them to do so.

Finally, and most importantly, there are many people who feel abandoned. They feel that the quality of public services, healthcare, transport, is worsening. We must listen to these fears and address them.

Meanwhile, yet more Tory MPs have suggested they fancy entering the already very crowded race to become leader.

Defence secretary, Penny Mordaunt, is to call for a “different kind of leadership” in an article for Conservative Home to be published later today.

And former international development secretary, Priti Patel, has called for “a fresh new leader”, in an article for the Telegraph. She has also been seen filming what looked like a possible campaign video.

Also today, Ed Davey has launched his campaign to be the new leader of the LibDems.

Chancellor Philip Hammond will tell leadership hopefuls that they cannot hope to rebuild the party simply by cutting taxes and slashing red tape.

And, Jeremy Corbyn has pledged that Labour will back a second referendum on any Brexit deal put to parliament. He said:

“Faced with the threat of no deal and a prime minister with no mandate, the only way out of the Brexit crisis ripping our country apart is now to go back to the people.”

Updated

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