Afternoon summary
- Labour Eurosceptics have accused Jeremy Corbyn of suppressing his own views on the EU in the interests of party management. For many years Corbyn has been seen as a strong Eurosceptic, but Labour as a whole is overwhelmingly in favour of the EU, and the Eurosceptics claim this is why Corbyn delivered a pro-EU speech today. Kate Hoey MP told BBC News:
I am disappointed. I’m not surprised at what Jeremy is doing today because Jeremy is very keen as leader to keep the party together, to keep the shadow cabinet together and is desperate to keep Hilary Benn in his position as shadow foreign secretary.
What does surprise me of course is I don’t believe Jeremy has gone back on all his views at all about what he thought about the EU. And I think Labour voters and Labour supporters will find it very strange that he is now lining up with the CBI, with David Cameron and with the multinationals who are desperate for us to stay in the EU.
He does seem to be putting his party first, in my view, before the country. And I’m disappointed that he is not allowing greater debate.
And Graham Stringer MP told the BBC’s Daily Politics.
I’m disappointed but not surprised. I’ve talked to Jeremy and it was quite clear that he’s decided as leader of the Labour party to go in for party management and management of his relationships with the trade unions, rather than what have been his core beliefs.
- John Penrose, a Cabinet Office minister, has told MPs that the Chilcot report into the Iraq war will not be published before the summer. In a Commons debate he said the report would be handed to the government for security checks next week and, as promised by David Cameron, vetting will take two weeks or less. But, despite MPs calling for it to be published in May, Penrose appeared to rule that out. He said Sir John Chilcot would still need to prepare the “very large” report for publication and that it was expected to be out in June or July. He said:
We are expecting the inquiry report to be ready for national security checking in the week beginning April 18. Once Sir John indicates that that is the case, the work will begin, and as the prime minister promised, it will take no longer than two weeks. And once it is done, the inquiry will prepare the report for printing and publication.
I should make clear that at that stage, even when the national security checking process is complete, the report will still be in Sir John Chilcot’s hands and will not be released to the government until everything is ready. The inquiry has said that it will complete the remaining work as swiftly as possible, and as Sir John Chilcot indicated in his letter to the prime minister last October, that he expects publication in June or July this year.
- Leading rock and pop stars including members of Radiohead and Pink Floyd have warned that leaving the European Union could harm the British music industry. As the Press Association reports, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has added its voice to the Remain campaign following a poll of its members. Former Eurovision Song Contest winner Sandie Shaw, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien are among the stars urging the country to vote to stay in the EU.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
Updated
Labour GO has put out a statement saying that Jeremy Corbyn’s support for the EU could damage the party in the north. It said:
Jeremy Corbyn has been put in a very difficult position by the Labour party. He is a lifelong opponent of the undemocratic EU and, in private at least, this view has not changed. It is hard to credit the idea that he sincerely believes the EU can be reformed - Cameron tried and failed.
Labour’s approach is causing a real risk of serious electoral damage in the north, with UKIP the big beneficiary. Had the party adopted a more open approach to debate, this would have been far less likely.
Momentum calls for 'permanent public ownership' of the steel industry
Momentum, the pro-Labour movement set up last year for Jeremy Corbyn supporters, is calling for the permanent public ownership of the steel industry. It has just put out this statement.
As the steel crisis threatens Britain’s industrial capability, thousands of jobs, and the devastation of entire communities, the labour movement urgently needs to put forward a coherent, progressive alternative to the government’s wilful inaction.
That is why Momentum is calling for permanent public ownership of the steel industry as part of a forward-looking industrial strategy.
With steel publicly owned by workers, communities, and a strategic state, the UK will be better placed to develop a high tech, high productivity economy, which builds our industrial base and produces shared prosperity. Public ownership will give working people control over a strategic asset to develop our economy, build homes, improve our national infrastructure, and support public services, as well as safeguard the workers and communities that built the steel industry.
We are not calling for control from Whitehall but a genuinely democratic public ownership, run by workers and communities with strategic input from the state.
We support Labour’s campaign to expose the Tories’ indifference to the steel industry, steelworkers and their communities and call on Labour to adopt permanent public ownership as part of an industrial strategy as party policy.
Updated
Lunchtime summary
- Arron Banks, the multi-millionaire Grassroots Out (GO) campaigner, has abandoned plans to go to court to contest the decision to make Vote Leave, not GO, the lead Brexit campaign. (See 2.19pm)
- Vote Leave has claimed that a report published by the government with no publicity reveals how much power has been surrendered to the EU. Today the government published a report on the rights and obligations of EU membership, a document it had to publish under the EU Referendum Act. Vote Leave said it showed that the EU charter of fundamental rights had direct effect in UK law and went further than the European convention on human rights, that EU law could lead to prisoners getting the vote and that EU jobseekers could stay in the UK after six months if they did not get a job, contrary to what Cameron says. Matthew Elliott, the Vote Leave chief executive, said:
It’s shocking that the Government has cynically buried its own report because it admits how much control we’ve handed to the EU. It makes clear that EU law and EU judges trump British law. The Charter of Fundamental Rights has been used by the EU to undermine our security and put up every day costs like insurance bills. On top of leaving EU judges in control of our borders, our economy and even those who can vote in our democracy, we hand Brussels £350 million every week. It’s safer to take back control on 23 June and spend our money on our priorities.
- The Lords secondary legislation scrutiny committee has become the third Lords committee to criticise the government’s plans to change parliamentary rules to stop the Lords blocking secondary legislation. It said the Lords should retain its ability to throw out secondary legislation - but use it only in “exceptional circumstances”. The Lords constitution committee and the delegated powers and regulatory reform committee have also made similar arguments.
Banks drops threat to launch legal challenge against Vote Leave being lead Brexit campaign
Arron Banks, the Leave.EU founder and a key figure in Grassroots Out (GO), has put out a statement saying he will not be going to court to challenge the decision not to make GO the lead Leave Organisation. He said:
I have spent a lot of time and so much money, alongside many others, over the past few months and years making sure this referendum happened, and more than anything we wanted to make sure it happened fairly. We have raised well over £9m and reached millions of people around this country.
What is clear now is that if we were to pursue a judicial review, according to legal experts, we would win. But this is a time to take a step back from the matter, and after consulting with leading campaigners on this issue, including UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage – we have decided to show the public how this process was stitched up, but not to pursue the judicial review any further.
It is time to turn our collective guns on the real opponents in this campaign: those who are repeatedly trying to scare the British public into thinking that Britain is too small and insignificant to be an independent nation engaged with the whole world, not just one corner of it. We will be pursuing this campaign with vigour – and we’ll have some fun with it along the way.
Earlier today Farage made it clear that he was opposed to a legal challenge and that he would be urging Banks to drop the idea.
Last night Banks seemed quite committed to going to court. He tweeted this.
Vote leave document is full of lies and misrepresentations we will consult but expect judicial review .
— Arron Banks (@Arron_banks) April 13, 2016
Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, has strongly welcomed Jeremy Corbyn’s EU speech. In a statement he said:
Ordinary people heard today from someone they can trust to be absolutely on their side on the EU debate.
Jeremy Corbyn is no European Union cheerleader, but someone who has given a great deal of thought to this country’s place in Europe and concluded that when it comes to the issues that really matter to the lives of the UK’s people - jobs, investment, peace and security - remaining a fully engaged member of the EU is our most progressive option.
He is, of course, bang on the money to say that not all in the garden is rosy. People want a Europe that puts their interests first. Reform is essential.
But he is also absolutely right that it is our home-grown government and its austerity addiction that is causing so many of the troubles today inflicted on our communities - insecure work, falling wages, a housing crisis and the twin threats to our NHS of slashed resources and this government’s refusal to carve-out the NHS from the monster trade deal TTIP in order to protect it from privatisation.
Outside of the EU, we will be at the mercy of a right-wing Conservative government determined to push that agenda still further. Even to those who feel let down by the EU, it is abundantly clear that only be staying in the EU will UK working people have any protection against the determined Conservative assault on our rights and living standards.
We are now expecting to get the decision about whether Grassroots Out (GO) will launch a legal challenge against the Electoral Commission’s decision not to make it the lead Leave campaign after 3pm, my colleague Rowena Mason reports.
Originally the decision was due before noon.
Now expecting Leave.EU statement about whether they will judicially review designation after 3pm...
— Rowena Mason (@rowenamason) April 14, 2016
Corbyn's Q&A - Summary
You can read the full text of Jeremy Corbyn’s speech here but, as I said earlier, the best material was in the Q&A. Here are the key quotes from it.
- Corbyn rejected claims that his support for the EU was “half-hearted”. This is how he replied to a question about how he hoped to convince people given that this approach to this was “half-hearted”.
There’s nothing half-hearted about what we are doing. There is nothing half-hearted about our campaigning. There is nothing half-hearted about our alliances. I’ve attended a number of meetings of the Party of European Socialists. I’ve had lengthy conversations with prime ministers and party leaders all across Europe on the social justice case, the environmental case, issues of climate change, trade and steel. I’ve made numerous speeches on these subjects. There is nothing half-hearted about what we are doing. We are putting forward a political agenda about social justice in this country, driving down tax evasion in this country, but we are also putting the international case on human rights and justice and social justice all across Europe. That is what we’re doing. You’ll hear plenty from us on this. There is nothing half-hearted about anything I do.
- He said he would not be withdrawing the criticisms he has made of the EU in the past.
Yes, I’ve been critical of many things within the European Union. I think you have probably gathered from my speech I’ve criticisms of the European Union. This is a decision about whether we stay in and argue for the kind of socially just Europe that I want, that our party wants, that the vast majority of trade unions and ordinary people of this country want. Or we walk away from it. That’s the decision that has been made. Does it mean I recant on everything I have ever said or done? Absolutely not. I’m sorry about that.
He also refused an invitation to say that he is pro-European.
- He suggested that in supporting the EU he was partly just reflecting the views of his party. This is what he said when asked if he was still a Eurosceptic.
We’ve had a very big debate within the Labour party and within trade unions. Overwhelming the Labour party and trade unions have come to the view that they wato to campaign for a social, just Europe ... That is the position we’ve reached. That is the position that has been adopted by the party. That is the party that I lead and that is the position I’m putting forward.
- He said he did not accept that immigration was too high. What was important was to tackle the problems associated with high immigration, such as low wages, he said.
- He said Britain had to be part of the EU to tackle issues like climate change.
I want to be part of a government that leads the way on climate change, leads the way on air quality, leads the way on pollution, leads the way on sustainability, leads the way on recycling and stops this attitude that somehow or other everything is expendable, everything is disposable and we can carry on destroying habits and the planet on which we live. Eventually that attitude will destroy us.
- He said he wanted Britain to be part of the EU to help develop a better approach to dealing with the refugee crisis.
There has to be an attitude of mind that everyone one of those people that is shuttling now between Turkey and Greece, all those people in refugee camps in Greece, or indeed people in refugee camps in Calais or Dunkirk - they’re all human beings, just like you and me. In a different set of circumstances we could all be in those refugee camps. Therefore I want to be part of a voice demanding a humanitarian and human approach dealing with this, that every European country plays its part, as Germany has done, in supporting and taking refugees so that they can live and contribute ...
What I want is an attitude of mind that understands the humanitarian issues. You are not going to solve the refugee crisis with tear gas, barbed wire, electronic surveillance and hatred. You will only solve it by mutual action, support and understanding of the human needs of everyone one of us to survive. And I wish to contribute to a stronger society for everbody else.
Updated
David Cameron has been lining up with Paddy Ashdown, the former Lib Dem leader, and Neil Kinnock, the former Labour leader, to make calls on behalf of Britain Stronger in Europe today.
Tessa Jowell, the Labour former culture secretary, was there too. At one point Cameron was in stitches.
Cameron also ended up standing at some point - to make it look as if he was in charge?
In the light of Jeremy Corbyn’s speech, the pollster James Morris points out that the research shows that Labour supporters are strongly motivated by the argument that it is worth voting to stay in the EU to stop the Tories attacking workers’ rights.
.@benatipsosmori @montie Indeed. Tory attack frame makes Lab identifiers 8 pnts more likely to find it v convincing pic.twitter.com/IwQfFScULQ
— James Morris (@JamesDMorris) April 14, 2016
These figures are from polling Morris’s firm did recently for a Fabian Society report looking at how voters respond to the various EU referendum arguments.
And here is George Eaton’s verdict on the Corbyn speech for the New Statesman. Here’s an extract.
Corbyn is not now, nor will he ever be an evangelist for the EU. But the Remain campaign already has a surplus of that political breed. Corbyn’s belated conversion to Brussels could prove to be an asset. Referendums are not won or lost based on the votes of the committed but on those of the waverers. Corbyn’s journey from “undecided” to “In” offers an example for others to emulate. In common with most British voters, he is a eurosceptic - but he is not a Brexiter.
Corbyn’s socialist case for “remain and reform” will animate an important section of the electorate - he now needs to make it far more often.
Channel 4 News’s Gary Gibbon has posted a blog with his verdict on Jeremy Corbyn’s speech. Here’s an excerpt.
To a question asking whether people would be convinced by his record of half-hearted support for the EU he insisted he never did half-hearted campaigning.
Well, on the pro-EU case, until now, that’s a flattering description of what he’s done. We’ll see whether it’s how history will record his contribution over the next few weeks. There could be a political prize if he looks like he’s contributed to the vote in a big way and become part of the national political furniture in a more established way.
Here today, there were no leaflets for those who’d attended, no great sense of occasion, no sense of an organisation. The rhetoric and delivery never remotely soared. But Alan Johnson, leaving the event, pronounced himself satisfied and insisted that the power of the convert would have special impact.
There’s an argument amongst Labour critics of Mr Corbyn about whether to challenge him before the EU referendum or after it, pressure from some quarters to hold back so as not to distract from the referendum. One MP critic said he and colleagues would be watching closely today today to see if Jeremy Corbyn was an asset or a liability in the referendum campaign.
Here is the full text of Jeremy Corbyn’s speech on Europe.
And here is Daniel Hannan, the Conservative MEP and leading Vote Leave campaigner, on Jeremy Corbyn.
As @sundersays says, the Blairites have managed to turn Corbyn on the *only* issue where he was more in line with voters than they were.
— Daniel Hannan (@DanHannanMEP) April 14, 2016
Here is some Labour reaction to the Jeremy Corbyn speech.
From Jon Lansman, a leftwing ally of Corbyn’s and the founder of Momentum
Corbyn makes EU case those of us close to the fence can support, growth not austerity, democracy not bureaucracy, people before profit
— Jon Lansman (@jonlansman) April 14, 2016
From Chuka Umunna, the former shadow business secretary
Delighted with @jeremycorbyn's speech making a powerful progressive case for the UK's membership of the European Union #LabourIN #StrongerIn
— Chuka Umunna (@ChukaUmunna) April 14, 2016
From Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary
The Labour leader is absolutely right to warn that Brexit is a danger to workers’ jobs and rights.
The broader labour movement is united behind the benefits of EU membership for working people.
Many of the biggest cheerleaders for Brexit have spent years dismissing rights like paid leave and maternity protections as ‘red tape’ to be binned.
So we know from their hostility that the threat to workers’ rights if we leave the EU is very real.
Corbyn's speech - Verdict
Corbyn’s speech - Verdict: Anyone who watched that speech will have wondered how Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader. It was rambling, and mostly rather second rate. But anyone who also managed to watch Corbyn during the Q&A (which unfortunately was not carried live) will understand why he did, because at that point he started to sound passionate and rather special.
But let’s start with the speech. If you were expecting a deep, rich argument for remaining in the EU you will have been disappointed. Although Corbyn did provide a range of reasons for voting Remain, the speech sounded like a list of talking points rather than a coherent narrative with a beginning, middle and an end. He certainly did not explain his “personal journey” from voting Out in 1975 to voting In now, as we were told he would. And, like a disobedient shopping trolley, he kept veering away from making the case for remaining in the EU into attacking the Tories, over tax avoidance or privatisation or the like. To be fair there is nothing wrong with a Labour leader attacking the Tories, and he deployed some good, waspish lines (eg, “the Conservatives are loyally committed to protecting one British industry in Europe - the tax avoidance industry”), but it all sounded a bit off-message.
It was also noticeable that he made little or no attempt to engage with the arguments made by the Brexit camp. For example, there was nothing about how long it might take to negotiate free trade deal, or whether the EU would really allow the UK access to the free market without also allowing free movement. These are the kind of points David Cameron makes all the time because he is interested in dismantling the Leave case point by point.
On the plus side, it sounded 100% sincere. If anyone was expecting Corbyn to parrot pro-EU homilies that he clearly did not believe, then they will have left disappointed. He did not say anything inauthentic or phoney and possibly his best moment came in the Q&A when an ITV reporter accused him of being “half-hearted”. He rebutted the claim successfully with the line: “There’s nothing half-hearted about anything I do.” And after that in the Q&A he got even better.
There is a book about the 1988 US presidential election by the late Richard Ben Cramer called What It Takes which is one of the best books on politics ever written. Cramer describes how George Bush was lacklustre and unfocused as a candidate, not least because he did not really seem to know why he wanted to be president, until at some point he became convinced that Michael Dukakis would be a disaster for America. That was the turning point, because suddenly Bush had a mission.
Corbyn has never been enthusiastic about the EU. But he was stirring and persuasive during the Q&A when he spoke about tackling issues like workers’ rights and the migration crisis at an EU level and, when he described what it would be like living in a Tory Brexit Britain, it felt as if he might have had his own Bush moment and discovered a reason for full-on commitment to the campaign .
Just imagine what the Tories would do to workers’ rights here in Britain if we voted to leave the EU in June. They’d dump rights on equal pay, working time, annual leave, for agency workers, and on maternity pay as fast as they could get away with it. It would be a bonfire of rights that Labour governments secured within the EU.
Not only that, it wouldn’t be a Labour government negotiating a better settlement for working people with the EU. It would be a Tory government, quite possibly led by Boris Johnson and backed by Nigel Farage, that would negotiate the worst of all worlds: a free market free-for-all shorn of rights and protections.
More of this, and Corbyn could energise the Labour pro-European vote very successfully. But whether or not he’s got the appetite for this remains to be seen.
Updated
Q: How can we achieve change when we are only one voice in 28?
Corbyn says we are not just one voice in 28. He says he has been building alliances in Europe, for example on the refugee crisis.
People who are refugees are people just like you and me, he says. He says he wants an attitude of mind that appreciates the human needs of refugees. You will not solve the refugee crisis by barbed wire, he says.
And that’s it.
The Q&A is over.
I will post a snap verdict soon, as well as a summary and a round-up of the most interesting reaction.
The media questions are over. Now Corbyn is taking questions from Labour supporters in the audience.
Q: What do you say to the argument that we can keep some of these rights if we leave the EU?
We could, Corbyn says. But we would have to fight to defend those rights.
Wouldn’t it be better to have a similarity of conditions across Europe, he says.
Look at what the right is doing on environmental protections. If we left the EU, they would do the same on employment rights. That is a “race to nowhere”, he says.
He says the $15 an hour campaign for fast food workers in the US has had a big impact. (See 10.19am.) We need the same in Europe, he says.
Corbyn says he wants to be part of a goverment that leads the way on climate change, on air quality, on the environment and on the sort of attitude that destroys the planet on which we live. Eventually that attitude will destroy us, he says.
Q: Can you reassure worried Labour MPs you will be out their campaigning every day for the EU after the local elections are over?
Corbyn says he tries to reassure worried Labour MPs every day. Don’t worry, he says. People will see a lot of him on the campaign trail.
Corbyn rejects claims his support for the EU is 'half-hearted'
Q: How will you convince people with such a half-hearted approach?
Corbyn says he was elected Labour leader seven months ago. Since then he has spoken at about 150 public meetings. There is nothing half-hearted about what is is doing, he says.
He is putting forward a political agenda about social justice in this country, but also about social justice all over Europe.
There is nothing half-hearted about anything I do.
This gets a large round of applause from the Labour supporters in the audience.
Q: Are you still a Eurosceptic?
Corbyn says he is putting forward the Labour party’s position.
Corbyn's Q&A
Q: Would you describe yourself as a pro-European? And do you think there are too many migrants coming to the UK?
Corbyn says he does not think too many migrants are coming to the UK. But he thinks there has to be a level playing field.
He says he has been critical of the EU. But he thinks it is best to stay in and argue for the kind of EU he wants. Does that mean he will recant everything he has said in the past? No, he says.
Here is Corbyn’s peroration.
Many people are still weighing up how they will vote in this referendum … And I appeal to everyone … especially young people – who will live longest with the consequences – to make sure you are registered to vote … and vote to keep Britain in Europe this June … This is about your future.
By working together across our continent … we can develop our economies … protect social and human rights … tackle climate change … and clamp down on tax dodgers.You cannot build a better world unless you engage with the world … build allies and deliver change … The EU, warts and all, has proved itself to be a crucial international framework to do that.
That is why I will be am backing Britain to remain in Europe … and I hope you will too.
Corbyn says there is 'strong socialist case' for staying in EU
Corbyn says there is a strong socialist for staying in the EU.
It is sometimes easier to blame the EU … or worse to blame foreigners … than to face up to our own problems … at the head of which right now is a Conservative government that is failing the people of Britain …
There is nothing remotely patriotic …. about selling off our country and our national assets to the highest bidder … or in handing control of our economy to City hedge-funds and tax-dodging corporations based in offshore tax havens.
There is a strong socialist case for staying in the European Union … just as there are is also a powerful socialist case for reform and progressive change in Europe….
Corbyn says after Brexit Tories would negotiate 'worst of all worlds'
Corbyn says workers’ rights would be under threat if the UK left the EU.
Just imagine what the Tories would do to workers’ rights here in Britain if we voted to leave the EU in June … They’d dump rights on equal pay, working time, annual leave, for agency workers, and on maternity pay as fast as they could get away with it … it would be a bonfire of rights that Labour governments secured within the EU.
Not only that, it wouldn’t be a Labour government negotiating a better settlement for working people with the EU….. It would be a Tory government, quite possibly led by Boris Johnson and backed by Nigel Farage ….. that would negotiate the worst of all worlds: a free market free-for-all shorn of rights and protections.
Corbyn says Brexiters are a threat to the NHS
Corbyn says some of the Brexiters are a threat to the NHS.
I value our NHS and admire the dedication of all its staff … It is Labour’s proudest creation … But right now, it would be in even greater crisis if many on the Leave side had their way … some of whom have argued against the NHS and free healthcare on demand in principle.
Corbyn says free movement has been good for Britons.
No doubt debate about EU membership in the next couple of months… will focus strongly on jobs and migration … We live in an increasingly globalised world … many of us will study, work or even retire abroad at some point in our lives …
Free movement has created opportunities for British people … There are nearly three-quarters of a million British people living in Spain … and over two million living in the EU as a whole.
But migration brings challenges too, he says.
But it’s only if there is government action to train enough skilled workers ….. to stop the exploitation of migrant labour to undercut wages ….. and invest in local services and housing in areas of rapid population growth that they will be felt across the country.
And this government has done nothing of the sort. Instead, its failure to train enough skilled workers … means we have become reliant on migration to keep our economy functioning …
Corbyn says this is especially true in the NHS.
This is especially true of our NHS … which depends on migrant nurses and doctors to fill vacancies … This government has failed to invest in training … and its abolition of nurses’ bursaries … and its decision to pick a fight with junior doctors is likely to make those shortages worse.
Corbyn says if you pollute the air, the wind carries that across borders. And the same applies to pollution in the sea. You can only tackle environmental pollution through international cooperation, he says.
Updated
Corbyn says EU has vital role in helping fight climate change
Corbyn says the EU is vital for tackling climate change.
The Conservative government has cut subsidies for solar power while increasing subsidies for diesel … it has cut regulatory burdens on fracking yet increased regulations on onshore wind … They say one thing, but do another.
Again … it has been regulations agreed in Europe that have improved Britain’s beaches and waterways … and that are forcing us to tackle the scandal of air pollution … which will kill 500,000 people in Britain by 2025 unless we act.
Working together in the European Union is vital for tackling climate change … and vital in protecting the environment we share.
Updated
Corbyn says EU 'vital for protecting human rights'
Corbyn says the EU is vital for protecting human rights.
The free market enthusiasts in the Leave campaign would put all those protections at risk … Labour is building alliances to safeguard them.
We must also put human rights at the centre of our trade agreements … not as an optional add-on ... we already have allies across Europe to do that … And the EU is vital for promoting human rights at home … As a result of EU directives and regulations … disabled people are protected from discrimination … Lifts, cars and buses need to be accessible, as does sea and air travel …
And it was the Labour government that signed the Human Rights Act into UK law … that transferred power from government – not to Brussels – but to individual citizens.
Corbyn says the EU is not to blame for privatisation.
Left to themselves, it is clear what the main Vote Leave vision is for Britain … to be the safe haven of choice for the ill-gotten gains of every dodgy oligarch, dictator … or rogue corporation.
They believe this tiny global elite is what matters … not the rest of us, who they dismiss as “low achievers”.
Corbyn says Vote Leave want Britain to be a tax haven.
Left to themselves, it is clear what the main Vote Leave vision is for Britain … to be the safe haven of choice for the ill-gotten gains of every dodgy oligarch, dictator … or rogue corporation.
They believe this tiny global elite is what matters … not the rest of us, who they dismiss as “low achievers”.
Corbyn accuses Tories of protecting 'tax avoidance industry'
Corbyn says there is one British industry the Conservatives are protecting.
Of course the Conservatives are loyally committed to protecting one British industry in Europe … the tax avoidance industry.
The most telling revelation about our Prime Minister … has not been about his own tax affairs … but that in 2013 he personally intervened with the European Commission president to undermine an EU drive to reveal the beneficiaries of offshore trusts … and even now, in the wake of the Panama Papers, he still won’t act.
And on six different occasions since the beginning of last year … Conservative MEPs have voted down attempts to take action against tax dodging.
Corbyn says the EU is not to blame for the problems with the steel industry.
There are certainly problems about EU state aid rules, which need reform. But if … as the Leave side argues … it is the EU that is the main problem, how is that Germany, Italy, France and Spain … have all done so much better at protecting their steel industries?
It is because those countries have acted … within EU state aid rules … to support their industries, whether through taking a public stake … investing in research and development … providing loan guarantees … or compensating for energy costs.
It is not the EU that is the problem, but a Conservative government here in Britain … that doesn’t recognise the strategic importance of steel … for our economy … and for the jobs and skills in those communities.
Corbyn calls for united EU action to protect the steel industry.
Take the crisis in the steel industry … It’s a global problem and a challenge to many European governments … So why is it only the British government that has failed so comprehensively to act to save steel production at home?
The European Commission proposed new tariffs on Chinese steel … but it was the UK Government that blocked these co-ordinated efforts … to stop Chinese steel dumping.
Those proposals are still on the table … So today I ask David Cameron and George Osborne to to start sticking up for British steel … and work with our willing European partners to secure its future.
Corbyn says socialists believe in international cooperation.
Today is the Global Day of Action for Fast Food Rights … In the US workers are demanding $15 an hour, in the UK £10 now … Labour is an internationalist party and socialists have understood from the earliest days of the labour movement that workers need to make common cause across national borders.
Corbyn says he wants to make the EU more accountable
Corbyn says he wants to make the EU more accountable to people.
But we also need to make the case for reform in Europe – the reform David Cameron’s government has no interest in, but plenty of others across Europe do.
That means democratic reform to make the EU more accountable to its people… Economic reform to end to self-defeating austerity and put jobs and sustainable growth at the centre of European policy… labour market reform to strengthen and extend workers’ rights in a real social Europe…. And new rights for governments and elected authorities to support public enterprise… and halt the pressure to privatise services.
So the case I’m making is for ‘Remain - and Reform’ in Europe.
Updated
Corbyn says EU now offers important protections
Corbyn says the EU now offers important protections.
In contrast to four decades ago, the EU of today brings together most of the countries of Europe and has developed important employment, environmental and consumer protections.
I have listened closely to the views of trade unions… environmental groups … human rights organisations… and of course to Labour party members and supporters, and fellow MPs. They are overwhelmingly convinced … that we can best make a positive difference by remaining in Europe.
Corbyn says it is possible to be critical of EU but remain a member
Corbyn admits that he has been very critical of the EU in the past.
Over the years I have been critical of many decisions taken by the EU… And I remain critical of its shortcomings ….. from its lack of democratic accountability to the institutional pressure to deregulate or privatise public services.
So Europe needs to change. But that change can only come from working with our allies in the EU. It’s perfectly possible to be critical … and still be convinced we need to remain a member.
I’ve even had a few differences with the direction the Labour party’s taken over the past few years … but I have been sure that it was right to stay a member … some might say I’ve even managed to do something about changing that direction.
Corbyn quotes Portugal’s new socialist prime minister, Antonio Costa, who said “in the face of all these crises around us …. We must not divide Europe – we must strengthen it”.
Corbyn says we face huge challenges in the coming century, like climate change, dealing with big corporations, cyber-crime, the refugee crisis and globalisation.
All these issues are serious and pressing, and self-evidently require international co-operation … Collective international action through the European Union is clearly going to be vital to meeting these challenges. Britain will be stronger if we co-operate with our neighbours in facing them together.
Corbyn says Labour “overwhelmingly” for staying in EU
Corbyn says Labour is “overwhelmingly” for staying in.
The Labour party is overwhelmingly for staying in … because we believe the European Union has brought investment … jobs … and protection for workers, consumers and the environment … and offers the best chance of meeting the challenges we face in the 21st century … Labour is convinced that a vote to remain is in the best interests of the people of this country.
Jeremy Corbyn is speaking now. He says Senate House, where he is speaking, is where George Orwell based his novel 1984. It was the model for the Ministry of Truth, he says.
He starts by thanking the Labour members here for their work for the party.
Alan Johnson is speaking now.
He says he has recently introduced speeches by Ed Miliband, Tom Watson and David Miliband.
At last he can now introduce someone who voted in 1975, he says.
He says he and Jeremy Corbyn voted differently in 1975. (Corbyn voted against EEC membership.) But now what is remarkable is the extent of unity in the party in favour of EU membership. Only a handful of Labour MPs are opposed.
Yesterday Unison came out in favour of staying in the EU. It found its female members were particularly keen to stay in, he says. He says that means the five biggest unions affiliated to Labour are all backing EU membership.
Jeremy Corbyn's speech
The Labour event is starting. Pat Glass, the shadow minister for Europe, is speaking first.
She says she will be followed by Alan Johnson, chair of Labour In for Britain, and then by Jeremy Corbyn.
Then there will be a Q&A session.
This is from my Guardian colleague Gaby Hinsliff.
Not something I always say but actually think Corbyn has caught the mood of the nation on EU. ie a grudging, reluctant, oh-god-if-I-must In
— Gaby Hinsliff (@gabyhinsliff) April 14, 2016
This is from Sky’s Faisal Islam.
At Corbyn speech - ask a top aide if he still considers himself eurosceptic - "I don't think he ever did"
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 14, 2016
(Even if he didn’t, everyone else thought Corbyn was Eurosceptic.)
This is from Matthew Goodwin, the politics professor taking a particular interest in the EU referendum.
Big day for Corbyn. Has to be unambiguous. EU membership=Good. If repeats reluctant passenger routine he'll keep momentum behind Brexit
— Matthew Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) April 14, 2016
Here is the audio of the Hilary Benn interview on the Today programme that I quoted from earlier.
Listen to @bbcnickrobinson press Hilary Benn on Jeremy Corbyn's past criticisms of the EU https://t.co/JN0KF3l2ty pic.twitter.com/TwOXxUpLUN
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) April 14, 2016
Leave.EU accuses Corbyn of hypocrisy
The Leave.EU campaign group is accusing Jeremy Corbyn of hypocrisy.
It's a shame @JeremyCorbyn feels compelled to endorse an institution he doesn't believe in to appease the Blairites. pic.twitter.com/fvqw7U0apm
— LEAVE.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) April 14, 2016
Whatever happened to this @JeremyCorbyn? #Gagged #LeaveEU pic.twitter.com/jJu83DWzbo
— LEAVE.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) April 14, 2016
Leave.EU has sent out a press release quoting Brendan Chilton, general secretary of Labour GO (Grassroots Out) accusing Corbyn of going back on his principles. Chilton said:
It’s extremely sad to see Jeremy, who went through the lobbies with principled Labour Brexiters like Tony Benn for years, forced into this warty embrace.
The EU is bad for democracy, has created a free market in cut-price labour for unscrupulous employers and hurts people in developing countries through its unjustiable policies on agriculture, fishing and trade.
Labour is an internationalist party and of course it should be engaged with the wider world, but the anti-democratic EU actually stops us from doing this by insisting on speaking for us in many important regional and global forums, preventing us from adopting independent positions with different groups of countries on different issues and undermining the principle of democratic representation.
Leave.EU has put out a press notice claiming that Corbyn has removed anti-EU articles from his website in an attempt “to whitewash his Eurosceptic past”.
Here is the scene at the University of London’s Senate House where Jeremy Corbyn is speaking at 10am.
Waiting for @jeremycorbyn Euro Blast Off. pic.twitter.com/mYgNnx5grY
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) April 14, 2016
Corbyn ahead of Osborne on best prime minister, poll suggests
Here, as promised, are some more details from the YouGov poll on Europe in the Times= (paywall). As I have already said, it shows that Jeremy Corbyn is more trusted on Europe now than David Cameron. Other findings include:
- Britons are split 50/50 on whether to leave the EU, the poll suggests. Or, to be precise, Leave and Remain are both on 39%.
- Labour is three points ahead of the Conservatives on voting intention. It shows Labour on 34%, the Conservatives on 31%, Ukip on 17% and the Lib Dems on 8%.
- Cameron has a seven-point lead over Corbyn on who would make the best prime minister (32% to 25%). Boris Johnson would only have a five-point lead (34% to 29%). But Corbyn has a 13-point lead over George Osborne (34% to 21%).
- Voters oppose the government’s decision to send out its pro-EU leaflet. Some 49% say the government was wrong to send it out, and only 29% say it was right to do so.
Who would have thought that we would get to the point where Britain’s leading pro-Europeans - figures from the New Labour aristocracy like Tony Blair, Peter Mandelson and David Miliband, and recent Tory converts to Europe like David Cameron and George Osborne - are now dependent on Jeremy Corbyn to win them the EU referendum?
But that is where we have got to. Polls suggest the nation is roughly split 50/50 on leaving the EU, Conservative voters are leaning Out, Labour supporters broadly favour In but they are not as motivated as the hard-core Brexiters and the survey evidence suggests that the person best placed to motivate them to turn out and support EU membership is Corbyn.
The problem is that for most of his parliamentary career Corbyn has been a hardcore Eurosceptic. Even during the Labour leadership contest last summer he would not rule out voting to leave the EU. But since becoming party leader he has swallowed his Euroscepticism and accepted (partly under pressure from colleagues) that the party will take a firm pro-EU line in the referendum.
Today he is going to give his first big speech explaining why. In an interview on the Today programme this morning Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, said people would be “surprised” by the enthusiasm he would be showing for the EU.
Jeremy’s speech today will surprise quite a few people. The argument that he is making is all the stronger because the Labour party, Jeremy, I, lots of people have been on a journey over those last 40 years. The world has changed. And the truth is, if we are going to deal with those great challenges of this century, peace and security, climate change, economic progress, tackling poverty, then the only way we can do that is to work in collaboration with our neighbours and being part of this huge, important market, with great political and economic influence is the best way to do that.
Here’s our preview of the speech.
Ahead of the speech Corbyn’s standing has been boosted by a YouGov poll in the Times showing that Corbyn is now trusted more than David Cameron on the EU. Here are the key figures.
I will post more from the poll soon.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: David Lidington, the Europe minister, and Theresa Villiers, the Northern Ireland secretary who is backing Brexit, speak at the FT Future of Europe conference.
10am: Jeremy Corbyn delivers his speech on Europe.
Around 11.30am: MPs begin a debate on a backbench motion calling for the Chilcot report into the Iraq war to be published before the middle of May.
2pm: Sadiq Khan, Zac Goldsmith and other London mayoral candidates take part in a disability hustings.
I will be focusing on the Corbyn speech in particular today but, as usual, I will also be covering other breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I will post a summary around lunchtime and another in the afternoon.
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