Afternoon summary
- Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, has said that the EU is “unconvinced” by Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan but still open to discussing it. (See 3.23pm.) And Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has used a tweet to suggest the plan in unworkable.
I updated @Europarl_EN & EU27 on #UK’s proposals. EU wants a Withdrawal Agreement w/ workable and effective solutions that create legal and practical certainty now. We owe this to peace & stability on the island of Ireland. We must protect consumers & businesses in the EU market.
— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) October 3, 2019
- Sarah Wollaston, the Lib Dem who chairs the Commons liaison committee, has criticised Johnson for twice delaying giving evidence to her committee. She expected him to appear in September, but that hearing was cancelled after parliament prorogued, and she then asked him to appear again before the Queen’s speech. But Johnson is only offering to appear on Thursday 24 October, a week before the UK is due to leave the EU. Wollaston said this would be too late for the committee to subject his plan to proper scrutiny.
PM has twice delayed coming before select committees chairs to answer detailed questions in public but promised to come “at the earliest opportunity” His offer of 24th Oct is not good enough, the proposals need detailed scrutiny before key decisions made https://t.co/wJ7EgSK6ur
— Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) October 3, 2019
Unreasonable delay effectively smothers accountability & allows PM to continue to bat off single questions in the Commons with meaningless non-answers. If the proposals are any good, PM should be prepared to respond in detail at @CommonsLiaison not run from scrutiny
— Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) October 3, 2019
- Leo Varadkar, the Irish premier, has said the UK Brexit plans “fall short in a number of aspects”. He explained why at a press conference. (See 4.04pm.)
- Johnson has not explicitly ruled out accepting any further changes to his plan, although during a Commons statement he sounded reluctant to make significant modifications. He said he had already shown “great flexibility” and he said that if the EU was unwilling to be equally accommodating, there would be no deal. (See 12pm.) He also claimed that his plans would not require the building of any new customs infrastructure in Northern Ireland. (See 12.15pm.)
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
Updated
My colleagues at the Guardian archives have been looking at what was on the front page of the paper 50 years ago today. And, you’ve guessed it, it was the UK’s relationship with Europe. Only in those days the story was all about Brenter.
Here is a clean copy of the Guardian splash on 3 October 1963. It starts:
Serious negotiations between Britain and the Common Market seemed measurably nearer last night after a sequence of events in Bonn, Brussels, and Brighton.
And you can read the original here.
Updated
Poll shows growing support for second referendum, claims People's Vote campaign
The People’s Vote campaign has released some polling that it says shows growing support for the idea that the final decision on Brexit should be taken by the public in a referendum, and not by MPs in parliament. It has sent out this quote from Peter Kellner, the former YouGov president and a People’s Vote supporter, explaining the figures.
It is clear that the public mood is hardening in favour of a People’s Vote to decide whether Brexit should go ahead.
For the past year, most poll questions relating to Brexit have produced modest leads for giving the final say to voters in a referendum. Now, following the supreme court judgement, and as the prime minister prepared to put his revised proposals to Brussels, there are big leads for the public rather than MPs settling the issue.
If Boris Johnson does secure a deal, voters divide 47-29% in favour of a People’s Vote. If Johnson returns empty-handed, the margin widens to more than two-to-one, with 52% wanting a referendum and just 23% saying MPs should take the final decision.
Not surprisingly, remain voters are keen on a referendum; but so are large number of leave voters. They are evenly divided on what to do if there is a deal (38% parliament, 33%). But by a clear 41-27% margin, leave voters want a referendum, rather than MPs, to settle the matter if there is no deal.
As far as the general public is concerned, democracy is no longer served by simply enacting the result of the 2016 referendum. Today there is a far stronger sentiment that the best way forward is to ask the people again, once it is clear what specific form of Brexit is on offer – deal or no deal.
Sadiq Khan says Boris Johnson's plan designed to fail so he can blame EU
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has said that he does not believe Boris Johnson is sincere about wanting a Brexit deal. This is what Khan told LBC this morning.
I don’t think that Boris Johnson is serious about doing a deal with the European Union. I think what you saw yesterday was a fancy proposal deliberately designed for the EU to reject and then he could blame the EU, like he’s blamed parliament and like he’s blamed judges in the supreme court.
DUP accuses Irish government of being 'deeply unhelpful, obstructionist and intransigent'
The DUP has accused the Irish government of being “obstructionist and intransigent”. This is from the DUP leader Arlene Foster, commenting on what Simon Coveney, Ireland’s deputy premier and foreign minister, said earlier about the Brexit deal being unacceptable in its current form. (See 12.23pm and 12.27pm.)
Simon Coveney’s remarks are deeply unhelpful, obstructionist and intransigent. The Irish government’s majoritarian desire to ride roughshod over unionism was one of the reasons why the Withdrawal agreement was rejected.
Mr Coveney’s rejection of a reasonable offer is paving the road for a no deal exit because unionism will not allow Northern Ireland to be trapped at the whim of Dublin or the EU. We will not buy that.
The Irish government’s preparedness to dump the consent principle for their country’s expediency is foolish in the extreme and sends a very clear message to unionists.
Leo Varadkar's press conference – Summary
Here are the main points from Leo Varakdar’s press conference in Stockholm earlier.
- Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach, said Boris Johnson’s plans for an alternative to the backstop “fall short in a number of aspects”. In particularly, he said he was concerned about Northern Ireland being in a different customs zone, and he was unhappy about the way the DUP would have a veto over whether the arrangements continued.
- He said that having Ireland and Northern Ireland in different customs zones would create “real difficulty”. He explained:
Our objective is very clear – we don’t want to see any customs posts between north and south nor do we want to see any tariffs or restrictions on trade between north and south.
They were all abolished in the 1990s and we don’t want to go back to that. The majority of the people in the north don’t and the majority of the people in the Republic of Ireland don’t.
But if we are going to be in two different customs unions I think that’s going to create a real difficulty that’s going to be very hard to reconcile.
- He said he welcomed Johnson’s comments that there would be no new customs infrastructure installed, but he said that pledge appeared to contradict the text of the UK plan, which indicated checks could be carried out at unspecified designated locations. He said there was a need to “tease out” the detail of Johnson’s plans.
We need to explore in much more detail the customs proposals that are being put forward as it’s very much the view of the Irish government and the people of Ireland, north and south, that there shouldn’t be customs check points or tariffs between north and south.
- He said that, although in the event of a no-deal Brexit Ireland would have to take steps to protect the single market (ie via some kind of border controls), that was very different to voluntarily agreeing to such a system. He explained:
If we went up on a no-deal scenario, it may be the case that we have to live no deal for a period of time, and Ireland will do what is necessary to protect the single market, to ensure our place in the single market ... But having to do that for a period of time while we negotiate a deal, or while we pursue other solutions, is very different to an Irish government actually signing up in an international treaty to putting in place checks between north and south, and that’s something that we can’t countenance.
- He said he would put any new withdrawal agreement to a vote in the Dáil (Irish parliament). The parliament voted on the original withdrawal agreement, he said. He said he had not considered this issue before, but he said it would be “entirely appropriate” to have another vote if there were a new agreement. He said:
If the European parliament is going to vote on it, if the House of Commons is going to vote on it, I think it would be right and proper that the Dáil should too.
- He said he was not happy about the proposal in the UK plan for Stormont to decide if Northern Ireland would stay in the single market for goods. One problem was that the power-sharing executive has been suspended, he said:
What I would say is we need to be practical about any arrangements when it comes to consent or democracy clauses. Stormont has not sat for three years – that is the reality of it, so if we wrote into an international treaty provisions that required certain actions by Stormont, what would happen if Stormont wasn’t operating? You would need a fall-back position there as well. So I think that’s the kind of thing that we need to explore with our British friends.
He also said he was unhappy about the DUP having a veto.
Our view is that any consent mechanism, where it to exist, would have to be reflective of the view of the whole of population of Northern Ireland and not give any one party or any domination a veto.
- He said the British political system was denying the public the chance to vote for what polls say they want – staying in the EU. He made this point as he said that there were five means by which a hard border could be avoided in Ireland: a united Ireland, but there was probably no majority for that at the moment, he said; Ireland rejoining the UK, but that would never happen; the UK staying in the EU; the UK staying in the single market and customs union; and the backstop. He said four of those options would be acceptable to Ireland. On the prospect of the UK staying in the EU, he said:
All the polls since Prime Minister Johnson became prime minister suggest that’s what the British people actually want, but their political system isn’t able to give them that choice.
Updated
Tusk tells Boris Johnson EU remains 'unconvinced' by his plan
This is from Donald Tusk, the president of the European council.
Today I had two phone calls on #Brexit, first with Dublin then with London.
— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) October 3, 2019
My message to Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar: We stand fully behind Ireland.
My message to PM @BorisJohnson: We remain open but still unconvinced.
Updated
Irish government says it's not under pressure from EU to agree Brexit deal
Ireland is not coming under pressure from the rest of the EU to agree a Brexit deal for the sake of Europe as a whole, the Irish Europe minister Helen McEntee has said. Speaking on a visit to Dublin Port, she said:
Our EU partners have stood beside us for the last three and a half years, and that has not changed. We are not coming under pressure to change those key objectives: protecting the Good Friday agreement, to prevent border infrastructure on the island of Ireland, protecting the economy and the single market, and Ireland’s place in it.
McEntee was responding to some of the reporting by pro-Brexit papers in Britain, illustrated by today’s Daily Telegraph splash.
TELEGRAPH: Pressure in Dublin to back deal #TomorrowsPaperToday pic.twitter.com/HbYR6uBQqG
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) October 2, 2019
Updated
Northern Ireland police chief says his officers will not staff border security
Northern Ireland’s chief constable, Simon Byrne, has said that his officers will not staff any form of border security after Brexit. At a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board earlier, Byrne said he had “made it clear” to the Northern Ireland Office that police would not “staff any form of border security” after the UK leaves the EU. He said:
We have been working closely with the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) to understand our constitutional position in relation to any proposed changes to border arrangements, and I have been clear with the NIO in particular it will not be the role of the PSNI to staff any form of border security.
We are clearly there to facilitate normality and day-to-day policing, but not to carry out custom checks and the function of other agencies in whatever proposal is or isn’t agreed in the next few weeks and indeed I have taken legal advice on that basis to confirm to me the independence of the office of chief constable and the duties I have to make sure that police officers are used for legitimate policing purpose.
As PA Media reports, Byrne also said had told Boris Johnson that it would not be possible to police the 300 crossing points of the Irish border with his current number of police officers. He said he made the point to Johnson during a 30-minute video call on Friday.
It was a very open conversation trying to tell him we saw that it was nigh-on impossible to try and police over 300 crossings with the amount of police officers we had.
Updated
What the European parliament is saying about Johnson's Brexit plan
Here is the full text of the statement issued by the European parliament’s Brexit steering group (BSG) saying Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan is unacceptable. (See 2.18pm.)
And here are the key paragraphs.
Concern was expressed about three aspects of the proposals.
First, the UK proposals on customs and on regulatory aspects explicitly provide for infrastructure, controls and checks but are unclear as to exactly where and how these would be carried out. Any form of controls and checks in and around the border would signify the end of frictionless trade and as such would harm the all-island economy as well as represent a serious risk to the peace process, and could imply a serious risk for consumers and businesses. The proposals tabled by the UK government thus breach a range of fundamental principles and red lines passed in the resolutions of this house. At the same time, such controls would not be sufficient to guarantee the protection of EU consumers and businesses in all circumstances, thereby potentially leaving the EU with a significant hole in its single market.
Second, the UK proposals would operationally only be worked out in detail by the EU and the UK, or in the UK unilaterally, during the 14-month transition period. This does not provide the necessary certainty or fulfil the agreed principles in the withdrawal agreement. This would mean the European parliament would have to give consent to the protocol without knowing its full implications, nor having any guarantee as to its legal operation. This is unacceptable.
Third, the right of consent being offered to the Northern Irish assembly effectively makes an agreement contingent, uncertain, provisional and unilateral, instead of the safety net provided for by the backstop. Furthermore, the Northern Irish assembly has not sat for nearly three years and it is questionable whether it would be able to reconvene and take on the responsibility for an international treaty of this nature.
In summary, the BSG has grave concerns about the UK proposal, as tabled. Safeguarding peace and stability on the island of Ireland, protection of citizens and EU’s legal order has to be the main focus of any deal. The UK proposals do not match even remotely what was agreed as a sufficient compromise in the backstop.
Updated
EU parliament says Boris Johnson's Brexit plan not remotely acceptable
The European parliament has told Boris Johnson that his proposals for the Irish border do not “even remotely” amount to an acceptable deal for the EU, in comments echoed by Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Daniel Boffey reports. He goes on:
The committee of MEPs representing the parliament’s views on Brexit said the prime minister’s proposals could not form the basis for an agreement, describing them as a “last-minute” effort. The European parliament will have a veto on any withdrawal agreement.
“Safeguarding peace and stability on the island of Ireland, protection of citizens and EU’s legal order has to be the main focus of any deal,” it said in a statement. “The UK proposals do not match even remotely what was agreed as a sufficient compromise in the backstop.”
Here is his story in full.
The Varadkar/Löfven press conference is over.
I will post the highlights soon.
Varadkar says there are two positive elements of Johnson’s plan.
He welcomes the idea of Northern Ireland being in the single market for goods.
And he welcomes the plan for a new deal for Northern Ireland (a cash investment).
Updated
Q: What is the most probable outcome – a deal, no deal, or further delay?
Varadkar says he would prefer not to predict.
Over the last few years he has learned the politics of Brexit can change, and quite quickly.
Updated
Varadkar suggests Irish parliament could be given vote on UK Brexit plan
Varadkar suggest the Irish parliament could be given a vote on the Boris Johnson plan.
Updated
Q: What are the main problems with Boris Johnson’s plan?
Varadkar says there are two main problems.
If Northern Ireland and Ireland are in different customs zones, he does not see how you can avoid tariffs, checks and customs posts.
And, second, he objects to the way the plan would allow the DUP to veto something against the wishes of the rest of the people in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Q: What will you do in the event of no deal?
Varadkar says Ireland would take steps to protect the single market.
But he says that is very different from Ireland signing up willingly to an international agreement that would require these measures.
Q: If the UK leaves the EU, Ireland will be like Sweden - an EU border country. Has Prime Minister Löfven given you any tips? And what are you doing to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.
Varadkar says he and Löfven discussed the Norway/Sweden border, but it is not a model that he wants to follow because it is a hard border.
He says the Irish government will present a budget for no deal next week. This year the Irish economy is growing by 5%. Next year it is forecast to grow by just 0.7%.
He says he does not know what will happen on the land border. He wants to protect the single market. But he has not decided with the European commission how that might be done.
Irish PM Leo Varadkar holds press conference
Leo Varakdar, the Irish taoiseach (PM), is holding a press conference now in Stockholm with the Swedish PM, Stefan Löfven.
He says he has concerns about the UK Brexit plan.
He says he is not happy about a consent mechanism that would effectively give the DUP a veto over whether Northern Ireland could stay in the EU single market for goods.
And he says the customs plans are not satisfactory.
Q: Yesterday’s paper talked about the need for new customs checks. But today Boris Johnson said he would not be building new infrastructure.
Varadkar says he is “reassured” by what Johnson said about there being no need for new physical infrastructure connected with customs.
He says he does not want to see any customs posts between north and south, and he does not want to see any tariffs either.
Verhofstadt says he has 'serious doubts' about whether Johnson's Brexit offer is sincere
This is what Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s lead Brexit spokesman, told Channel 4 News about the UK Brexit plan.
The question is not if you want to compromise - we have made a compromise, that was the withdrawal agreement. The question is: is this a serious compromise? And we have serious doubts about that, certainly after the leak of a paper, a document, by Downing Street to the Tory MPs to blame the European Union directly. If there is a Tory document saying that they have to blame the European Union, then it’s obvious that that is the purpose.
The backstop is in fact a safeguard that is a type of insurance that you never hope to use. That’s a backstop. And this is quite the opposite, what is proposed. It’s temporary, so it’s not for a long period. It’s depending on the consent of an assembly in Northern Ireland that, for three years, has not been seated, was never in place. And there are serious doubts that it will be in place in the coming years.
When Verhofstadt referred to the No 10 plans to blame the EU, Verhofstadt was talking about this BuzzFeed story by Alex Wickham quoting from a “lines to take” email sent to Tory MPs. Wickham says:
In a sign of the tough rhetoric that Johnson’s government can be expected to use if talks with Brussels break down, MPs were told that if the EU refuses to negotiate on this point, then Conservatives should say that it is Brussels that ended talks, that a deal is “impossible”, and that the EU’s policy is “crazy”.
Verhofstadt was asked if he thought that at the moment a Brexit deal was possible. He replied:
On this element it’s very difficult – and nearly impossible. Because it’s mainly repackaging the bad ideas that have already been floated in the past.
Photograph: Olivier Matthys/AP
Updated
The Johnson statement is over.
John Bercow, the Speaker, praises MPs on all sides for the tone adopted during the statement. He says it was a “huge improvement” on what happened last week.
I will post a summary of the main points from what Johnson said shortly.
Updated
Labour’s Matthew Pennycook says, even if the government reaches an agreement with the EU, it would be impossible to finalise the details and agree a trade deal with the EU by the end of next year. Isn’t an extension to the transition inevitable?
Johnson says he would be happy to meet Pennycook to explain why he thinks it can be done by the end of 2020.
These are from the Times’s Steven Swinford.
Strong indications the Govt is willing to make further compromises on Brexit deal in order to get to formal negotiations
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) October 3, 2019
Boris Johnson repeatedly declines to say that his offer is ‘final’ in the Commons
Ministers tells me the No 10 line that the deal was final was ‘unhelpful’
There is room for further assurances on the issue of consent to address Irish concerns that it will give tDUP an effective power of veto
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) October 3, 2019
Customs checks is more tricky
Govt says there have to be checks but is adamant there will be no border infrastructure
Ireland not convinced
Updated
Neil O’Brien, a Conservative, tells Johnson that the former Lib Dem MEP Andrew Duff, a European federalist, has backed his plan.
Boris Johnson is right to call his proposal a “broad landing zone in which … a deal can begin to take shape.” As such, it is politically astute. If you accept the premise that the UK is leaving the EU single market and customs union, the proposal is also logical. 1/
— Andrew Duff (@AndrewDuffEU) October 2, 2019
Johnson says he remembers Duff well and is glad Duff supports his plan.
Sturgeon criticises Scottish Tories for abandoning opposition to no-deal Brexit
Nicola Sturgeon has accused the Scottish Tories’ interim leader, Jackson Carlaw, of “squandering any credibility he ever had” at this lunchtime’s first minister’s questions.
Earlier in the week, Carlaw angered some in the Scottish party by reversing Ruth Davidson’s policy of opposition to a no-deal Brexit. Today Sturgeon said he had gone from “enthusiastic remainer to Boris Johnson-loving no-deal Brexiteer”.
“No wonder his colleagues are trying to get rid of him,” added Sturgeon, referring to reports this morning that senior Scottish Tories want an immediate leadership contest rather than keeping Carlaw in post until the next Holyrood elections in 2021.
Scottish Tory MSPs are all too aware what a difficult sell Johnson’s Brexit strategy, however it plays out, could be on the doorsteps in 18 months’ time, especially without the galvanising personality of Ruth Davidson to the fore.
Some believe there’s still time to set out a long-advertised new policy platform that differentiates the Scottish party from Westminster.
But few are talking up the prospects of a Scottish Conservative in Bute House. More pressingly, the 13 Scottish Tory MPs who helped Theresa May stay in Downing Street in 2017 are looking precarious, with the significant impact that will have in a UK election result.
Updated
The SNP’s Deidre Brock asks: now that Johnson has conceded that different parts of the UK can have a different relationship with the EU, when will he table plans for Scotland to have a different relationship?
Johnson says the Good Friday agreement makes Northern Ireland a special case.
Updated
Labour’s Paul Sweeney quotes what Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy PM, has said this morning about Johnson’s plan. (See 12.23pm and 12.27pm.)
Johnson says he listened carefully to Coveney’s words. He says they must get the mechanism of consent right. He says he is happy to discuss this with Coveney, and with Sweeney himself.
The SNP’s Brendan O’Hara asks what Johnson would say to Scottish farmers who will be able to see their Northern Ireland counterparts having unfettered access to the single market.
Johnson says it is surprising the SNP is making that point when it wants to give the EU control of Scottish fish stocks.
Johnson says there may be a need for “de minimis customs checks” under his plan.
He suggests that the “frictionless systems” envisaged in this plan could be of use in future trade deals, including with the EU.
Updated
Steve Baker, the chair of the European Research Group, which represents Tories pushing for a harder Brexit, and one of the 28 “Spartans” who voted against Theresa May’s deal on every occasion, tells Johnson: “We now glimpse the possibility of a tolerable deal.”
Johnson says he welcomes that coming from Baker, although he says the two have spoken regularly in recent days, and so, he implies, he is not surprised to have Baker’s support.
Updated
Here is the video of Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy PM, telling the Dáil (Irish parliament) that there will be no agreement unless the UK makes further changes to the alternative backstop plan.
Tanaiste @simoncoveney tells the Dáil that if this is the final Brexit proposal from Britain then there will be no deal. @rtenews #Brexit #Leaders #Questions pic.twitter.com/aktFSW3xVw
— RTÉ Politics (@rtepolitics) October 3, 2019
John Bercow, the Speaker, has got an extremely croaky voice today and at times it has sounded as if he was whispering. But he finally found a way of laughing it off. Referring to Boris Johnson’s conference speech yesterday, Bercow said this was not down to eating a kangaroo’s testicle.
Back in the chamber, Labour’s Stephen Doughty tells Johnson that he thinks this plan is not in accordance with section 10 of the Withdrawal Act.
Johnson says he disagrees. The plan does conform with section 10, he claims.
Updated
PM would find it 'almost impossible' to get his plan through European parliament, says leading MEP
Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s lead Brexit spokesman, has said that it would be “almost impossible” for MEPs to agree the Boris Johnson plan as it stands, Channel 4 News reports.
The EU will not be able to agree to a withdrawal agreement unless the European parliament votes in favour.
“It's mainly repackaging the bad ideas that have already been floated in the past.”
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) October 3, 2019
Guy Verhofstadt tells Channel 4 News that Boris Johnson’s new Brexit proposals will be “nearly impossible” for the EU to agree on. pic.twitter.com/z9pUrX8uNd
UPDATE: See 1.43pm for the quotes.
Updated
Boris Johnson suggests he is willing to accept further changes to his Brexit plan
Here are more lines from the Commons exchanges.
The most significant were probably Boris Johnson’s responses to Philip Davies and Alistair Burt - implying that this is not the PM’s “final offer” and that further changes could be made.
Anna Soubry pointing out that Theresa May “did things in the right order” - got agreement from Brussels first.
— Hannah Al-Othman (@HannahAlOthman) October 3, 2019
She congratulates Boris Johnson on getting “a deal with the ERG and the DUP.”
Mark Francois tells the PM his deal would pass the Commons. The Spartans are in full retreat. https://t.co/Y9fXjO7HsD
— Kevin Schofield (@PolhomeEditor) October 3, 2019
Tory Brexiteer Philip Davies asks if this is the PM’s final offer. Boris Johnson swerves the question and just says we will leave on Oct 31 deal or no deal. That suggests to me this isn’t the final offer and he is willing to compromise further.
— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) October 3, 2019
Lady Hermon, independent unionist MP, accuses Boris Johnson of “dancing to the tune” of the DUP and says his proposals prove he simply doesn’t understand Northern Ireland complexities
— Jayne McCormack (@BBCJayneMcC) October 3, 2019
Alistair Burt now praising Johnson’s tone. One of the 21 rebels sounding warm. Asks if he is still open to further movement. Boris says that’s right but says “we have already moved quite some way”
— Tim Shipman (@ShippersUnbound) October 3, 2019
Boris Johnson’s new Commons tactic is to offer to meet any MP who expresses specific concerns. Has already done that with Lady Hermon and Yvette Cooper
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) October 3, 2019
Boris Johnson "to reflect" on Frank Field's suggestion for a vote on the new deal BEFORE on the EU Council
— steve hawkes (@steve_hawkes) October 3, 2019
Would be extremely powerful to turn up on October 17th with a majority
Arch Eurosceptic David Jones calls Boris Johnson's Brexit offer "positive"
— steve hawkes (@steve_hawkes) October 3, 2019
That's another vote
Former Northern Ireland minister George Howarth suggests a local referendum in NI on the proposals:
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) October 3, 2019
Boris Johnson replies: “I’m not sure that referendums have a great history in our country of bringing people together.”
Updated
RTE’s Mary Regan has more on what Simon Coveney has been saying.
Tanaiste @simoncoveney gives his assessment of UK #brexit proposal: "Does this deal with the commitment for no border infrastructure on the island of Ireland? No it doesn’t on customs. Does it allow for an all island economy to function as we have a commitment on in WA? No."
— Mary Regan (@MaryERegan) October 3, 2019
- @simoncoveney "We cannot support any proposal that suggests one party or indeed a minority in Northern Irl make the decisions for the majority. That would not be consistent with the Good Friday Agreement and it is not something we could possibly support as part of final deal"
— Mary Regan (@MaryERegan) October 3, 2019
In summary @simoncoveney says:
— Mary Regan (@MaryERegan) October 3, 2019
-"Some positives" in UK #brexit proposal.
- But two “significant problems”
-(1) Customs territory does not meet border commitments. -(2) On the consultative role for the NI executive- not consistent with the Good Friday Agreement. https://t.co/onMEE0dBWL
Dublin says UK Brexit plan in its current form unacceptable
This is from the BBC’s political correspondent in Northern Ireland, Jayne McCormack.
Simon Coveney is the Irish foreign minister and tánaiste (deputy PM).
Tanaiste Simon Coveney says “if that is the final (Brexit) proposal, there will be no deal”. He adds he believes Boris Johnson does want a deal and the latest proposal was an effort to move in that direction, but it contains “fundamental problems” on customs & Stormont consent
— Jayne McCormack (@BBCJayneMcC) October 3, 2019
UPDATE: Here is the key quote. Coveney said:
If that is the final proposal there will be no deal, there are a number of fundamental problems with that proposal ... There are elements of this proposal that simply will not be part of any deal.
Updated
Johnson says his plans would not require building of any new customs infrastructure anywhere
Damian Green, the former work and pensions secretary, asked Johnson to give an assurance that his plans would not require the construction of any new customs infrastructure, at the border or anywhere else.
Johnson said that there would be no new infrastructure at or near the border - or in any other place. He told Green:
I can tell him that, absolutely not. The proposals we are putting forward do not involve physical infrastructure at or near the border - or indeed at any other place.
- Johnson says his plans would not require building of any new customs infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
The document (pdf) published yesterday said there would be customs checks at “designated locations”.
Physical checks – which would continue to be required only on a very small proportion of movements based on risk assessment – could then take place at traders’ premises or other designated locations which could be located anywhere in Ireland or Northern Ireland.
That implied that new customs centres might have to be built, but Johnson seems to be ruling that out.
Updated
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, tells Johnson his plans are unworkable, unacceptable and undeliverable. He says that if the Northern Ireland assembly can have a veto on the Brexit plans, Scotland should get one too. Scotland did not vote for Brexit, he says. And he says that, if Johnson cannot promise to obey the Benn act, he should resign.
Repeating what he said to Corbyn, Johnson says he was disappointed by Blackford’s replay.
(This must be the “glutinous emollience” we were promised. See 10.18am.)
Updated
Boris Johnson claims he has shown 'great flexiblity' as he explains his 'compromise' plan to MPs
Here are key extracts from Boris Johnson’s opening statement.
- Johnson claimed his plan was a “compromise” showing the government’s willingness to “go the extra mile”. He said:
This government’s objective has always been to leave with a deal. And these constructive and reasonable proposals show our seriousness of purpose.
They do not deliver everything that we would have wished. They do represent a compromise.
But to remain a prisoner of existing positions is to become a cause of deadlock rather than breakthrough.
And so we have made a genuine attempt to bridge the chasm, to reconcile the apparently irreconcilable. And to go the extra mile as time runs short.
- He said the UK had shown “great flexibility” and urged the EU do do the same. If the EU did not, the UK would leave anyway on 31 October, he claimed. He said:
I do not for one moment resile from the fact that we have shown great flexibility in the interests of reaching an accommodation with our European friends and achieving the resolution for which we all yearn.
If our European neighbours choose not to show a corresponding willingness to reach a deal, then we shall have to leave on 31 October without an agreement, and we are ready to do so.
Johnson is replying to Corbyn.
He says he was disappointed by Corbyn’s tone.
On standards, he says he thinks MPs would want to keep UK standards the highest in the world.
Being outside the EU will allow the UK to go further, he claims. He cites animal welfare as an example. The UK will be able to ban the export of live animals.
Corbyn asks if Johnson will comply with the law saying he must request a Brexit extension.
He says Johnson’s plans are not serious or workable.
They would damage the economy of Northern Ireland, undermine the Good Friday agreement, and lead to a “race to the bottom” on workers’ rights.
He says Johnson knows these plans are not acceptable to the EU.
The only people who won’t suffer are the PM’s hedge fund donors who are betting against the pound, and undermining the economy.
He says the plans will be rejected in this house, rejected in Brussels and rejected across the country.
UPDATE: Here is a clip of Corbyn.
Updated
Jeremy Corbyn is responding to Johnson.
He says this is a rehashed version of plans that have already been rejected.
These plans are worse than Theresa May’s.
When will the full legal text be published?
He asks why Johnson signed up to the backstop when he says it is now unacceptable.
He says every union and business organisation wants the UK to stay in the customs union.
He says Johnson’s plan would lead to rights being weakened. It would lead to a Trump Brexit.
Having said it wanted no border in Northern Ireland, now it is proposing two borders.
Corbyn says the reaction from businesses in Northern Ireland has been “very stark”.
Here is a Guardian story about the business reaction to the plan in Northern Ireland. (Corbyn’s assessment is correct.)
Johnson claims government has shown 'great flexiblity'
Johnson says the UK has shown “great flexibility in the interests of reaching an accommodation with our European friends”.
If the EU does not also show flexibility, the UK will have to leave the EU on 31 October without a deal.
That would be a “failure of statecraft” on all sides, he says.
He says, when he thinks of what the EU has achieved before, he thinks a deal can be achieved.
He urges MPs to “come together in the national interest”. He wants to move on to domestic priorities, including infrastructure, education and the NHS.
Johnson is now explaining the plans he published yesterday.
Tory benches fairly empty for PM Brexit statement
— John Crace (@JohnJCrace) October 3, 2019
Boris Johnson's statement on his plan for alternative to backstop
Boris Johnson is making his statement to MPs now about his plan for an alternative backstop.
There is a summary of the plans here.
Johnson says his plan is a “compromise”. He says the government has “gone the extra mile” in the hope of getting a deal.
He says he accepts that the UK and the EU are still “some way off a resolution”.
But he says he had “constructive” calls yesterday with Jean-Clause Juncker, the European commission president, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor and Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (PM).
EU says UK plan to finalise customs rules for Northern Ireland during transition unacceptable
These are from Daniel Ferrie, a spokesman for the European commission. He is quoting Natasha Bertaud, the commission’s deputy chief spokesperson referring to what Jean-Claude Juncker, the commission president, told Boris Johnson when they spoke by phone yesterday.
Under Boris Johnson’s plan the details for new customs rules in Northern Ireland would be thrashed out during the transition. (See here, bullet point eight.) The commission is saying that is unacceptable, because a “legally operational solution” would have to be in the withdrawal agreement.
.@NatashaBertaud: “@JunckerEU stressed that the Withdrawal Agreement must have a legally operational solution - not arrangements to be developed and agreed in the transition period.”
— Daniel Ferrie (@DanielFerrie) October 3, 2019
“This solution must meet all the objectives of the backstop: preventing a hard border, preserving North-South cooperation and the all-island economy, and protecting the EU’s Single Market and Ireland’s place in it.”
— Daniel Ferrie (@DanielFerrie) October 3, 2019
“President @JunckerEU will speak to Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar this afternoon and will reiterate the EU’s continued unity and solidarity behind Ireland.”
— Daniel Ferrie (@DanielFerrie) October 3, 2019
“There are problematic points in the UK’s proposal and further work is needed. This work is for the UK to do, not the other way around.”#Brexit
— Daniel Ferrie (@DanielFerrie) October 3, 2019
UPDATE: Here is some video.
.@EU_Commission on #Brexit: "@JunckerEU welcomed the positive advances in the UK’s text but also noted problematic points on which further work is needed by UK. WA must have legally operational solution, not arrangements to be developed and agreed during transition period" pic.twitter.com/j6R2cqHyvS
— EC in UK (@EUlondonrep) October 3, 2019
Updated
Attorney general says US-style appointments system floated by PM would be 'wholly retrograde step'
In an interview in the Sunday Telegraph (paywall) at the weekend Boris Johnson hinted that he might be interested in moving to a US-style system for judicial appointments, with senior judges having to be approved by parliament. Speaking about the implications of the supreme court prorogation judgment, Johnson said:
If judges are to pronounce on political questions in this way, then there is at least an argument that there should be some form of accountability. The lessons of America are relevant.
Last week in the Commons Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, said that MPs might need to “reflect” in future on the case for having judicial appointments confirmed by parliament, although he also said he was not personally keen on the idea.
Today, when the idea was raised again during attorney general’s question, Cox was much more critical of the idea. He told MPs.
I agree ... that a US-style appointments system would be a wholly retrograde step.
He also said that such a system “would not be in the interests of this country” and that the government had “no current plans” to introduce such a system.
But Cox did repeat the point he made last week about how Brexit might require wider constitutional reform. He said the supreme court ruling was “a significant development in our constitutional arrangements”. He went on:
It is important to take stock of the implications of this judgment not in the immediate aftermath of the ruling, but deliberately, carefully, thoughtfully. We should not jump to hasty conclusions.
And the UK’s exit from the EU will have profound ramifications for our constitutional arrangements. I’ve said many times before that I think that does require a coherent, careful examination, possibly through some formal channel, of the means by which we are to be governed after we leave the European Union.
By “formal channel”, Cox could be referring to a Speaker’s conference, a device often used to consider constitutional matters, or a constitutional convention, which was something Labour proposed in its 2017 manifesto.
- Cox suggests some form of constitutional convention might be needed after Brexit to review how the UK is governed.
In business questions Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, has just confirmed that the Commons will be suspended (prorogued) on Tuesday next week until the Queen’s speech on Monday 14 October.
Valerie Vaz, the shadow chief whip, said that prorogation should have been scheduled for Wednesday night so that Boris Johnson could attend PMQs. She said that Johnson will only have attended one out of a possible four PMQs before the Queen’s speech.
Johnson missed one PMQs because he was at the Tory conference instead, and another two PMQS have been missed (in September and next week) because parliament has been prorogued when in other circumstances it might have been sitting.
Almost 4 million women born in the 1950s are not entitled to restitution for money they lost out on when the pension age was raised from 60 to 66, the high court has decided. My colleague Amelia Hill has the full details here.
From the BBC’s John Campbell
Irish junior minister Patrick O'Donovan tells RTE the UK proposal is it not the basis of a deal, but is 'certainly the basis for further discussions' adding 'there are some things that we would welcome, but some things we would have issue with.'
— JPCampbellBiz (@JP_Biz) October 3, 2019
From the Spectator’s James Forsyth
Cabinet done and dusted in 50 minutes this morning. Told there was no dissent. Boris Johnson stressed that he was going to adopt a tone of ‘glutinous emollience’ to both the EU and Labour MPs over the next few days
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) October 3, 2019
This is what Ireland’s two leading upmarket papers are saying about Boris Johnson’s plan for an alternative to the backstop this morning.
The Irish Times in its editorial says what Johnson proposed yesterday was “not the basis for a workable plan”.
The latest UK proposals on Brexit reflect either an extraordinary ignorance of Northern Ireland or a willingness to risk the Belfast agreement – and the progress of the last 20 years – to further the Johnson government’s political interests.
The need to minimise the inevitable problems caused by a customs border on the island of Ireland is presented as a technical issue when, of course, it is so much more. The contortions necessary to keep the Democratic Unionist party on side have created proposals which would be disastrous for the North’s economy and bring with it wider dangers to peace ...
While claiming to support the Belfast agreement, the Johnson government is showing a wilful disregard for it and for the commitments the UK made in negotiations with the EU in December 2017. The most credible conclusion is that the prime minister and those around him have anticipated that this offer will be rejected and their primary objective in framing it in such a manner is their own domestic political advantage.
And the Irish Independent in its editorial says a Brexit delay is now necessary, because this plan is not satisfactory.
Mr Johnson has argued the backstop is “a bridge to nowhere”. Alas, the slight proposals set down yesterday look like a flimsy pontoon that could be washed away in the first tides of trouble.
They require stronger foundations to either protect the legacy of the Good Friday agreement, or seal the single market. They are more an outline than a detailed plan ...
Commitments cannot be exchanged for vague possibilities. The Brexiteers fear the UK could be trapped indefinitely in limbo, but they have no problem inviting the same plight on the North. Rejection of the latest Brexit plan may lead to the no deal Mr Johnson warned of.
But acceptance could have the same negative outcomes. The British prime minister claims his plan is reasonable. But the risks appear weighed too heavily on one side.
Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, was giving interviews this morning defending Boris Johnson’s plan for an alternative to the backstop. Barclay said that he had spoken to Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotatior, about the offer and that the EU were treating these as a “serious set of proposals”.
Sir Bernard Jenkin, one of the 28 Tory Brexiter “Spartans” who voted against Theresa May’s deal three times, sounded as if he could be persuaded to vote for Boris Johnson’s plan when he was interviewed on the Today programme this morning. He said he had an “open mind”, but that he and his Brexiter colleagues were looking at what was proposed “very realistically”. He said:
I am quite optimistic that, if the EU were to agree these backstop proposals, it sounds like the DUP would support them and that would change the whole chemistry of the way the Conservative party thinks about this ...
We may have to accept a compromise and I think compromise is in the air. The question is whether the EU can compromise.
On the Today programme this morning the Irish TD (teachta dála - member of parliament) Thomas Byrne, from the main opposition party Fianna Fáil, said that he was “very concerned” about Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan. He said:
We’re very concerned about whether the proposal is serious. The objectives that I suppose, nationally, we have as a nation are that no border will exist on the island of Ireland and it’s not clear that this does that ...
[The plan] seems to us that it puts in place a border for customs.
On the idea that checks may take place away from the border, he said:
It doesn’t matter where they take place.
The problem is that customs checks need to be built, they need support of communities. I don’t think they would have support of communities.
Historically they’ve needed to be protected, and those protecting them then become targets and then this leads into a cycle of chaos.
Boris Johnson to address MPs as Gove claims new plan could get 'pretty solid majority' in Commons
Boris Johnson will make a statement to MPs later this morning about his plans for a replacement to the backstop. His last appearance in the Commons eight days ago was a diplomatic disaster - no PM in modern times has ever antagonised the opposition so much in one appearance at the despatch box - although it is quite possible that come the general election he won’t regret the impression he created. Today’s statement should be a bit calmer, and it should focus on the detail of the proposal he published yesterday.
In the UK and across the EU people have now had almost 24 hours to consider the plan. For it to work, Johnson has to persuade the EU to endorse the blueprint (or at least a version of it he could accept) and MPs to vote for it. As of now, the picture is mixed.
At Westminster the DUP has provisionally backed Johnson’s scheme, and the hardline Tory Brexiters - the 28 so-called “Spartans” who voted against Theresa May’s deal three times - are sounding amenable. There are claims enough Labour MPs could back it too for it to get through the Commons. This is what Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, told ITV’s Peston last night.
I think it’s got a very good chance of getting through… The DUP are as you mentioned earlier a supporter of it, they didn’t support any of the previous three attempts to get a deal, I know that some Conservative MPs who were unhappy with the withdrawal agreement, that Theresa negotiated, have said that they’re supportive of this deal, so we have the DUP, Conservatives who were previously opposed, and some broad-minded and constructive Labour MPs. That seems to me to be a pretty solid majority.
But EU leaders have not backed the plan. They are distinctly unenthusiastic, although they have stopped short of rejecting it outright (which no one expected at this point anyway, because they don’t want to appear unreasonable). Here is the Guardian story summing this up.
Peter Foster, the Telegraph’s Europe editor, says this dynamic is all very familiar. He explains why in a Twitter thread starting here.
Turn on my radio this morning, and just hear the sound of Westminster talking to itself.
— Peter Foster (@pmdfoster) October 3, 2019
Reminds me of the days after the Chequers deal? Correspondents totting up votes for a deal that - barring serious EU-turns - isn't negotiable. /1
Here is the agenda for the day.
8.30am: Boris Johnson chairs cabinet.
9.30am: Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
10.10am: Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, takes questions in the Commons.
10.30am: Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, makes a statement about next week’s Commons business.
Around 11.30am: Johnson makes a statement to MPs about his plan for a replacement to the backstop.
As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although I will be focusing mostly on Brexit and Boris Johnson’s statement to MPs. I plan to publish a summary when I wrap up.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.
If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.
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