Afternoon summary
- The prospect of Theresa May getting parliament to pass a Brexit deal looks more remote than ever this afternoon after the cross-party talks with Labour aimed at finding a compromise plan collapsed. The two sides blamed each other, with Jeremy Corbyn saying he called off the negotiations because the government’s “weakness and instability” meant he could not be sure any deal would be honoured (see 10.50am), while May said a key problem was that some in Labour were pushing for a second referendum. (See 12.33pm.) According to a leaked document, the government has been considering asking MPs to vote on a series of Brexit propositions on Wednesday next week to see if the Commons can agree on something and Downing Street hasn’t ruled out going ahead with these so-called indicative votes despite today’s setback. Tory Brexiters have welcomed the collapse of the talks, supporters of a second referendum say the impasse makes the case for a people’s vote even stronger, but some MPs are claiming that without a cross-party compromise on the EU withdrawal agreement bill there will be no opportunity to legislate for a second referendum and a no-deal Brexit will become more likely. (See 3.15pm.) Here is my colleague Peter Walker’s explainer on what might happen next.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
Have a good weekend.
Updated
David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, has not ruled out his party revisiting Brexit talks with the Labour party. Speaking on a visit to Northern Ireland, he said:
The prime minister and Jeremy Corbyn have both said today that they are willing to explore any ideas that there are to overcome the remaining differences, and I think both leaders have said the talks, though we have not so far been successful, have been serious and constructive, both sides have entered into them into them in a genuine spirit, and so let’s see what happens.
This is from Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, on the collapse of the Brexit talks.
The Prime Minister is trying to blame everyone but herself for the collapse of cross-party talks.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 17, 2019
She knows the reality is she couldn’t carry her own side or offer a realistic compromise. Any deal agreed wouldn’t last a day under a new Tory leader. https://t.co/y4JRLoYZbr
And here are two Tory Brexiters who have welcomed the breakdown of the cross-party Brexit talks.
From Priti Patel, the former international development secretary
Many of us did question the judgement of the Cabinet when they approved those talks... https://t.co/YO9qPfrWNN
— Priti Patel MP (@patel4witham) May 17, 2019
From Simon Clarke
Thank God. They ought never to have happened. https://t.co/ndOJFkh2oy
— Simon Clarke MP (@SimonClarkeMP) May 17, 2019
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, and Lord Hesletine, the Conservative former deputy prime minister, may have expressed their hostility towards Boris Johnson today, but there is some good news for him in a Hanbury poll for Politico Europe.
Hanbury asked voters about six of the potential candidates to replace Theresa May and found that Johnson was the only one who would make people who voted Conservative in 2017 say they would be more, not less, likely to vote Tory at the next general election. He was also the only one who made Brexit party supporters say they were more likely to vote Conservative at the next general election.
The other five Tories who popularity was surveyed were: Michael Gove, Amber Rudd, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt.
Worryingly for the party, amongst the electorate as a whole, all six potential leaders would have a negative impact on the party’s performance, the poll suggests.
In his write-up Politico’s James Randerson explains:
None of the leading candidates to replace May look capable of winning mass appeal with voters across the leave-remain spectrum. Asked whether each of the six potential candidates would make respondents more or less likely to support the Tories, all were rejected overall by margins ranging from -17% (the difference between “more likely” and “less likely” responses) and -25%.
When it comes to the less ambitious goal of maintaining the backing of Tory voters at the last general election, only Johnson achieved a positive score (2%), suggesting that only he would be capable of holding that electoral coalition together.
Fellow Brexiteers Michael Gove, the environment secretary, and Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary, put off more of the 2017 Tory voters than they attracted, scoring -13% and -11%, respectively.
Three cabinet ministers who backed remain in the referendum — and would be likely to throw their hat into the ring — were also unpopular with Tory voters. Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd scored -15%, Home Secretary Sajid Javid achieved -8% and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt polled -9%.
These are from Nick Boles, the former Conservative MP who now sits as an independent who has been one of the leading supporters of the compromise common market 2.0 plan for a soft Brexit.
I am amazed by how few understand this obvious truth. Just because we managed to stop no-deal Brexit at the end of March does not mean we will have either the mechanism (amendable Section 13 motions) or the numbers to do it again at end October. https://t.co/BIYQCJqOCJ
— Nick Boles MP (@NickBoles) May 17, 2019
Now that @Keir_Starmer has scuppered the cross-party talks, maybe he and his backers in the PV campaign can tell us how they think they will get the legislation for a second referendum through Parliament before end October? What bill are they going to amend?
— Nick Boles MP (@NickBoles) May 17, 2019
The WAB will only be amendable if it passes 2nd Reading. If Labour MPs are whipped to vote against it, as Starmer has promised, they will defeat the only vehicle that could actually deliver a second referendum. Smart move, Keir. https://t.co/rLorP836ym
— Nick Boles MP (@NickBoles) May 17, 2019
And this is from Labour’s Lucy Powell, another common market 2.0 supporter.
So we will have spent the 6 month EU extension on a Tory leadership contest. The outcome of which will be a new PM committed to a no deal exit.
— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) May 16, 2019
Parliament won’t be able to stop this (we won Yvette’s Bill by one, incl Peterborough MP & Tory rebels) and the EU won’t stop it either
Some points worth considering from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg ....
1. So what are the chances of MP s moving to back bill without any more changes now Labour talks have failed? Seems v slim but... two VERY important things to note @NickBoles and @LucyMPowell both pointing out (and frankly they know a LOT about this legislation)
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 17, 2019
2. As things stand, there IS no route in law to block us leaving with no deal in Oct - if there is no Bill + no meaningful votes, there is no technical route to do it- although the politics look like it's impossible, as things stand don't assume Parliament would stop it happening
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 17, 2019
3. Those who want another referendum need a way of changing the law to make that happen - without no bill to amend, there is no way they can change the law
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 17, 2019
4. Of course MPs are pretty inventive + have found ways round what have seemed like brick walls before BUT
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 17, 2019
5. Two of the assumptions in this debate - on the impossibility of MPs allowing No Deal and and how you could make a referendum happen if mood changed in Parly- are not as solid as you might imagine
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 17, 2019
Updated
On the World at One the Tory MP Nadine Dorries, who is backing Boris Johnson for the Conservative leadership, said that if Johnson became PM, he would go to Brussels and negotiate a version of Brexit without the backstop. This had not been properly tried by Theresa May, she said.
Lord Heseltine, the pro-European former Conservative deputy prime minister, was also on the programme and he said Dorries’ claim was ridiculous. He said:
Boris was foreign secretary for a year at the head, at the front, of the European inter-relationship. Are you seriously telling me that these ideas he has were not tried, tested and rejected? It’s ridiculous.
Theresa May has her critics, but what you cannot deny is that when she became prime minister, she put in charge of the negotiations three leading Brexiteers. And they cocked it up. And the only way she could make progress was to do what traditionally prime ministers do, hand it over to the civil servants to try and bring professionalism to our activity.
It hasn’t got her anywhere because there is no majority for Brexit in parliament or, in my view, in the county. So the only solution now is to go back to the country and confront them with the reality of the delusions with which they were confronted at the time of the first referendum.
This is from Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, on the breakdown of the Labour/government talks on Brexit.
The weakness of the government and the vacillation of the Labour Party put their talks on very shaky ground from the beginning. Remain voters will not be fooled by Corbyn walking out now. He still wants Brexit to happen. Every vote for the @libdems is a vote to #StopBrexit.
— Vince Cable (@vincecable) May 17, 2019
Downing Street sources are stressing that some of the concessions offered by the government to Labour in the cross-party talks that have now been terminated will find their way into the Brexit bill being debated in early June. “The withdrawal agreement bill is not going to be the same thing that parliament has rejected three times already,” one insider said.
Danny Kennedy, the Ulster Unionist candidate for the European parliament has ruled out a no-deal Brexit as a “step into the unknown”. As the Press Association reports, Kennedy said a sensible agreement would protect businesses and the agri-food sector while maximising future opportunities for young people in Northern Ireland. He said holding a second referendum would only deepen division.
At the launch of his manifesto in Belfast he said:
We simply cannot afford to take a step into the unknown. I understand that people are keen to see Brexit delivered, but it has to be done in a way which protects business, our agri-food sector and gives maximum opportunity to our young people for the future.
It is not in Northern Ireland’s interests and it is certainly not in the interests of the pro-union population here.
Northern Ireland elects three MEPs using the single transferable vote system. Sinn Fein’s Martina Anderson and Democratic Unionist Diane Dodds are almost certain to be elected. Kennedy is seen as competing against the nationalist SDLP leader Colum Eastwood and Alliance party leader Naomi Long are also competing for the third seat.
Everyone in Scotland would agree 'Westminster is failing all of us', says Sturgeon
Speaking at the launch of the SNP’s manifesto for the European elections this morning, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said everyone in Scotland would agree that Westminster was failing. She said:
Whatever people’s views on independence, or whether indeed people voted remain or leave, one thing is clear and beyond doubt: Westminster is failing all of us.
On that I suspect almost everyone in Scotland would agree. So we have the opportunity to send a message to the Tories and to the other Westminster parties that the Brexit chaos has to stop.
The fact is, Westminster politics is in a pretty dark place right now. That places an obligation on the SNP. Our obligation is to provide a beacon of light and hope.
She also said that the prospect of Boris Johnson running a government with Nigel Farage’s support demonstrated why it was so important for Scotland to have the option of voting for independence. She said:
Senior Tories are now openly calling for an electoral pact at the next Westminster election with Nigel Farage.
Even a few months ago the idea of a Boris Johnson premiership, supported by Nigel Farage, would have been dismissed as a joke.
It is no longer funny. It is a deadly serious possibility and for Scotland it would be a nightmare.
It demonstrates why we must - absolutely must - have all of our options open at this critical time.
The future of our country is at stake. So, faced with Brexit - and very possibly an extreme Farage-Johnson style Brexit - people in Scotland deserve the right to decide whether Scotland should become an independent member of the EU instead.
Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, has called for the Commons half-term recess to be cancelled so that MPs can get on with finding a solution to the Brexit crisis. Commening on the news that the cross-party talks have been woudn up, she said:
Another day of failed politics, another dispiriting day for British business.
Six wasted weeks while uncertainty paralyses our economy.
The May parliamentary recess should be cancelled and used to agree a deal as soon as possible - whether through indicative votes or the withdrawal Agreement.
Business and the country need an urgent resolution to this mess. This is no time for holidays. It’s time to get on with it.
London First, which represents major employers in the capital, is in despair at the state of the Brexit talks. In a statement its CEO, Jasmine Whitbread, said another referendum was the only answer. She said:
After much farce and folly, cross-party talks have failed and Parliament has shown itself to be incapable of reaching a consensus.
We’ve now wasted more than a 1000 days and squandered billions of pounds in Brexit planning. Going round and round in circles and expecting a different result is futile and another round of indicative votes is utterly pointless. It is unlikely to achieve anything but further delay and more uncertainty.
Enough is enough: it’s time to take the decision back to the people. That is now the only way to end the uncertainty once and for all. The alternative is permanent paralysis.
Corbyn says, even if Labour backed Brexit bill, it would not support trying to pass it by end of July
Jeremy Corbyn spoke to broadcasters earlier about his decision to wind up the cross-party talks. Here are the main points.
- Corbyn said Labour did not think it would be possible to get Brexit legislation through the Commons before the summer recess. The government has set the summer recess as its deadline for Brexit, which means it wants to get the EU withdrawal agreement bill through parliament before the end of July. Labour does not support the bill. But Corbyn implied that, even if it did, it would not support this timetable. In response to a question about the leaked document showing that one of the proposed indicative votes being considered by Number 10 would be on a proposition saying the bill must get royal assent by 31 October, Corbyn said:
I don’t think it’s credible to say we get all the parliamentary agreement, all stages of a very controversial, major bill through parliament by the end of July, so, no, we wouldn’t support that.
- He said the government had only raised its plan for indicative votes (see 10.29am) with Labour this week and that it had not given much detail about what it was planning. He said, if there were indicative votes, Labour MPs would be expected to vote in line with party policy, implying he would not allow a free vote on all items.
- He said Labour engaged with the talks seriously. They were not “shadow boxing”, he said. He said that he originally proposed cross-party talks when he made an offer to Theresa May in his party conference speech last autumn.
And this is what Theresa May said in Bristol about why people should vote Conservative in the European elections.
The Conservative party didn’t want to be fighting these. We wanted to be out of the European Union.
Indeed if parliament had backed our Brexit deal we could already have left the EU, but we’re a national party, we fight national elections.
And next Thursday I want people to vote Conservative because it’s only the Conservatives who can deliver Brexit and take this country forward into a brighter future.
No-one else can get the job done. Labour, the Lib Dems and SNP have voted against delivering Brexit again and again.
Nigel Farage can’t deliver Brexit: every few years he pops up, he shouts from the sidelines, he doesn’t work constructively in the national interest.
So if you want a party that works in the national interest, vote Conservative. To vote for a party that can deliver Brexit, vote Conservative. To vote for a party that will take this country forward to a brighter future, vote Conservative.
UPDATE: These are from Rob Powell, a journalist covering the event.
I was the reporter in the Theresa May event just now (doing it on behalf of all broadcasters - we didn’t get any inside track, was just our turn).
— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) May 17, 2019
For transparency:
One small private room
Two video cameras
Two stills cameras
One reporter (me) who was allowed one question
I think it’s worth putting this stuff out there so you can all get the full feel of the event. Very different from other campaigning events I’ve been to. Only a few MEPs there and no other supporters.
— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) May 17, 2019
Here’s the press at the event. Sky pool camera for all broadcasters, PA camera, two snappers and me (on behalf of all news outlets). pic.twitter.com/0aR8005bx3
— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) May 17, 2019
Updated
The Federation of Small Businesses’ national chairman Mike Cherry said the collapse of Brexit talks would mean more firms would find their decision-making stunted. He said the continued uncertainty was “battering” confidence in small business, the lifeblood of so many communities.
More of the same just doesn’t cut it for our small firms anymore. We are the ones dealing with the realities of this mess – planning decisions cancelled, investment stalled and growth going backwards.
Ongoing uncertainty is damaging the economy, holding back productivity and battering small business confidence. We simply cannot see this continue through to the end of October.
His comments come after the director general of the Confederation of British Industry said the Brexit mess was a “catastrophe” for business and had helped drive investor confidence to the lowest level in 10 years.
May says talks broke down over Labour demands for second referendum
This is what Theresa May said at her campaign event in Bristol about the breakdown of the talks with Labour.
As Jeremy Corbyn says, actually these talks have been constructive and we’ve made progress. There have been areas where we have been able to find common ground. But other issues have proved to be more difficult. And, in particular, we haven’t been able to overcome the fact that there isn’t a common position in Labour about whether they want to deliver Brexit or hold a second referendum which could reverse it.
So when we come to bring the legislation forward, we will think carefully about what we’ve had with these talks, the outcome of these talks. We will also consider whether we have some votes to see if the ideas that have come through command a majority in the House of Commons. But when MPs come to vote on the bill, they will be faced with a stark choice; that is, to vote to deliver on the referendum, to vote to deliver Brexit, or to shy away again from delivering Brexit with all the uncertainty that that would leave.
Theresa May blames Labour's #Brexit policy for collapse of cross-party talks, saying "there isn't a common position in Labour about whether they want to deliver Brexit or hold a second referendum, which could reverse it"https://t.co/ueUURQVNbV pic.twitter.com/cBgEqBMsyo
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) May 17, 2019
Although earlier I summarised this as Theresa May blaming the Labour split over a second referendum for the failure of the Brexit talks (see 12.13pm), it is not the split per se that she objects to. May and most Tory MPs are strongly opposed to a second referendum on Brexit. What she could not accept was that Labour might insist on any deal being subject to a confirmatory vote.
Labour is actually united behind the proposition that May’s Brexit deal should be subject to a confirmatory vote. The split is over whether a Brexit agreement compatible with Labour’s demands should be subject to one. Tom Watson, the deputy leader, Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, and others in the party believe it should be, but Jeremy Corbyn is not convinced.
- May blames Labour’s pro second referendum faction for failure of the Brexit talks.
May also seems to be confirming that the government may hold indicative votes in the Commons on Brexit.
- May confirms that the government is considering giving MPs indicative votes on Brexit options.
Updated
Theresa May is speaking at a Conservative European elections campaign event in Bristol now.
She says only the Conservatives can deliver Brexit.
She takes one question.
Q: Corbyn blames the state of the government for the collapse of the talks. Do you accept that?
May says the talks have been constructive, and the two sides have made progress.
But she says there is a fundamental division in Labour between those who want to deliver Brexit and those who do not.
- May blames the Labour split over whether or not to hold a second referendum for the breakdown of the cross-party Brexit talks.
Updated
No 10 refuses to rule out holding indicative votes on Brexit next week
I’m just back from the Downing Street lobby briefing. Here are the main points.
- Downing Street says the talks with Labour broke down because the two sides were divided on a second referendum and on customs. The prime minister’s spokesman said:
We have made real progress on some issues, such as workers’ rights and environment protections, but it is clear we are not going to be able to reach a complete agreement. In particular, there have been very challenging discussions in respect of the different positions of the two sides on customs and the holding of a referendum.
The prime minister continues to believe it is the duty of elected politicians to find a way to deliver on the results of the referendum. She continues to work hard on securing the passage of the withdrawal agreement bill so that the UK can leave the EU with a deal as soon as possible.
The spokesman also stressed at one point that he was not blaming Labour for the failure of the talks.
- The spokesman refused to rule out the government scheduling indicative votes next week. A document leaked to ITV and the Evening Standard shows that the government has considered this option. (See 10.29am and 10.32am.) The spokesman said he could not comment on a leaked document. He said that, when Theresa May has spoken in the past about using an indicative votes process to get the Commons to decide on a way forward, she said this would be dependent on Labour agreeing to the process. But he would not say whether the plan outlined in the leaked document, for indicative votes next Wednesday, was or was not going to go ahead. All he would say was that the government was considering the next steps.
- He rejected claims that the breakdown of the talks meant that six weeks had been wasted. Holding the talks was “absolutely in the national interest”, he said.
Updated
Tom Kibasi, director of the left-leaing thinktank the IPPR, has written an article for the Guardian on what might happen next now the cross-party Brexit talks have broken down.
Here is an extract.
All the signs now points towards October as the “crunch month” for Brexit. There is no prospect of May’s deal being passed, nor of a different deal being negotiated with the EU. It is a serious miscalculation to believe that the EU will simply agree to yet another extension without a concrete reason to do so. If there has been no substantial progress, then Emmanuel Macron would be able to veto an extension without the resistance he faced to a short extension that last month. That leaves just three possibilities: a general election, with the Tories probably for no deal and Labour for a second referendum; legislation for a second referendum with direct effect (meaning the result would be implemented without further parliamentary votes); or a final showdown in the last week of October between no deal and the revocation of article 50.
And here is the full article.
I am off to the Number 10 lobby briefing now. I will post again after 11.30am.
Full text of Corbyn's letter to May
And here is the full text of Jeremy Corbyn’s letter to Theresa May.
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to let you know that I believe the talks between us about finding a compromise agreement on leaving the European Union have now gone as far as they can.
I would like to put on record that the talks have been conducted in good faith on both sides and thank those involved for their efforts to find common ground.
The talks have been detailed, constructive and have involved considerable effort for both our teams.
However, it has become clear that, while there are some areas where compromise has been possible, we have been unable to bridge important policy gaps between us.
Even more crucially, the increasing weakness and instability of your government means there cannot be confidence in securing whatever might be agreed between us.
As I said when we met on Tuesday evening, there has been growing concern in both the shadow cabinet and parliamentary Labour Party about the government’s ability to deliver on any compromise agreement.
As you have been setting out your decision to stand down and cabinet ministers are competing to succeed you, the position of the government has become ever more unstable and its authority eroded. Not infrequently, proposals by your negotiating team have been publicly contradicted by statements from other members of the cabinet.
In recent days we have heard senior cabinet ministers reject any form of customs union, regardless of proposals made by government negotiators. And despite assurances we have been given on protection of environmental, food and animal welfare standards, the international trade secretary has confirmed that importing chlorinated chicken as part of a US trade deal remains on the table.
After six weeks of talks, it is only right that the Government now wishes again to test the will of parliament, and we will carefully consider any proposals the government wishes to bring forward to break the Brexit deadlock.
However, I should reiterate that, without significant changes, we will continue to oppose the government’s deal as we do not believe it safeguards jobs, living standards and manufacturing industry in Britain.
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Corbyn
Corbyn calls off cross-party talks saying Tory 'weakness and instability' made deal impossible
Labour has sent out the text of an open letter from Jeremy Corbyn to Theresa May in which he says there is no point in continuing the cross-party Brexit talks.
Here is the Labour party summary of the letter.
Jeremy Corbyn MP, leader of the Labour party, has today written to the prime minister to inform her that talks on finding a compromise agreement for leaving the European Union have “gone as far as they can” due to “the increasing weakness and instability” of the government.
Jeremy Corbyn writes that as the Conservative party moves towards selecting a new leader, “the position of the government has become ever more unstable and its authority eroded” undermining “confidence” in the “government’s ability to deliver any compromise agreement”. He notes that “not infrequently, proposals by your negotiating team have been publicly contradicted by statements from other members of the cabinet.”
The Labour leader describes the talks as “detailed” and “constructive”, but expresses disappointment that “while there are some areas where compromise has been possible, we have been unable to bridge important policy gaps between us.”
Jeremy Corbyn ends the letter by stating that Labour will carefully consider any proposals the government brings forward to break the Brexit deadlock, but reiterates that, without significant changes, the party will continue to oppose the government’s botched deal.
Updated
Labour never agreed to the plan to hold indicative Brexit votes next week (see 10.29am and 10.32am), my colleague Heather Stewart reports.
Labour v keen to make clear they never signed up to this plan: many documents were exchanged, many issues explored in detail, nothing agreed, I'm told. Hmm... (though NB not clear to me offering a free vote on 2nd ref = blocking it). https://t.co/a3Eu57LEmc
— Heather Stewart (@GuardianHeather) May 17, 2019
The Evening Standard’s Joe Murphy has seen the same document.
SCOOP: Leaked document shows May and Corbyn discussed plan to block second referendum and leave EU on July 31 https://t.co/2lbTSJ6fmC
— Joe Murphy (@JoeMurphyLondon) May 17, 2019
May plan, which Corbyn appears to have partly agreed, was delivered to Labour on Weds, a day after the pair held private talks at Commons, says a Whitehall source.
— Joe Murphy (@JoeMurphyLondon) May 17, 2019
It would involve a vote - possibly free vote - on 2nd referendum, clearly designed to rule out the idea.
— Joe Murphy (@JoeMurphyLondon) May 17, 2019
Then series of votes on Customs Union options decided by "preferential votes" - designed to force MPs to pick something
Labour MP Alex Sobel tells me: “This is the battle plan for a desperate Prime Minister to freeze the people out over the biggest decision facing the country in two generations,” said the MP.
— Joe Murphy (@JoeMurphyLondon) May 17, 2019
I expect huge pressure on Corbyn to disown the plans.
Government has considered holding indicative votes on Brexit next week, ITV reveals
ITV’s Robert Peston says he has been shown a government document outlining a proposal to hold indicative votes next week. Downing Street has been saying for weeks that its plan is to try to agree a compromise Brexit proposal with Labour and get MPs to approve that. If that were to fail, the government would then move on to indicative votes - a process that would involve MPs choosing from a range of options, with the intention of finding the one most acceptable to MPs.
But the Peston document shows ministers have been discussing with Labour a plan to hold indicative votes next week, with a view to getting MPs to consent to the sort of compromises that would then be included in the EU withdrawal agreement bill, which will have its second reading in early June.
Here is an extract from Peston’s story.
If these votes were to take place next week, there would be a dizzying five categories of them, and I reproduce them below.
The section that may confuse you is 3), because this contains four different customs options. The paper says that MPs would be “able to vote for as many [customs] options as they want and the option with the fewest votes [would be] eliminated in each round”.
Importantly, this vote on customs would be a free vote. And it will be seen as an attempt to enlist the support of Labour MPs for a customs union or customs arrangements with the EU that a probable majority of Tory MPs loathe and see as a travesty of a “true” Brexit.
As for voting arrangements on the other proposed motions, the paper wants both government and Labour to whip in favour of leaving the EU with a deal, and getting all relevant legislation passed by the time of summer recess so the UK can be out of the EU on 31 July, and on a “package we’ve agreed with Labour”.
However - and this will outrage many Labour MPs - the paper proposes a free vote on a clause that “the deal should not be subject to a second referendum”. This will be seen by MPs who want a confirmatory referendum as an attempt to pre-emptively close down this route.
YouGov has published some new polling for the European elections today, and it has some bad news for Labour and the Conservatives.
According to these figures, Labour is now in third place, on 15%, one point behind the Lib Dems. The Brexit party is getting more support than both of them combined, the poll suggests, on 35%.
And the Conservatives are in fifth place, on 9%, behind the Greens, on 10%.
The poll is based on a sample of more than 7,000 people and YouGov compared how people voted in the 2017 general election with how they say they will vote now in the European elections. Both main parties are seeing a majority of their 2017 vote defecting in this election.
It is not unusual at all for people to vote differently in European elections and Westminster elections. The key question for 2019 is whether the rise in the Brexit party is largely a one-off, with voters likely to return to the more established parties when they have to choose the next government, or whether we are witnessing what happened in Scotland after 2014, when a referendum disrupted political allegiances and led to voters abandoning wholesale and for good a party they had supported for years.
As of now, this matter seems unresolved. This is what YouGov’s Adam McDonnell says in his write-up of the polling.
Some 2017 Labour and Conservative voters have moved away from their respective parties completely: our latest Westminster voting intention has both parties significantly down on their performance at the last general election. Some voters, however, are temporarily lending their vote to other parties for the European parliament vote.
Boris Johnson 'a complete and utter charlatan', says Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, told the Today programme this morning that Boris Johnson was “a complete and utter charlatan” and that the prospect of him becoming prime minister would “horrify” Scots and boost the case for independence, my colleague Matthew Weaver reports.
Electoral pact with Brexit party would be 'death knell' for Tories, says Nicky Morgan
Earlier this week Crispin Blunt, the Brexiter former chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said the Conservatives should form an electoral pact with the Brexit party.
In her Today interview Nicky Morgan, the pro-European former education secretary, said she was strongly opposed to this suggestion. Asked about it, she said:
I completely disagree with Crispin on that - I think that would be the death knell for the Conservative party. I think it’s absolutely not the way forward.
What to do about the Brexit party, and whether or not an electoral pact would be acceptable, will probably end up being a key issue in the Tory leadership contest that is just getting underway.
The pound has fallen against the dollar on the back of the news about the cross-party talks being wound up, my colleague Jasper Jolly reports on his business live blog.
MPs express regret but not surprise as cross-party Brexit talks reportedly set to be wound up
Yesterday Theresa May agreed to set a timetable for her resignation after the vote in early June on the EU withdrawal agreement bill, regardless of whether her deal passes or gets defeated. It was hard to see how this might improve her chances of getting MPs to approve the withdrawal agreement they have already rejected three times - what incentive is there to support a prime minister on her way out? - and this morning the BBC is reporting that the cross-party Brexit talks are about to be wound up. Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt, who broke the story, says the Tory whips have concluded the exercise is pointless, although he says the two sides might continue talking about holding indicative votes - May’s plan to get the Commons to choose from a range of options if her deal gets shot down again.
New: I understand the cross-party search for a #Brexit deal by the Tories and Labour will soon be drawing to a close. The Tory whips have given up on this phase of the negotiations and are looking to pack the legislation with goodies for Brexiteers@BBCNewsnight
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) May 16, 2019
The door will still remain just ajar for possible talks on phase two of the negotiations - an agreed process on votes to allow MPs to find a #brexit consensus @BBCNewsnight
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) May 16, 2019
Government and Labour sources have not confirmed the BBC story. But they haven’t denied it either, and we are expecting more clarification later this morning.
Hilary Benn, the Labour chair of the Brexit select committee, told the Today programme this morning that he was not surprised to hear about the talks being wound up. He explained:
It doesn’t come as a great surprise to me because over the six weeks they’ve been going it doesn’t appear that much progress has been made ... If there’s not going to be any progress then there wouldn’t be much point in carrying on.
But Nicky Morgan, the Tory pro-European, told the same programme that she was sad to hear the talks were over. She said:
That was one of the ways of getting the withdrawal agreement through parliament. And I think that’s what the country [wanted] ... The message I picked up on doorsteps over the last few weeks has been, ‘Get on with it, get Brexit sorted, come to a compromise’. It’s what normal people do when they are faced with difficult situations. This is a difficult situation, and I think it is going to be a shame if we are not able to demonstrate that we can compromise and find a way through this.
There will be more on this as the day goes on.
The diary for the day is thin. There is just one political event I have listed.
11am: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, launches the SNP’s manifesto for the European elections in Glasgow.
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. I plan to post a summary at lunchtime and another when I wrap up.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe round-up 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.
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If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.
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