Afternoon summary
- Clive Lewis, the shadow business secretary and one of Jeremy Corbyn’s leading supporters in the shadow cabinet, has indicated that he could not vote for a bill letting the government trigger article 50 without getting further assurances about its Brexit plans. (See 4.46pm.) He spoke as Corbyn suggested that he would order Labour MPs to vote for article 50 legislation.
- The Scottish government has warned the UK government not to treat Scotland with “contempt” during the Brexit negotiations. Michael Russell, Scotland’s Brexit minister, spoke after a meeting of the joint ministerial committee, which brings together ministers from the UK and devolved governments to discuss Brexit. The Scottish government wants Scotland to stay in the single market and Russell said he was disappointed Theresa May had ruled out the UK as a whole staying in. But the Scottish government has produced a plan showing how Scotland could stay in the single market even if the rest of the UK left and Russell said at today’s JMC meeting it was agreed to “undertake further detailed work” on this plan. Russell said after the meeting:
I made it absolutely clear at today’s meeting that Scotland must not be treated with contempt but as an equal partner in the negotiating process ...
It is extremely disappointing that the prime minister chose to ... and make a significant announcement about her position two days before the JMC even considered our paper [on how Scotland could stay in the single market]. It is now clear that single market membership for the whole of the UK is no longer an option and this is hugely disappointing.
However, there are other options set out in our paper Scotland’s Place in Europe and our focus now is to ensure the UK government takes seriously our objective of keeping Scotland in the European single market.
In its own statement after the meeting the UK government’s Brexit department said David Davis, the Brexit secretary, had described the Scottish government’s proposals as “an important contribution” to the process but that he had emphasised further questions needed to be answered about their practical implications and delivery.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
Updated
Clive Lewis says backing article 50 now, without further 'assurances', would not be good for his constituents
Clive Lewis, the shadow business secretary, has told his local paper, the Eastern Daily Press, that he wants to hear more assurances from the government before he backs legislation giving Theresa May the right to trigger article 50. He said:
It is safe to say that I am deeply concerned at the direction that Theresa May and the Conservative government is taking these negotiations, and the developments that are taking place.
I am very mindful of what the majority of constituents in Norwich South voted for, which is remain.
I don’t think what is currently on the table, given the irreversibility of article 50, means that signing article 50 under these conditions is in the best interests of people in Norwich or the country.
However it is the job of the opposition to see what we can get between now and March 31 in terms of assurances and guarantees and I think that will be critical to many people when they come to make their decision on this vote.
Lewis did not commit himself to refusing to back an article 50 bill, but his comment about how triggering it now, without further “assurances” from the government, would not be in the interests of his constituents is quite different from what Jeremy Corbyn was saying. (See 1.12pm.)
Philip Cowley, an academic specialising in parliamentary rebellions, has been tweeting about Jeremy Corbyn’s comments about the article 50 vote.
On Labour's A50 voting...
— Philip Cowley (@philipjcowley) January 19, 2017
a) Not sure Labour has much choice but to back A50, in some form
(1/x)
b) although in today's interview Corbyn doesn't explicitly say it should be a three-line whip, just that they will be instructed (2/x).
— Philip Cowley (@philipjcowley) January 19, 2017
c) Lab's position still seems to be to try to amend the bill (which is more interesting than whether they will 'back' or 'block' it (3/x)
— Philip Cowley (@philipjcowley) January 19, 2017
And then there's the programme motion, which is also more interesting. Was this prog motion that scuppered Lords reform in 2012 (4/x)
— Philip Cowley (@philipjcowley) January 19, 2017
So if I was a journo, I'd be asking:
— Philip Cowley (@philipjcowley) January 19, 2017
- What type of whip?
- What amendments?
- And what about the programme motion? (5/5)
Caroline Lucas says Labour MPs should not back article 50 legislation
Caroline Lucas, the Green party co-leader and MP, has put out a statement saying Labour should not force its MPs to vote for legislation allowing the government to trigger article 50. In a statement she said:
Theresa May’s Brexit speech this week has underlined that her vision for Britain is not one in which social and environmental justice take centre stage. Yanking the UK out of the single market is reckless and the prime minister is taking an extreme gamble with our future. Jeremy Corbyn is now trying to deny Labour MPs the chance to make their own principled choice on one of the most important decisions of the UK’s recent history.
This isn’t about ignoring the result of the referendum, it’s about May interpreting a slim majority in favour of leaving as a mandate to sacrifice our economy on the altar of ending free movement. It’s astonishing that Labour are willing to effectively grant the government that mandate rather than making the case for a future in which the benefits of a close relationship with the EU are more fairly and equally shared.
Labour clarifies its position on imposing a three-line whip on any article 50 bill
Labour has sought to clarify its position on whether it will impose a three-line whip on any bill allowing the government to trigger article 50. Party sources are now claiming that no final decision has been taken on how the party will whip the vote, although they are not disputing that Jeremy Corbyn wants his MPs to vote in favour.
If Labour does not impose a three-line whip (an instruction to vote a certain way), it could alternatively allow a genuinely free vote or what one might term a “free” vote - one where MPs are technically free to vote as they wish, but encouraged to vote a certain way. It could ask MPs to abstain. Or it could impose a looser, less strict form of whip (a one- or two-line whip), although these are not used for important legislation.
In his Sky interview Corbyn did not explicitly say he would “order” his MPs to vote for article 50, as some people have pointed out when they have questioned our headline.
But Corbyn was specifically asked, twice, if he would impose a three-line whip and both answers clearly signalled that the answer was “yes”. You can read his answers, in full, at 1.12pm.
The interviewer put the question twice because she wanted to clarify that Corbyn was talking about imposing a three-line whip. Corbyn could have said that he had not yet decided, or that there might be a free vote. Instead he said that MPs would be “asked to vote in that direction”. Like almost all other reporters who wrote up the interview, I interpreted that as “asked” as in what happens when your boss “asks” you do to something. Our headline was perfectly fair, but in the light of what Labour sources are saying I’ve changed “says” to “suggests”.
Immigration has become 'toxic' for Labour, says Dan Jarvis
The Labour MP Dan Jarvis has given an interview to the House magazine in which he said that immigration had become a “toxic” issue for the party and that the party would lose seats unless it came up with a policy at the election that addressed voters concerns. He said:
The Labour party has shied away for too long from listening to, talking about and seeking to address the concerns of people who were worried about the impact that unskilled migration has had on many of our communities. This is one of the reasons that Ukip has been able to gain some kind of traction.
There has been a view among many people who traditionally supported Labour that we didn’t understand or care about the concerns that they had, and worse than that, that we looked down upon then for having those concerns.
That’s a toxic mix for us as a party. If we don’t address those concerns we will have significant challenges in the future.
Any Labour party manifesto ahead of the next general election must have an immigration policy which does two things – recognises the benefits but understands the concerns. It’s possible to do that, but if we don’t, that comes with significant consequences, meaning that we will lose seats.
There’s nothing progressive about not listening to the concerns of the people we have come into politics to represent. This is about fairness.
Lunchtime summary
- Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed that Labour MPs will be instructed to vote in favour of the bill allowing the government to trigger article 50 which will come to parliament if, as expected, ministers lose their supreme court appeal. (See 1.12pm.)
- Corbyn has said Labour will “do better” in the light of new polls showing the party floundering. A YouGov poll suggests the Tories have a 17-point lead.
Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention gives Tories 17 point lead
— YouGov (@YouGov) January 19, 2017
CON 42%
LAB 25%
LD 11%
UKIP 12%
OTH 9%https://t.co/a3G9N0D97a pic.twitter.com/1SoLTApcJ6
And an Ipsos MORI poll for the Evening Standard gives the Tories a 12-point lead over Labour. Asked about his party’s performance in the polls, Corbyn told Sky News:
I want obviously more support for Labour. We have a large party membership, we’re going to be out there this weekend campaigning on health and social care. We’ll be taking our message to the British people that it doesn’t have to be like this, six million people don’t have to be earning less than the minimum wage. We can and will do better.
- The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has said Britain will pay a “huge price” for its decision to prioritise controlling immigration ahead of retaining membership of the single market. (See 11.51am.)
- The German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble has said Theresa May will not be taken seriously by world leaders if she breaks a G20 agreement by slashing taxes to attract business after Brexit. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Schauble said:
The UK has always agreed and the G20 summit in Antalya said we will not use taxation [of] companies as a matter of instrument for competition, that has been agreed. And if we want to be taken serious we have to stick to what we have agreed.
I got Prime Minister May saying the UK will be a truly global economy. That has been agreed not in the EU, it has been agreed in the global forum of the G20 in Antalya, and therefore a truly global economy has to stick to what has been agreed globally, otherwise there will be a contradiction.And you can always count on the UK.
- Theresa May has told the world’s biggest companies they need to start paying their taxes and treat their workers more fairly in order to address the concerns of those who feel left behind by globalisation. Her speech was describedd as “great” by the Ukip MP Douglas Carswell who said he would not have changed a word of it. (See 12.11pm.) Speaking on the Daily Politcs, he strongly praised May for the direction in which she is taking the country. He said:
I’m absolutely delighted. I’ve been pushing all my adult life to have a government and prime minister committed to this agenda and I really feel quite emotional about it, actually. I think it’s wonderful.
There is further coverage of events at Davos on the business live blog.
- Fraud is now by far the most commonly perpetrated crime - with nearly one in 10 adults falling victim to scams. As the Press Association reports, new figures exposing a shift in tactics used by criminals suggest the chances of being conned is double the risk of having a car stolen. While traditional crimes such as burglary and vehicle theft continue to fall, fraud and cyber offences account for nearly half of the headline tally. Experimental statistics show there were 3.6m fraud and 2m computer misuse offences in the year to September.
Farron accuses Labour of 'actively helping' Tories take UK out of single market
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has criticised Jeremy Corbyn for saying he will order Labour MPs to vote for triggering article 50. In a statement he said:
Labour’s claim to be the official opposition must break the Trade Descriptions Act. It comes after Labour claimed to have stopped hard Brexit the same day that Theresa May announced she would take us out of the single market - and I thought that was beyond parody.
Not only did Jeremy Corbyn fail to campaign against Brexit in the referendum, he is now actively helping Liam Fox, Boris Johnson and David Davis to pull Britain out of the single market at a huge cost to jobs and prosperity.
How can you profess to stand up for worker rights when you are conniving in a policy that will costs vast numbers of jobs? This shows that the Liberal Democrats are not only the real opposition to the Conservative Brexit government, we are now the only opposition.
At a session in Davos Alexander de Croo, Belgium’s deputy prime minister, said “blatant lies” were behind the vote for Brexit.
Let us be clear, a big part of the Brexit argumentation was just blatant lies. This was not even about fake news, it was fake argument.
This is about a campaign saying the EU money was going to be used for the NHS and the day afterwards saying ‘well you know actually it is not true’. This is about blaming Europe for whatever things that have nothing to do with EU policy. I agree the pro-EU side was not able to counter that because it countered it too much with facts and did not use emotion.
Corbyn suggests he will order Labour MPs to vote in favour of triggering article 50
Jeremy Corbyn has been speaking to Sky News this morning. He was asked about today’s Guardian story about how some shadow cabinet ministers may refuse to vote in favour of triggering article 50 if, as expected, the government loses the supreme court case and brings a bill to the Commons and he said he would order Labour MPs to vote in favour.
Asked if he would impose a three-line whip, he replied:
It is very clear. The referendum made a decision that Britain was to leave the European Union. It was not to destroy jobs or living standards or communities but it was to leave the European Union and to have a different relationship in the future.
I’ve made it very clear the Labour party accepts and respects the decision of the British people. We will not block article 50.
When asked if that meant a three-line whip (an order to MPs saying they would have to vote for the bill), he replied:
It means that Labour MPs will be asked to vote in that direction next week, or whenever the vote comes up.
Labour has always made it clear that it would not block legislation allowing the government to trigger article 50 (although some Labour MPs have said they will vote against). But Corbyn’s comments today are stronger than what has been said in the past. In November, when asked about Labour’s stance on the bill, Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said four times in an interview that Labour would “not simply vote down article 50”. Now Corbyn is saying they will actively vote in favour.
UPDATE: Originally the headline on this post said “Corbyn says he will order Labour MPs to vote in favour of triggering article 50” but, after Labour sources sought to clarify the party’s position, I changed “says” to “suggests”. See 3.59pm for more.
Updated
Manfred Weber, the chair of the centre-right EPP group in the European parliament, was also on the Daily Politics. He used his interview to accuse Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, of “behaving like a clown”. He told the programme:
The question is, how can we solve [our problems]. Is it better to split up the European Union? Or is it better to work together? And, frankly speaking, when I heard the words from Boris Johnson, that is exactly what I mean: to provoke each other, to say to each other we do not like each other and so on, that is not the way we should go. Boris Johnson is behaving like a clown and he is taking away the credibility of the government.
Ukip's Carswell praises May's speech, saying he 'would not have changed a word'
Douglas Carswell, Ukip’s sole MP, has just told the Daily Politics that Theresa May has now given two “great” speeches this week, today’s and the big Brexit one on Tuesday, Referring to her speech this morning, he said: “I would not have changed a word.”
He also said he was “delighted” with the approach May was taking.
His comments are likely to renew speculation that at some point he may rejoin the Conservatives. Carswell, of course, was a Tory MP until he defected to Ukip in 2014.
Tories claim it is 'unbelievable' that senior Labour figures may refuse to back article 50
Today the Guardian reports that some members of the shadow cabinet may refuse to vote for the bill allowing Theresa May to trigger article 50 which the government will introduce if, as expected, it loses its case in the supreme court.
Here is the story.
And here is how it starts.
Several members of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet are considering refusing to vote for a bill triggering article 50, amid widespread concern among Labour MPs about the party’s response to Brexit.
With the government expected to table legislation giving it the power to start the formal divorce process with the EU as soon as next Wednesday, if, as expected, it loses the Supreme Court appeal, Labour MPs are in disarray about how to respond.
Four shadow cabinet ministers, including close Corbyn loyalists, and several more junior frontbenchers, have told the Guardian that they are agonising about whether to back the party line of what one called “waving through” article 50, in what could prove the first real test of new chief whip Nick Brown’s powers of persuasion.
They’ve been reading the story at CCHQ and this morning the Conservatives have put out a press statement saying it is “unbelievable” that senior Labour figures may defy the result of the referendum. It features this statement from the Tory MP Dominic Raab. He said:
Labour backed the EU referendum that put the decision on UK membership of the EU in the hands of the British people.
It’s unbelievable that members of Jeremy Corbyn’s top team are now plotting to vote to ignore the result if they get the chance.
The prime minister has set out a comprehensive plan to build a global Britain as we exit the EU that has commanded wide support. Labour is too divided and incompetent even to agree to respect the decision people have already made.
Dutch PM says Britain will pay a 'huge price' for making curbing migration Brexit priority
Britain will pay a “huge price” for its decision to prioritise controlling immigration ahead of retaining membership of the single market, the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has said.
Speaking in Davos he said Theresa May’s speech on Tuesday showed she had “faced up to reality” about the kind of Brexit deal she could get. But her decision would have a “huge impact on the economic growth rate”, he said.
[The UK] is now making a choice to control migration, and they are paying a huge price because the economic growth rate of the UK will be impacted negatively by the fact that it will leave the biggest market in the world.
So they are willing to pay the price, but it has also a consequence for the rest of Europe but particularly for the UK.
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has responded to Theresa May’s speech by effectively accusing her of hypocrisy. In a statement he said:
The prime minister certainly has a brass neck. She goes to Davos to lecture businesses about looking after the little guy yet she threatens to turn the UK into a Europe’s biggest tax haven.
This shows, yet again, that this Tory government are treating our country like UK plc. They are running our economy like it is a closing down sale. But higher prices and more expensive fuel mean families will feel the brunt of this government’s bad economic policies.
Crime rate doubles after fraud and cyber offences included in figures for first time
The headline crime rate is almost double the level previously reported after fraud and cyber offences were included in the total for the first time, the Press Association reports.
Experimental statistics show there were 3.6m fraud and 2m computer misuse offences in England and Wales in the year to September.
The inclusion of these crimes yields a new headline estimate of 11.8m incidents covered by the Crime Survey for England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics said.
Stripping out the two categories gives a tally of 6.2m - which was not a “statistically significant” change compared with the previous year.
Questions on victims’ experience of fraud and cyber crime were incorporated in the survey from October 2015 and have been included for a full 12 months.
Statisticians said it will be another year before the annual headline estimate including the new sections can be compared.
John Flatley, of the ONS, said: “In its 35-year history, the Crime Survey has charted changing trends in crimes experienced by the population.
“In the past, burglary and theft of vehicles were the high-volume crimes driving trends but their numbers have fallen substantially since then.
“When the CSEW started, fraud was not considered a significant threat and the internet had yet to be invented.
“Today’s figures demonstrate how crime has changed, with fraud now the most commonly experienced offence.
“However, it should be emphasised that the new headline figures, including fraud and computer misuse, are not comparable with those from earlier years.”
French foreign minister suggests Boris Johnson wrong about EU wanting to punish UK for leaving
Britain will not be allowed to cherry-pick over details on forthcoming Brexit negotiations, France’s foreign minister said today, Reuters reports.
Jean-Marc Ayrault also said that EU states would not set to punish Britain for leaving the EU in the Brexit talks. He said:
There will be no cherry picking. But there is no question of punishing the United Kingdom. That is not the position of France.
Ayrault’s line about punishment seems to be a response to Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, who yesterday used a controversial world war two analogy to suggest that the French president, Francois Hollande, did want to punish the UK for leaving.
Theresa May's speech - Summary
Theresa May’s speech is over. It didn’t contain any news announcements and, perhaps surprisingly, it has very little to say about Brexit. Instead it was a “big picture” speech about how government and business should respond to the challenges thrown up by globalisation.
Here are some of the key points.
- May set out to differentiate her foreign policy vision from Donald Trump’s by stressing her faith in a “rules-based global order”. After Trump won the presidential election May was notably reluctant to express any reservations about him at all, in contrast to other EU leaders like Angela Merkel. But in today’s speech, without referring to him directly, she implicitly criticised some of his foreign policy positions. Trump has expressed doubts about Nato and indicated that he would not mind if the EU were to break apart. But May said, even though the UK was leaving the EU, it wanted the EU to prosper. And she spoke strongly in favour of a “rules-based global order”.
We must uphold the institutions that enable the nations of the world to work together and we must promote international cooperation wherever we can.
- She said governments and businesses had to show that they were responding to the concerns people have about globalisation. For governments, that meant recognising that there is a role for active government, May said, stressing her commitment to the importance of industrial policy. And, for businesses, that meant having high standards of corporate governance, and tackling excessive pay, she said. Only 35% of those on low incomes trust business, she said. She did not make any specific policy announcements on these points, but she said she backed the Davos compact on responsible and responsive leadership.
- She claimed that the vote to leave the EU in Britain was not a rejection of Europe. Some people in Europe did not appreciate this, she said.
Our decision to leave the EU was no rejection of our friends in Europe ... It was no attempt to become more distant from them.
May’s claim is debatable. While some Vote Leave campaigner stressed their commitment to an open, global Britain, others on the leave side were undoubtedly more nativist and protectionist. ITV’s political editor Robert Peston is sceptical of what May had to say.
.@theresa_may insists our vote to leave EU was no "rejection of our friends in Europe". Really? #wef17
— Robert Peston (@Peston) January 19, 2017
Updated
According to two Financial Times journalists, Theresa May’s speech is not going down particularly well at Davos.
This is from Chris Giles, the FT’s economics editor.
Very subdued reactions to May at Davos. pic.twitter.com/JumjP5Fh0V
— Chris Giles (@ChrisGiles_) January 19, 2017
And this is from Gideon Rachman, the FT’s foreign affairs commentator.
Davos audience a bit restless and baffled as May bangs on about the "just about managing"- and virtually ignores Brexit
— Gideon Rachman (@gideonrachman) January 19, 2017
In Davos Theresa May is telling her audience that Britain is a great trading nation.
As my colleague Jessica Elgot reports, the international trade department says Britain is already informally discussing trade deals with at least 12 countries, despite being notionally prevented from striking deals while still a member of the EU.
Updated
Theresa May is delivering her speech in Davos now.
And here is the business live blog, where Graeme Wearden is covering it live.
On the Today programme this morning Pierre Moscovici, the EU’s economic commissioner, said Brexit was “not positive” for Britain or the bloc.
Brexit means Brexit, which is to say that it is not the same to be in or out. It cannot be better to be out than in because it cannot be so. You cannot have all the advantages of being the member of the club when you are out of the club. I think our British friends who invented clubs can understand that.
In an article for the Times Theresa May has said that she does not believe Scots who voted to remain in the EU want a second independence referendum. She wrote:
While I respect the views of all those in Scotland who wanted the UK to remain in the EU, I do not believe that their votes represent a wish to separate Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom or rerun the independence referendum.
With Theresa May due to give a speech in Davos this morning, there is mixed news for her in today’s papers about her Brexit speech.
On the plus side, a YouGov poll for the Times suggests that a clear majority of the public thinks that May’s plan would be good for Britain. The survey also shows that 47% of people have a lot or a fair amount of confidence that she will be able to deliver it, against 38% who have not very much or no confidence that it will materialise. Here is the chart, from the Times’ Red Box briefing.
But one figure who is sceptical is Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, a former British ambassador to the EU who helped draft article 50 (the section of the EU rulebook that will determine how Britain leaves the EU). He gave a lecture in Glasgow last night and, as the Times reports (paywall), he said the Brexit talks would be “very nasty”. The Times reports:
“Article 50 is not about trade, it is about divorce. It’s about paying the bills, dividing the property. The money negotiation is going to be a very nasty negotiation,” [Kerr] said at a lecture in Glasgow. He predicted that there would be “no serious negotiations before the autumn”, adding that he expected “this calendar year will be mainly spent in a furious battle about money”.
Lord Kerr, who has served as UK ambassador to both the EU and the US, said that if no agreement was reached on the terms of Brexit, and no extension to the talks was agreed, the UK would have to leave anyway.
He said the chances of this could be “as much as 25 per cent or maybe more”, adding: “I think there may actually be a one in three chance of no deal.”
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.15am: Theresa May gives a speech in Davos. My colleague Graeme Wearden, who has been blogging from Davos, will be covering it on his business blog although I will be keeping an eye on it too.
9.30am: Crime statistics are published.
9.30am: Secondary school performance tables for England are published.
10.30am: David Lidington, the leader of the Commons, takes questions in the Commons.
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 in the afternoon.
You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.
If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
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