Jeremy Corbyn has been criticised for an article in The Observer, in which he defended the “desperately disappointing” general election result and claimed political cynicism had been a driving force in turning former Labour heartlands blue.
The Labour leader was met with derision after saying his Labour movement “won the argument”, despite the party succumbing to its worst defeat in decades.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson and his key adviser Dominic Cummings have declared a radical overhaul to the civil service is required in order to “get Brexit done”, dubbing it a “Whitehall revolution”.
The former director of the Vote Leave campaign has been a vocal critic of the civil service, with the move signalling that he and the PM’s plans for Britain could be more radical than their manifesto suggested.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the day's happenings at Westminster.
Corbyn apologises for 'deeply disappointing' general election result
Jeremy Corbyn has apologised for the “deeply disappointing” general election result, in which despite receiving more votes than Tony Blair in 2005, he led his party to its worst defeat in nearly 90 years.
The Labour leader said widening inequalities following the financial crash have fuelled cynicism in politics, which he claimed led many in former Labour strongholds to back the PM, delivering him with a “Get Brexit Done” victory.”
“In towns where the steelworks have closed, politics as a whole wasn’t trusted, but Boris Johnson’s promise to “get Brexit done” – sold as a blow to the system – was,” Mr Corbyn wrote in The Observer. “Sadly that slogan will soon be exposed for the falsehood it is, shattering trust even further.”
PM planning ‘Whitehall revolution’
The prime minister is plotting radical changes to the civil service, according to the Sunday Times.
He and his key adviser Dominic Cummings – a longstanding critic of Whitehall – are said to be planning to review the processes for firing officials and could look at replacing civil servants with external experts, under the guise of an agenda to “get Brexit done”.
He is set to announce his “revolutionary” plans during his Queen’s speech on Thursday in a bid to “reshape” the economy, fuelling fears that the PM’s plans for the country may be more radical than his timid manifesto suggested.
Gove insists next phase of Brexit negotiations will be over by 2020 and restates hardline stance on Scottish independence
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has insisted that the next phase of Brexit negotiations will be concluded by the end of 2020.
Speaking to Sky News' Sophy Ridge, Mr Gove claimed discussions on the UK's future relationship with the EU "will be concluded next year".
"Quite a lot of the details that we need to negotiate is already laid out in the political declaration, so a lot of work has been done," he said.
"And as a number of people have pointed out, there are areas where the European Union's interests and the United Kingdom's interests are already closely aligned, so I'm confident that we will be able not just to leave the EU on January 31 but also to conclude all the details of a new relationship in short order."
He said he would not get into "speculation" about whether the Withdrawal Agreement Bill will be brought back to the Commons before Christmas, but said it would be voted on in "relatively short order" so it can be passed by January 31.
Discussing Nicola Sturgeon's demands for a fresh independence referendum, he said: "We were told in 2014 that that would be a choice for a generation. We are not going to have an independence referendum in Scotland.
"In this general election, we have just seen what happens when politicians are trying to overturn a referendum result."
He cited the NHS and BBC as being reasons that Scots can be proud to be both Scottish and British.
Former Labour MP denounces Remain-supporting colleagues who would be Labour's next leader
Asked by Sophy Ridge if "liberal, Remain supporting people from metropolitan seats" who backed Mr Corbyn's political vision should be Labour's next leader, former Labour minister Caroline Flint said: “I don’t believe anybody who has been the architects of our European policy in the past few years is credible to be leader.
"I don’t think they can win back these seats. And we shouldn’t take for granted that a change of leader is going to win us in five years time…but I don’t believe there is any credibility for these people.”
Ms Flint, who lost her Don Valley seat in the general election added: “We didn’t hear the warning signs in 2017 when we lost places like Mansfield, the majority for the Tory candidate there has increased massively.
"We ignored it, and we ignored it back in 2010 and 2015. This has been brewing for some time. The balance in terms of the voices that are being heard is going too much towards the metropolitan cities and university towns … and it breaks my heart."
Lib Dem acting leader says 'profound' lessons need to be learnt in wake of election disappointment
Joint acting Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey has told Sophy Ridge the party would "review the General Election properly" when asked whether he will stand to replace Jo Swinson as leader.
"We've got to focus on ensuring we learn the lessons properly in a quite a deep, profound way," Sir Ed said.
"One of the lessons I have to say is it can be very difficult for the Liberal Democrats to make progress when there is a hard-left leader of the Labour Party - we found that in 1983 with Michael Foot, we found it in spades in 2019 with Jeremy Corbyn.
"If you look at the Conservative leaflets in Liberal Democrat constituencies, it wasn't so much 'get Brexit done' they were talking about, they were saying if you vote Liberal Democrat you'll get Jeremy Corbyn and that fear factor was a massive issue in the General Election."
He admitted the Lib Dems did not get their other messages beyond Brexit across during the campaign.
Burgon says he 'would consider' running as Rebecca Long-Bailey's deputy as he denounces PM's electoral promises
Richard Burgon has told Sophy Ridge: "I don’t believe a single thing that Boris Johnson says. He’s shown he will say anything to get into power, and I think this talk about the NHS and legislation is a simple gimmick, let’s see what he does."
He claimed that despite the PM’s electoral pledges to end austerity and properly fund the NHS, he doubts this will be the reality.
Describing the lives of those affected by austerity and migrants he claimed had been "demonised" by the PM, Mr Burgon said: "All of these people’s lives will be worse off because Labour didn’t win that general election.
When asked if he thought it was a mistake to back a second Brexit referendum, Mr Burgon said: "I think it’s done and dusted. I think it was right ot try and bring people together and to try and have a final say. We need to now look at leaving the union and try to protect jobs in doing so."
He said he would like Rebecca Long-Bailey to become the party's next leader, and that he "would consider" running as her deputy.
Here's the lineup for the final Andrew Marr of 2019.
Scotland's first minister, Tory cabinet minister Rishi Sunak and the shadow chancellor John McDonnell all set to appear soon.
Anger as Jeremy Corbyn claims he 'won the arguments' in general election after Labour's devastating defeat
Here's more from Andrew Woodcock on the reaction to Jeremy Corbyn's article in The Observer.
Here's more from Andrew Woodcock on the reaction to Jeremy Corbyn's article in The Observer.
Anger as Jeremy Corbyn claims he 'won the arguments' in general election after Labour's devastating defeat
Harriet Harman calls for leader to resign, saying he shows unwillingness to understand reasons for defeatFormer Labour minister claims Emily Thornberry said: 'I'm glad my constituents aren't as stupid as yours'
Labour former minister Caroline Flint, who lost her seat in Don Valley, said she didn't think Jeremy Corbyn was taking enough personal responsibility for the party's defeat.
Asked who should succeed Mr Corbyn as Labour leader, Ms Flint said: "I don't think it should be anybody who has had a hand in our Brexit strategy over the last few years, and I don't think it can be Corbyn without a beard, I think that would be the wrong move as well."
Ms Flint earlier said she was trying to "stem my anger" as she criticised "ardent Remainers" within the party - naming Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry, Hilary Benn and Yvette Cooper - for having "contributed to sacrificing 59 seats".
She told Sky News's Sophy Ridge On Sunday: "I don't believe anybody who have been the architects of our European policy in the last few years is credible to be leader - I don't think they can win back these seats."
She added: "Keir Starmer led us to a policy that did not listen to Labour leave voices who urged caution, he led us down the path of a second referendum, and I'm afraid Emily Thornberry did as well - she said to one of my colleagues 'I'm glad my constituents aren't as stupid as yours'."
John McDonnell: 'If anyone's to blame, it's me'
“Let me make it clear, it’s on me, I’ll take it on the chin," Mr McDonnell has told Andrew Marr. "Let me apologise to all those wonderful Labour MPs who’ve lost their seats. Let me apologise to all our campaigners, but most of all I apologise to all those people who desperately need a Labour government.
"If anyone's to blame, it's me - full stop."
Defending his party's decision to back a second referendum, which he admitted had failed, he said of backing either Leave or Remain: "Either way we were going to be hammered."
Asked about Jeremy Corbyn's unpopularity on the doorstep, he said: "The media did a number on Jeremy for four years every day ... they transposed someone I know as a man of honesty and principle into someone demonised in a way no other politician on this scale has been done before and I deeply regret that."
Nicola Sturgeon: ‘PM can’t ignore the will of the Scottish people’
Scotland’s first minister employed a turn of phrase heavily associated with Brexit to attack the PM, as she insisted Scotland “cannot be imprisoned” in the UK against its will.
“It’s quite a fundamental point of democracy,” she said, clearly relishing her party's strengthened mandate for IndyRef2 after the general election.
“You cannot just lock us in a cupboard and turn the key and hope everything goes away. If the union is to continue then it can only be by consent. If Boris Johnson is confident in the case of the union, eh should be confident enough to make that case and allow people to decide.
“If it’s to continue it can only be by the will and the consent of the people of Scotland," Ms Sturgeon added. "Scotland cannot be imprisoned within the United Kingdom against its will. These are just basic statements of democracy.
“The Tories might rage against the reality of what happened on Thursday … but ultimately they’re going to have to face up to it, because the will of the Scottish people can’t be ignored.”
Lisa Nandy 'seriously considering' running for Labour leader
The shadow secretary for energy and climate change detailed the need for Labour to speak for both lifelong Labour voters in former industrial regions and those in metropolitan areas.
The Labour MP for Wigan told Andrew Marr: "We need to think very seriously about how we're going to take that very hard road back to power and who is best placed to fix it."
Labour's former general secretary calls for Corbyn's immediate resignation
Labour's former general secretary Iain McNicol has called for Jeremy Corbyn to immediately resign so a caretaker Labour leader can hold the Tories to account, and - showing the potential civil war ahead for the party - called for a centrist like Harriet Harman or Hilary Benn to assume the role.
Saying the opposition needs someone who can hold Boris Johnson's "feet to the fire" over Brexit, Lord McNicol told Sophy Ridge: "I think Jeremy should stand down now and we should move to a caretaker leader.
"Go to one of the grandees from before, so like Harriet Harman or Hilary Benn or Yvette Cooper, bring in someone who can actually put the pressure on Boris Johnson on the Conservatives while we go through the next leadership election."
He criticised Labour's campaign for focusing resources too heavily on trying to win Tory seats rather than protecting Labour ones and blamed Corbyn and his ideology for the failure.
"The biggest issue and the one that kept coming through time and time again was Jeremy, and was his ability to be prime minister and trust in him. It just wasn't there when you were speaking to people on the doors," Lord McNicol said.
McDonnell says new Labour leader could be decided in 'eight to 10 weeks'
Mr McDonnell said he expects the leadership change will take place in eight to 10 weeks, and said shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey "could be a brilliant leader" before praising shadow cabinet ministers Angela Rayner, Richard Burgon and Dawn Butler.
He said: "My view is I think it should be a woman leader next."
Mr McDonnell said he would "prefer others" to Labour MP Jess Phillips before describing her as "really talented", adding: "I want someone who actually has been really solidly involved in the development of existing policy - that's why Becky and Angie and Dawn and others have been so good."
He also said it was "most probably time for a non-metropolitan", adding: "I think it is time for a non-London MP, we need a northern voice as much as possible."
Asked on whether he and Mr Corbyn were trying to fix the party for the next generation in their image, Mr McDonnell replied: "We're not into that sort of conniving politics of the past, we've never been that."
Rishi Sunak says UK will ‘level up’ to avoid independence referendum
“The prime minister has been very clear," Mr Sunak told Andrew Marr. "He is unequivocally committed to the union, he passionately believes in it, and as you see this new government getting to work, strengthening our union and levelling up and uniting the country will be at the heart of our agenda.
He repeated Michael Gove’s earlier assertions that another referendum on Scottish independence was not on the table, despite Nicola Sturgeon claiming she has a clear mandate to hold one after Thursday’s electoral victory.
'Absolutely' no prospect of second referendum on Scottish independence, says Michael Gove
Here's more detail from Andrew Woodcock and Lizzy Buchan on the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster's comments about Scottish independence as the battleground for the future of Scotland in the wake of the begins to take shape in the wake of the Tories' and SNP's dramatic victories.
Green MEP dubs Rishi Sunak's refusal to detail 'revolutionary' plans for Whitehall as 'sinister'
Rishi Sunak refused to be drawn on the alleged plans of the PM's right-hand man Dominic Cummings to radically overhaul the workings of government.
Dominic Cummings has previously stated his desire to get rid of permanent civil servants, replacing them instead with external advisers, and to reduce the size of the cabinet from dozens of ministers to just six or seven.
Molly Scott-Cato, the Green MEP for whom the Lib Dems stood down in Stroud and endorsed in Thursday's general election, in which she was defeated by the Tories, called Mr Sunak's assertion that the public were not interested in how government works "sinister".
Mr Sunak also remained vague on the report into Russian interference, saying "it will be published when it is appropriate".
Here's another minor detail about the picture that has everyone talking this morning.
It shows the moment Boris Johnson realised, in the words of today's Mail on Sunday, that the "gamble of his life" had paid off. The Sun's eagle-eyed deputy political editor has spotted something isn't quite right with Dominic Cummings' attire.
Lisa Nandy declares ambition to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as left-wingers endorse Rebecca Long-Bailey for top job
Lizzy Buchan and Andrew Woodcock bring more detail on the battle to become Labour leader.
