Afternoon summary
- Theresa May has dismissed an attempt by Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, to differentiate Labour’s Brexit strategy from the Conservatives’ as “nonsensical”. (See 12.14pm and 3.29pm.) There are now some key differences between the two parties: Labour would unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, it would not rule out staying in the customs union, and it would commit to matching not just existing EU laws guaranteeing worker rights and environmental standards, but future EU laws covering these areas too. But, like May, Labour wants to be able to obtain the best possible access to the single market while no longer accepting free movement. As my colleague Dan Roberts explains in his analysis, Starmer’s plan “may sound like a lawyer’s version of Boris Johnson’s wish to have his cake and eat it.”
- May has said that people should not trust the polls and that Labour could win. (See 3.29pm.)
- Roy Hattersley, the former Labour deputy leader, has said that Jeremy Corbyn’s policies are “doomed to failure” and that up to 10 Labour MPs who are credible alternative leaders should speak out against him. (See 4.42pm.)
- MPs have approved a slimmed-down budget in a bid to ensure tax and spending measures are in place before parliament stops for the general election. As the Press Association reports, some of the tax avoidance proposals announced by chancellor Philip Hammond in March were among the policies removed, including a crackdown on “enablers” via the introduction of a new penalty. But moves to introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks with the most added sugar from April 2018 are among the parts of the finance (no 2) bill to survive. The government agreed with other parties to remove parts of the Bill to guarantee its progress before next week’s dissolution.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
Updated
Support in Scotland for independence has hit one of its lowest levels in recent years, down to 37%, according to a new poll by Kantar, the polling company formerly known as TNS.
In the latest of several sobering polls for Nicola Sturgeon, Kantar also found only 26% of voters favoured a new referendum within the first minister’s preferred timeframe of autumn 2018 to spring 2019. While 11% backed one later in 2019 or in 2020, and 7% supported on after 2020, 46% of voters (including 20% of SNP voters) wanted no new referendum at any time.
Once don’t knows were excluded, Kantar found 40% backed independence while 60% opposed it amongst those certain to vote. The last independence referendum figures recorded by Kantar TNS in September 2016 had a far tighter headline result, with 47% yes and 53% no – figures close to the recent average.
Kantar’s Tony Costley said the latest poll was carried out just before Theresa May’s decision to call a snap election, but said next week’s council elections would be an important weathervane for the general election.
Scottish party preference polls released after the prime minister’s announcement show a fall in SNP support compared to 50% it won at the 2015 general election: Survation for the Sunday Post put SNP down at 43% while Panelbase in the Sunday Times put the SNP at 44%.
“Media criticism of the Scottish government’s performance in areas such as health and education may be having an impact with voters,” he said. “The changing economic outlook in Scotland, particularly in relation to the oil industry, may also have led to voters reassessing independence.”
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has said that he does not believe gay sex is a sin.
Previously Farron, an evangelical Christian, has said that he does not believe being gay is a sin, but has refused to say whether he views gay sex as sinful.
"I don't believe gay sex is a sin" - @timfarron in BBC exclusive, answering question he'd avoided https://t.co/6pp2zEMalT #GE2017 pic.twitter.com/8H9exB4qvT
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) April 25, 2017
A Tory MSP has announced he will stand down at Holyrood to focus on the fight for a target seat at Westminster, the Press Association reports. John Lamont, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders, will resign from the Scottish parliament to focus on campaigning in the general election. He is contesting the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency, which covers much of the same area as his current role.
Former Labour deputy leader Roy Hattersley says Corbyn's policies are 'doomed to failure'
On the World at One Roy Hattersley, who was deputy leader of the Labour party under Neil Kinnock, was interviewed about the election. He said there were up to 10 Labour MPs who were credible alternative leaders who should be speaking out against Jeremy Corbyn. If they did not act, Labour could be out of power for another decade, he said.
Here is the key quote.
The situation in the Labour party is far worse than it was in 1983 ... I think there’s half a dozen, perhaps 10, members of parliament in the Labour party who would make perfectly good leaders. They ought to be speaking out for the real Labour party rather than let all the running go to policies which are divisive and doomed to failure.
The Labour party will continue. Democratic socialism is far too strong an idea to be defeated completely. But we may be out of power for the next two or three general elections. And Neil Kinnock says not again in his lifetime, which may be an overstatement of either his health or the Labour party’s condition. But it will be a long period unless we pull our fingers out straight away and start, some people, talking about the real Labour party and what it stands for.
There is no future in a split. The Labour party can be put right as long as people start working on it now. But what we want is people saying this is the real Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn’s ideas are not the Labour party’s ideas, we stand for something better and different and more electable ...
The idea of going slow, waiting for [the party] to implode is a terrible mistake. We need to reassure people in the country there is a real Labour party. There are many people I meet every day [who] say what’s happening to the Labour party. What we need to convince them is what’s happening is temporary and there are better people [who] can do a better job.
Labour grandee Lord Hattersley calls for up to 10 backbench MPs to stand up & stop Labour 'imploding.' 📻https://t.co/lWt1DamXVY
— The World at One (@BBCWorldatOne) April 25, 2017
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, was due to make a statement to the Scottish parliament setting out her next steps towards getting a referendum on Scottish independence after next week’s local elections. But, according to the BBC, her spokesman has now said this will be delayed until after the general election.
An attempt by the pro-European Social Democratic and Labour Party to form an anti-Brexit pact with other parties has foundered on the issue of abortion in Northern Ireland.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood had suggested last week that anti-Brexit parties could help each other out in individual constituencies by standing aside to let the strongest pro-European candidate triumph over unionists.
South Belfast was mooted as one such constituency where the SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell could be under a pressure from an agreed pan-unionist candidate.
Unionist parties in the House of Commons voted to trigger article 50.
However, the leader of the Green Party, Steven Agnew, has effectively killed off the chance of a pro-European front in the general election.
Agnew today cited McDonnell and the SDLP’s opposition to reforming Northern Ireland’s strict anti-abortion laws.
The region is the only part of the UK where abortion is illegal except in cases where continuing a pregnancy would pose a direct threat to a woman’s life. Which in turn means that thousands of Northern Irish women have to travel to England to terminate pregnancies.
Explaining why the Greens would not stand aside in South Belfast and back an anti-Brexit pact, Agnew said:
The Green party could not ask voters to support Alasdair McDonnell. Mr McDonnell doesn’t trust women, as evidenced by his position at the forefront of the SDLP anti-choice policy.
Agnew confirmed that the Greens had met Sinn Fein but said his party could not join forces in an electoral pact with them either because the republican party boycotts Westminster.
With the centrist Alliance Party ruling out any deal with Sinn Fein or the SDLP the chances of an anti-Brexit election deal are fading fast.
As Business Insider reports, Theresa May mis-spoke during her speech. She said she wanted Britain to “lead the world in preventing tourism” when she meant terrorism, obviously.
The Daily Mirror’s chicken was there for the Theresa May event.
Bit of argy bargy as the PM left, as well as the Mirror Chicken of course - not everyone in Wales exactly delighted to see her
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) April 25, 2017
Theresa May's speech and Q&A - Summary
Here are the main points from Theresa May’s speech and Q&A.
- May said that people should not trust the polls and that Labour could win.
And make no mistake - it [a Labour victory] could happen. Remember, the opinion polls were wrong in the 2015 general election. They were wrong in the referendum last year. And Jeremy Corbyn himself has said he was a 200 to 1 outsider for the Labour leadership in 2015 and look where that one went. So we must not be complacent and I’m not complacent.
- She claimed Labour’s Brexit plan was “nonsensical”.
What we have seen today from Labour is I think their seventh Brexit plan. It is yet another nonsensical Jeremy Corbyn plan for the future in terms of Brexit.
May seemed to be referring to the argument made by Damian Green this morning (see 8.28am), that because Labour was not willing to contemplate leaving the EU with no deal, it would have to accept whatever it was offered. In many respects Labour’s Brexit plan is very similar to hers. See 2.14pm.
- She said the Tories would “always be a party that believes in lower taxes”. But she refused to say whether or not she would keep the 2015 manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance in the next parliament. Asked about this, she said:
There is going to be a choice at this election. There is a choice between a Conservative party which always has been, is and will always be a party that believes in lower taxes. If you look at what we have done as a Conservative government in the last few years, 31m people have seen a cut in their income tax. Four million people have been taken out of paying income tax altogether. And the choice is between that and a Labour party whose natural instinct is always to put up taxes.
- She said that the Conservative party was working on long-term plans to address the social care crisis. But she refused to say whether or not they would feature in the manifesto.
- She refused to say whether the manifesto would include plans for above-inflation increases in NHS spending.
- She claimed this was “the most important election this country has faced in my lifetime”.
Updated
Here is the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on the Theresa May event.
At May event of Tory members in Wales, in one of constituencies they believe they could snatch from labour despite huge majorities
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) April 25, 2017
May was in Bridgend, where Labour’s Madeleine Moon had a majority of 1,927 over the Conservatives at the last general election. The seat is significant the Welsh assembly Bridgend seat is held by Carwyn Jones, the Labour first minister of Wales. His majority in the 2016 election was 5,623.
PMs fifth visit to Wales in 3 months - says a lot about the chances they feel they have here-Labour sources play down 'we 're not panicking'
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) April 25, 2017
May being explicit 'give me a mandate'
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) April 25, 2017
May claims Labour now putting together a '7th Brexit plan' - trying to bang coalition drum again even tho labour and lib dems rule it out
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) April 25, 2017
May again would let commit to keeping Cameron's tax lock, nor would she get into suggestions she might cut tax for low paid
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) April 25, 2017
Q: In a speech to Goldman Sachs last year you said the UK should stay in the single market. Why have you changed your mind?
May says she wanted the UK to stay in the EU. But she always said the sky would not fall in if the UK left.
She says she wants the best possible trade arrangements with the single market.
And that’s it. The Q&A is over.
I will post a summary soon. Although that may be a struggle, because for the most part May as robustly unenlightening.
I tend to bill this events as Q&As. Perhaps Q&NA might be a better acronym.
Q: You have committed to giving £10bn to the NHS by 2020. But the next parliament will take us beyond that date. Will you provide above-inflation increases beyond that date?
May says people will have to wait until the manifesto is out.
But there is a clear choice, she says. The Conservatives are putting more money into the NHS. They put in more than Labour proposed at the last election.
But she cannot stand here in Wales and talk about the NHs without saying look at the problems here in Wales if you want to know what would happen if Labour ran the NHS.
Q: You say you want a long-term plan for social care. Will that be in the manifesto?
May says people will have to wait until it is published.
The government has, as a short-term measures, put more money into social care. And in the medium term it wants to encourage best practice, she says.
But the government is working on a long-term issue.
May says Labour’s Brexit plan is 'nonsensical'
May says Labour have today issued their seventh Brexit plan. It is yet another nonsensical plan.
- May says Labour’s Brexit plan is “nonsensical”.
May's Q&A
May is now taking questions.
Q: You warn against complacency. But you would not be here in Labour territory if you did not think you would win. Are you planning to raise taxes or lower them? And how far will you go to win in Labour areas?
May says the Conservatives have always been a party that believes in lower taxes.
Whereas Labour’s natural instinct is to put up taxes, she says.
As for where she is campaigning, she says every singe vote counts. Every vote for her and for Conservative candidates will strengthen her hand, she says.
She urges people to give her a mandate to speak for Britain, to fight for Britain and to deliver for Britain.
She says she wants to lead the world in fighting terrorism, but also fighting modern slavery.
She says Brexit is not a process, it is an opportunity.
And she attacks the “separatists” who want to break up this precious union of nations.
May says in Wales Labour has worked with Plaid Cymru. That shows the coalition of chaos you would get if Jeremy Corbyn won the election.
And she repeats the point she made to the cabinet this morning (see 1.47pm), saying the polls cannot be trusted.
May says she is offering strong and stable leadership. That is what leadership looks like, she says.
Just in case you fail to get the message, look at the placards in the background.
May says when she took over after the referendum there were predictions of a financial crash. But that did not happen.
People said the country was divided.
But she sees a real unity of purpose, she says.
Theresa May's speech in Wales
Theresa May is speaking in Bridgend in south Wales now.
She says this will be the most important election in her lifetime.
Wales is important to her because Wales is important to the country, she says.
She says a vote for will strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations.
And a vote for any other part will be a vote for a “weak and failing” Jeremy Corbyn, she says.
Responding to Sir Keir Starmer’s Brexit speech, David Davis, the Brexit secretary, said Labour was too weak and divided to get a good deal in the EU withdrawal negotiations. He said:
Jeremy Corbyn is too weak and floundering to get a good deal in the Brexit negotiations. A divided Labour party, propped up by a Liberal Democrat SNP coalition of chaos, can’t even agree amongst themselves on Brexit. Putting this chaotic team in charge of negotiating with the EU would be a dangerous risk to Britain’s future.
In a briefing note the Conservatives said that, although Starmer said this morning that freedom of movement would have to end, in the past Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, has repeatedly expressed support for freedom of movement. For example, in November last year she said:
Those of us who are arguing for the least harmful Brexit have to be clear to people that there is no deal to be done on freedom of movement, and to imperil our economic interests as a country because of anti-immigrant feeling would scarcely be responsible.
May tells cabinet ministers not to trust the polls
Theresa May told cabinet ministers were told this morning not to trust the polls, according to a read-out of what was said at this morning’s political cabinet from a CCHQ spokesman. The spokesman said:
The political cabinet met this morning for approximately an 1 hour to discuss progress since parliament voted to endorse the prime minister’s decision that there should be a general election on June 8 ...
The party chairman ran the cabinet through the upcoming elements of the campaign, and agreed with his assembled colleagues that the party will need to campaign hard for every vote, in every part of the country.
The prime minister reminded her colleagues that publicly available opinion polling has been proved wrong repeatedly, in the EU referendum, in the most recent US presidential election, and in Conservatives’ successful campaign in the 2015 general election, and that when Jeremy Corbyn first announced his intention to run for Labour leader his odds were put at 200/1.
There is a clear and important choice on 8 June, between Theresa May’s Conservative team providing strong and stable leadership for the United Kingdom, or a coalition of chaos and instability led by a floundering, weak and nonsensical Jeremy Corbyn that will put our nation’s future at risk.
Labour has a general election script which has been passed to the Guardian - showing the party’s MPs will put their core focus on UK issues like schools, social care and the NHS, rather than defence or Brexit.
The leaked document reveals the party’s dominant attack line - that Theresa May’s party is for “the privileged few” and that Labour will be “for the many not the few.”
Jeremy Corbyn’s name is only mentioned once in the two-sided document. MPs should stress that the election “is not a re-run of the EU referendum” and that the party only objects to the Tory “reckless approach o Brexit”.
The election should be seen as a chance for a fresh start, the script said.
Under the key pledges to mention, Brexit is not among them, but the flagship policies are a £10 living wage, a national investment bank to create £500bn to fund capital projects and infrastructure and a guarantee on the triple lock pensions.
The script also says MPs should say that a Labour government “will always give the NHS the money it needs.”
Labour MPs have been sent this general election script. Essentially, talk about schools and hospitals, not Brexit or war. pic.twitter.com/wAO1Eppqhm
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 25, 2017
One of the best jobs for a backbencher in the Commons has just become vacant because the Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie, chair of the Treasury committee, has announced that he is standing down. In a statement he said:
It has been an exhilarating twenty years. I have done what I can to make a contribution, particularly in efforts to improve banking standards and to shape a more trusted and resilient financial sector after the crisis of 2008. I have also sought to play a part in reviving Parliament’s relevance, not least by making the case for select committee chairmen to be elected by their fellow MPs. Stronger committees now demand better explanations for the decisions made by ministers, regulators, and quangos than hitherto. I particularly want to thank my colleagues and the staff on the Treasury committee who have worked with me to drive these changes forward.
Tyrie is MP for Chichester where he had a majority of 24,413 at the last election.
According to a report for PoliticsHome, at least half a dozen Ukip MEPs are also opposed to the party’s call for a burqa ban.
Ukip's foreign affairs spokesman resigns in protest over Ukip's call for burqa ban
James Carver has resigned as Ukip’s foreign and Commonwealth affairs spokesman in protest against the party’s call for a burqa ban. In a statement he said:
I would be one of the first to condemn a ban on wearing a crucifix as an infringement of liberty. No-one has the right to dictate what people should wear.
When facial identification is necessary, such as at passport controls, or in a bank, then it is perfectly reasonable to order the removal of veils, as is the practice, but in a free and liberal society, people have a right to their religious beliefs, and to dress as they see fit.
It is, therefore, with deep regret, that I have decided to resign as Ukip’s foreign and Commonwealth affairs spokesman, as I feel this policy undermines my desire to represent all communities within the West Midlands, including the many British Muslims, who, I know, from first-hand experience, voted to leave the EU in last year’s referendum.
Carver has always been on the more liberal wing (such as there is one) of Ukip. But Arron Banks, a hardliner, has criticised the policy too. (See 9.53am.)
Starmer firmly rules out Labour holding a second Brexit referendum
Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, has now firmly ruled out Labour having a second Brexit referendum, ITV’s Robert Peston reports. Earlier Starmer strongly played down the prospect, but did not quite say it would never happen. (See 12.41pm.)
.@Keir_Starmer just categorically ruled out Labour going for 2nd Brexit referendum in any circs, even if we crash out of EU with no deal
— Robert Peston (@Peston) April 25, 2017
.@Keir_Starmer also told me Lab would be prepared to see role for ECJ and preferential immigration rights for EU nationals in an EU deal
— Robert Peston (@Peston) April 25, 2017
The Political Studies Association hosted a briefing on next week’s local elections this morning. Here is the Press Association write-up of the main points.
Labour is heading for a battering at local polls just weeks before the general election, academics have forecast.
Experts said Jeremy Corbyn’s party was facing “a kicking” in Wales in the May 4 council elections and is “heading for disaster” in Scotland, where it could lose control of all the local authorities it holds, as the Scottish National Party and Conservatives reap the benefits of strong opinion poll ratings.
Meanwhile, new analysis suggested that Labour could shed 75 seats in English councils - almost one in seven of the total it is defending, after boundary changes are taken into account.
Analysis by Plymouth University professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher put Conservatives on track for likely gains of around 115 councillors in the English county, unitary and metropolitan seats up for grabs next month.
Liberal Democrats, who were at a low point when the bulk of the English seats were last contested in 2013, stand to gain around 85 and have hopes of gaining control of Cornwall.
But Ukip is facing near wipeout, with the prospect of losing 105 out of the total of 145 seats they won last time round, many of which they have already forfeited due to defections.
In Wales, Conservatives could gain 50 or more seats from a low base, but Labour looks set for a “broader retreat”, with councillors picked off not only by the Tories but also by Plaid Cymru, Lib Dems and independents, said Professor Roger Scully of Cardiff University.
Having performed “exceptionally” the last time the Welsh seats were contested in 2012, Corbyn’s party is likely to see losses in three figures in Wales and to lose majority control of its three major cities, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, said Prof Scully.
“It’s very likely we will see Labour lose more council seats in Wales than in the whole of England,” he told a briefing hosted by the Political Studies Association in London.
“Labour are likely to get another kicking in the local elections in Wales.”
Strathclyde University’s Professor John Curtice said it was difficult to predict numbers of councillors because of the complicated proportional voting system north of the border.
But he said Labour was likely to lose its role as the dominant force in Scottish local government to the Scottish National Party, with Conservatives also making gains.
“The Labour vote has been collapsing, and if you look at some of the by-elections in Glasgow it’s been horrendous,” Prof Curtice said.
“It looks as though Labour is heading for disaster north of the border. And therefore, it will be very, very surprising indeed if Labour retains control of any council in Scotland.”
Selfie Queen Karen Danczuk is hoping to enter parliament after applying to be a Labour candidate at the general election, the Press Association reports. The celebrity, who first shot to fame for posting a series of revealing selfies on Twitter, is hoping to be chosen to stand for Labour in the marginal Bury North constituency. Danczuk has served as a Labour councillor for four years in her home town Rochdale. She is estranged from her husband and father of her two sons, Simon Danczuk, the sitting MP in Rochdale.
Lib Dems claim Labour voting record shows it cannot be trusted on Brexit
The Lib Dems have issued a five-point rebuttal to the Keir Starmer speech setting out reasons why Labour cannot be trusted on Brexit. Here is is in full.
Claim: Keir Starmer says the Conservatives are going about Brexit the wrong way and that Labour disagrees with the Brexit white paper
So why did he support the Article 50 Bill at 2nd and 3rd reading?
Claim: EU citizens deserve rights
So why didn’t Labour whip their peers to keep it in the article 50 bill?
Claim: says no deal would be terrible
So why didn’t Labour support amendments calling for the UK to remain if parliament rejected the deal?
Claim: they want to keep the benefits of the single market and customs union
So why won’t Labour fight for membership of the EEA?
Claim: Labour will fight to keep vital protections
So why have Labour given the Tories a blank cheque on Brexit?
Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood says she won't stand in general election
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has told the Guardian she thought long and hard about putting herself forward as a general election candidate – but has decided against. “We need strong voices in our national assembly because it’s under threat,” she said.
Wood launched her party’s election campaign in Bangor, north Wales, just across the Menai Strait from Anglesey – Ynys Môn – a key target for Plaid.
She said Plaid was “resolute and ready”, the party machine fired up and ready to go. The local elections next month would be used as a springboard for its general election campaign.
Plaid has already called the election in the Tories’ favour – but argues that a strong Plaid team can limit any damage it causes to Wales. Wood said:
Wales is in grave danger. The Conservative party wants to see this nation under London control. They’ve never liked devolution. They seek a mandate to continue with austerity, privatisations, cuts to frontline services.
She said an emboldened Tory government would try to “rob” Wales of millions of pounds.
Labour can’t defend Wales. They are weak and divided, too busy fighting among themselves. They’ve abandoned ship and now they’re arguing over who gets the life-rafts.
Plaid Cymru stands ready to defend Wales. This is a question of survival now. Plaid Cymru will stop our nation from being sidelined, we will stop our people being forgotten.
Leanne Wood in Bangor at Plaid Cymru launch. pic.twitter.com/ecmt3u5LMc
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) April 25, 2017
Ukip claims Labour's Brexit plan is 'to not even pretend to have left'
Paul Nuttall, the Ukip leader, claims Labour would effectively keep the UK in the EU. He said:
Mrs May doesn’t have much of Brexit plan to start with but Labour’s plans are even worse than hers.
Mrs May intends to fudge exit so we leave in name but not in reality, Labour’s plan is to not even pretend to have left. Under their plans, we might as well not even bother. This is as near as you can get to staying in without remaining within the EU.
Their fixation on going back and back to parliament is merely cover for a desire to block Brexit and at best will hearten the EU to play the hardest ball possible during the next two years of negotiations.
Starmer's speech and Q&A - Summary and analysis
Last night Lord Mandelson, the Labour former cabinet minister and leading pro-European, told Newsnight he did not know what Labour’s position on Brexit was. (See 9.09am.) Sir Keir Starmer’s Today interview probably did not give Mandelson all the answers he wanted, but we have now had the full speech, setting out Labour’s offer on Brexit.
Will Mandelson now feel enlightened? Undoubtedly Starmer has now identified some real dividing lines between Labour’s approach and the Conservatives’. On the Today programme he was talking a great deal about a difference of tone. (See 9,09am.) In his speech he was more specific on policy, not least accepting that Labour would continue to effectively adopt new EU labour regulations after Brexit. That is a significant commitment.
But in other respects he was unpersuasive. Starmer claimed that Labour would prioritise the economy over controlling immigration in the Brexit talks, unlike Theresa May who says the opposite. However he also said that Labour could no longer accept the current rules on free movement, suggesting that in practice Labour Brexit negotiators would be in much the same position as Tory ones; haggling for the best possible access to the single market while refusing to give the free movement guarantees that could keep the UK in.
Here is a summary.
- Starmer said that Labour would ensure that Britain does not just implement existing EU laws guaranteeing worker rights and environmental standards too, but future ones too. He made this clear when he said Labour would replace the Conservatives’ great repeal bill with an EU rights and protections bill.
So instead of going ahead with the Tories’ great repeal bill we will introduce new legislation – an EU rights and protections bill.
This will make sure that all EU-derived laws – including workplace laws, consumer rights and environmental protections – are fully protected without qualifications, limitations or sunset clauses. We will work with trade unions, businesses and stakeholders to ensure there is a consensus on this vital issue.
A Labour approach to Brexit will ensure there can be no rolling back of key rights and protections.
And we will go further, because protecting existing rights can never be the summit of our ambition. A Labour government will work with EU partners, trade unions and businesses to ensure that, outside the EU, the UK does not lag behind Europe in workplace protections or environmental standards in future.
This marks a key dividing line with the Conservatives, and it would help a Labour government negotiate a deal guaranteeing good access to the single market, because the EU would not have to worry about the UK cutting standards post Brexit to make its economy more competitive. But such an assurance would also make it harder for a Labour government to explain what was the point in the UK leaving the EU in the first place.
- He said new powers being returned to the UK, relating to devolved matters like agriculture, would be handed over to the devolved assemblies. The Conservatives have not given this assurance. But Starmer said:
This brings me to another commitment we will have in our manifesto: a presumption that any new powers that are transferred back from Brussels should go straight to the relevant devolved body.
This will apply to regional government across England, as well as to the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This was a proposal included by the mayor of London in his Brexit White Paper and it is one a Labour Government will take forward.
Starmer claimed that this would “help bring the country together”. Devolving powers is not aways seen as a move that brings the country together, but Starmer argued that further centralisation would be divisive. “A Tory Brexit will push the country further apart and lead to a concentration of power in Whitehall,” he said.
- Starmer said that Labour would prioritise the economy over immigration in Brexit talks - although he also ruled out Labour keeping Britain in the European Economic Area (EEA). In his speech Starmer said Labour would replace the government’s Brexit white paper with its own.
Our white paper will make clear that jobs and the economy are Labour’s priority throughout – whereas the Conservatives are willing to put this at risk.
This does mark another dividing line with Theresa May; the Conservatives are taking the UK out of the single market because May believes that regaining control of immigration must take priority, and this is incompatible with single market membership, because countries have to accept free movement to be in the single market. But in the Q&A Starmer also made that argument. Labour accepted that the free movement rules had to change, he said, making it clear that Labour would not try to keep Britain in the EEA.
As it currently stands, membership of the single market is incompatible with our clarity about the fact that freedom of movement rules have to change.
But Starmer also hinted that Britain could stay a member of some kind of reformed single market.
On Twitter some commentators say they find Starmer’s position confusing.
These are from the Mail on Sunday’s Dan Hodges.
How is Labour's stance on SM access different, in practical terms, from Theresa May's stance?
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) April 25, 2017
Unless I'm missing something, Labour's line appears to be "we'll negotiate for SM membership, but we know we won't get it".
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) April 25, 2017
And this is from the academic Glen O’Hara.
I now have absolutely no clue where #Labour stands on #Brexit at all. So confused.
— Glen O'Hara (@gsoh31) April 25, 2017
- Starmer said Labour would consider keeping Britain in the customs union.
- He said Labour would aim to give parliament a vote on the Brexit deal in autumn 2018.
- He firmly played down the prospect of Labour holding a second referendum on Brexit. Although he did not give an explicit commitment not to have one, as well as questioning the practicalities of having one (by the time people knew what the final deal was like, the UK would be out, he said), he said it was bad politics too.
As a political party you have to make choices about how you react to something that you did not want to happen. I didn’t want us to leave the EU. The Labour party campaigned for us to [remain]. But we had a decision, and we respect the decision. We’ve got a choice. Do we look backwards, and try and rub out what happened? Or do we stand up and face the challenges ahead? And I think we must do the second of those. And that is what we are doing.
- He said Labour wanted to maintain membership of, or links with, key EU agencies. He said:
We will seek to maintain membership of or equivalent relations with European organisations which offer benefits to the UK, such as Euratom, the European Medicines Agency, Europol and Eurojust – two agencies I worked closely with as DPP.
Q: The best deal is to remain. Your speech made that clear. So, as a lawyer, why not do a de jure exit and a de facto remain?
Starmer says he wanted the UK to remain.
But it was a referendum for real, he says.
If the UK had voted to remain, he would have expected people to honour that.
So he accepts the need to honour the result.
Labour cannot spend all its time trying to “rub out yesterday”, he says. It must face the future, not the past.
And that’s it. The Q&A is over.
I will post a summary soon.
Starmer says Labour would not just transpose EU environmental rights into UK law. There would have to be an enforcement mechanism too, he says.
Q: Has HMRC got the capacity to deal with all the new customs returns it would have to handle after Brexit?
Starmer says Labour wants to negotiate to ensure there are no new customs burdens.
It would be impossible to put in place new arrangements in two years, he says. That is why the government must be clear that leaving with no deal is not an option. There has to be a transitional deal, he says.
And this is not just true in customs. In criminal justice, leaving without a deal on information sharing would also be unthinkable, he says.
Starmer says EU referendum result was a vote for managed migration
Q: What would you do to help firms that rely on EU migrant labour?
Starmer says it is important to differentiate between different types of immigrants.
The UK has obligations to refugees, he says.
He says students should not be included in immigration figures.
That leaves family immigration, and work.
Regarding work, the UK needs a system that works for families and communities. We have to be honest and accept that the referendum result was a vote for managed migration.
- Starmer says EU referendum result was a vote for managed migration.
Starmer says the Norway model works for them. It would not make sense to negotiate a model that works for someone else. The UK should negotiate a model that works for the UK, he says.
Starmer says the government should not be using EU nationals as bargaining chips.
He says he is convinced that if the UK gave a unilateral guarantee to EU nationals, that would open up the process and increase the chances of a deal.
He says, without that, that is a risk that EU nationals may have to wait another two years before learning what will happen to them.
Starmer says Commons vote on Brexit deal should take place in autumn 2018
Q: If Jeremy Corbyn wins the election, and MPs reject Labour’s deal, would the UK leave with no deal? Or would the government seek an extension of the two-year deadline?
Starmer says Labour wants the vote to be held in autumn 2018, to allow time for negotiators to go back to Brussels if necessary.
- Starmer says the Commons vote on the Brexit deal should take place in autumn 2018.
If the first vote leads to the deal being rejected, the government would have to make contingency plans for no deal being agreed.
Q: What would those plans involve?
Starmer says ideally that would involve going into the transitional arrangements.
But ultimately the government would need contingency plans, he says.
Q: Could the UK stay in the EEA?
Starmer says this would be incompatible with giving up freedom of movement.
But he says he would like the UK to be part of the discussions about how the single market changes.
- Starmer rules out Labour trying to keep UK in the European Economic Area (ie, the so-called ‘Norway option’).
Q: If there were no deal, or if MPs rejected the deal, could you hold a second referendum?
Starmer says Labour does not want to be in that position. It wants a deal. It would involve MPs so there is confidence in the final deal.
He says he expects transitional arrangements lasting two or three years.
But the time people get to the final stage, the UK will be out of the EU.
As a political party, you must make choices when something you do not expect happens. He says Labour has decided to accept the results of the referendum.
- Starmer effectively rules out second referendum on Brexit.
Starmer's Q&A
Starmer is now taking questions.
Q: Would you be willing to keep freedom of movement, or to give up the right to make trade deals, to retain single market access?
Starmer says he has been clear that freedom of movement will end. Immigration rules will have to change, he says.
But he says it is important to have options on the table, not to take them off the table.
Labour would leave the option of staying in the customs union on the table.
But it would not accept unreformed membership of the single market.
Q: So you could give up the right to make trade deals around the world (a consequence of staying in the customs union)?
Starmer says it is important to keep options on the table.
Starmer says Labour would ensure UK does not “lag behind EU in workplace protections or environmental standards in future'
Starmer says Labour would ensure that the UK, after Brexit, does not lag behind Europe in terms of standards.
- Starmer says Labour would ensure the UK does not “lag behind Europe in workplace protections or environmental standards in future”. That is significant. It means that Labour would not just entrench EU standards that apply now, but replicate any new ones introduce in the future.
Starmer says many Tories wanted to leave the EU so they could cut workers’ rights.
It’s why Priti Patel – now in the cabinet – spoke during the referendum of wanting to ‘halve the burdens’ of ‘EU social and employment legislation’.
On EU nationals, he says it is “shameful” that the prime minister resisted Labour’s attempts to resolve this before article 50 was triggered.
Labour would give a commitment on day one that EU nationals living in the UK will see no change in their status as a result of Brexit, he says.
That does not mean Labour would give up on trying to guarantee the rights of Britons living on the continent.
Labour would seek to remain part of Erasmus, the EU exchange scheme for students, he says.
He says Labour would seek to maintain membership or equivalent relations with EU agencies like Euratom, the European Medicines Agency, Europol and Eurojust.
Starmer says the UK needs to rebuild relations with our EU partners. These relations have been damaged by the tone adopted so far.
Starmer criticises May for not welcoming scrutiny. Good leaders should welcome scrutiny, he says. That is how the right decisions are taken.
Starmer says Theresa May is wrong to say no deal is better than a bad deal.
Labour are very clear that no deal is the worst possible deal.
No deal could result in tariffs of 30 to 40% being imposed on dairy and meat producers, and 10% tariffs on car producers.
He says the CBI have described this as “a recipe for chaos”.
Starmer says the government should not be focusing on trade deals with new markets. It should be focusing on the EU, which accounts for 44% of UK exports.
Starmer says Labour’s white paper would make it clear that jobs and the economy are the priority in the Brexit talks.
It would seek tariff-free trade with the EU, no new non-tariff barriers on trade, regulatory alignment and continued competitiveness in goods and services.
Whether this is best achieved through reformed membership of the single market and the customs union or via a bespoke trading arrangement is secondary to the outcome. What matters for jobs, the economy and living standards is that we retain the benefits of the single market and the customs union.
Starmer says Theresa May’s approach to Brexit is rigid and reckless.
Labour would tear up the government’s white paper, he says.
It would scrap the great repeal bill and replace it with an EU rights and protections bill.
Sir Keir Starmer is speaking now.
He says there will be a clear choice at the election. There are two visions of Brexit’s. Labour’s is based on its values, its internationalism, its belief that the country should work with other countries.
He says Labour accepts that the UK’s relationship with the EU must change.
But it does not accept that Brexit has to be whatever Theresa May says it means.
We do not believe that if you are a citizen of the the world you are a citizen of nowhere.
Labour accepts that immigrations rules will have to change.
But it does not accept that the UK needs to sever all its ties with Europe, or to slash taxes.
Labour wants a “close, collaborative relationship with the EU”.
Sir Keir Starmer's Brexit speech
Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, is about to deliver his Brexit speech. This is from the Herald’s Kate Devlin.
Waiting for Starmer at Labour's Brexit press conferences. Music in the background: "I need to know now, can you love me again..." pic.twitter.com/NjF4GdvjGx
— Kate Devlin (@_katedevlin) April 25, 2017
Updated
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has put out a statement ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech claiming that Labour’s Brexit policy contains “more holes than a colander”. Farron said:
Labour’s Brexit plan has more holes than a colander. This outline for Britain’s future is a litany of failures.
They are failing to protect the UK economy by dragging the UK out of the single market. They are failing the people by refusing to give them a say on the final deal.
And if Labour were serious about protecting the rights of EU citizens, why didn’t they stand up for them when they had the chance in parliament? Instead they chose to abstain.
Arron Banks, the former Ukip donor who announced yesterday that he will not stand as a candidate in Clacton, has used a tweet this morning to accuse Ukip of declaring war on Muslims and “going in entirely the wrong direction”.
Not sure campaigning with the national party going in entirely the wrong direction is smart. I don't approve of the war on Muslim religion https://t.co/BcKQtka2yW
— Arron Banks (@Arron_banks) April 25, 2017
The Muslim Council of Britain is saying something similar. Harun Kahn, the MCB’s general secretary, has released extracts from a speech in which he will say:
It is deeply regrettable that the UK Independence Party is singling out Muslims in the most negative terms.
This is not leadership. And it is certainly not becoming of a party seeking to represent British people.
Together with fellow Britons, Muslims will be looking for true leadership that unites our country during this time of uncertain transition and seek to represent all British people, and certainly not scapegoat some.
Bigots must not be allowed to set the terms of the debate.
But on the Today programme this morning Peter Whittle, the Ukip deputy leader, defended the Ukip integration policies announced yesterday, including proposed bans on the wearing of face coverings in public, sharia courts and new Muslim schools. He said:
The burka is not something in the Koran, it’s not specified by the Koran, it’s a cultural practice, FGM is a cultural practice.
We have talked about these issues in Ukip for many years - 2010 we actually had this in our manifesto, that we should ban face coverings - not, for example the headscarf, not those sorts of things at all, just purely the face covering, because we believe that is a literal barrier to integration in our society.
We are actually in this country rather behind the curve on this, because even the biggest party in the EU has called for an EU-wide ban on this.
Labour is saying that it would give a unilateral guarantee to EU nationals living in the UK that they can stay. As Sky’s Faisal Islam points out, the Home Office has issued guidance to EU nationals in the UK that seems to be deterring them from applying for permanent residence.
HOme Office new guidance trying to deter UK resident EU nationals applying for permanent residence... HT @FT https://t.co/nlG3Fc44R6
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 25, 2017
As I reported in February, Home Office flooded with tens of thousands of new applications using controversial 85 page form - large backlog
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 25, 2017
"You do not need to do anything as a result of Article 50 being triggered... sign up for email alerts instead" - Home Office to EU nationals pic.twitter.com/dyoPOWjYP5
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 25, 2017
...problem is that Government told everyone to prepare for No Deal, and PM said "no deal better than a good deal" - so EU nationals acted..
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 25, 2017
One interpretation of this: evidence that there's no way the Government could possibly handle paperwork required for 3 million EU nationals
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 25, 2017
Another interpretation: this is a de facto unilateral guarantee of the EU citizen rights... yet to see Tory attack on Starmer announcement
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 25, 2017
Diane James, the former Ukip leader, posted this on Twitter earlier.
The Government is forever meddling with the freedom of markets https://t.co/BA7k2sVlkd
— Diane James (@DianeJamesMEP) April 25, 2017
She was commenting on a tweet I posted flagging up the comments from the Centrica boss criticising the Conservative energy price cap plan. (See 7.42am.)
I guess that means James has given up on the prospect of standing for parliament as a Conservative, an idea she floated earlier this month.
Barry Gardiner was also on ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning. He said that he voted against Brexit, but that he was a democrat and accepted the result of the referendum. As the Daily Mirror reports, the presenter, Susanna Reid, ambushed him by pointing out that his iPad still has an “I’m In” remain sticker on it.
Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner has characterised Labour’s approach to the Brexit negotiations as being “nice” in contrast to the “nationalistic” approach of the government.
Explaining Labour’s pledge to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK without securing reciprocal rights for British citizens living in the EU, Gardiner told BBC Breakfast:
I always find that if you are nice to people, they tend to be nice to you back. And if we do the right thing I think they will also. It is in their interests to have British skilled workers in their countries. There is mutual benefit here.
Asked if being nice was Labour negotiating position, Gardiner said:
No you always have to be tough in negotiations as well, but it doesn’t mean you can’t approach it in a spirit of cooperation. The government has a nationalistic way of looking at Brexit rather than a patriotic one. Nationalists tend to think that the only way you can show of your own country is to do down other countries. Patriots believe you can love your own country and cooperate with others.
Sir Keir Starmer's Today interview - Summary
On Newsnight last night Lord Mandelson, the Labour former business secretary and an ardent pro-European, was asked what Labour’s position on Brexit was. “Well, search me,” he said.
He went on:
The problem for the Labour party in this election on Brexit is very clear. And that is that they are not, I’m afraid, differentiating their position and their policy sufficiently from the government ... or haven’t up until now, but I hope that that will come out in the wash.
What is Labour’s position on Brexit? "Well search me"
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) April 25, 2017
Watch @KirstyWark's full interview with Lord Mandelson here: https://t.co/JCvcAJJS1m pic.twitter.com/IsLKh6qH4C
Will Sir Keir Starmer’s Today interview, and his speech later, give Mandelson the clarity he wants? Probably not, but Starmer has managed to differentiate Labour’s position from the government’s to an extent.
Here are the key points from his interview.
- Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, criticised Theresa May for adopting a “rigid” and “reckless” approach to Brexit and said that Labour’s more nuanced position was preferable.
The prime minister, people say she has got a clear approach. But it is an approach that takes all of the options off the table before she starts. That is actually a very rigid approach, it’s a reckless approach, and it gives her very little to play with in the negotiations ...
It is said often that Labour has got a nuanced position on this. We want to be smart, we want to be flexible. We see that in the most important negotiation since the second world war being rigid and reckless is going to lead to a far worse result.
- He said Labour would not rule out staying in the customs union. It was best to keep that option still “on the table”, he said.
- He confirmed that Labour would guarantee EU nationals living in the UK the right to stay unilaterally. It would not wait until Britons living in the EU get an equivalent guarantee. This would improve the tone of the negotiations, he said.
This is all about the tone and the approach. And the tone and the approach the prime minister has taken is to say, ‘Out, out, out, and we don’t want anything to do with the single market, we don’t want anything to do with the customs union, we don’t want anything to do with the European court, we don’t want anything to do with the European agencies, and we are going to pretend that no deal is a reasonable or good deal.’ And that has been received in Europe as a country which does not want that cooperation and collaboration. So we want to reset the tone.
- He said Labour would allow parliament a vote on the Brexit deal which could result in negotiators being sent back to Brussels to try again. Asked what would happen if the Commons voted against the deal, Starmer said he hoped this would not happen but that, if it did, the UK negotiators would go back to the negotiating table. But he did not directly answer a question about whether this could lead to the UK staying in the EU. Pressed on this point, he said the government would have to get the best deal it can. (But Starmer and other Labour figures have repeatedly said the UK is leaving the EU, and so it is unlikely that he intended to suggests staying in would be an option.)
And here is some reaction to the interview from journalists and commentators.
From the Financial Times’ Sebastian Payne
Keir Starmer wants to differentiate Labour on "principles and values" of Brexit. But Lib Dems will always outflank them on the left #r4today
— Sebastian Payne (@SebastianEPayne) April 25, 2017
From the Daily Mirror’s Dan Bloom
Starmer wants MPs to have "a vote which means they can reject the deal and that means UK negotiators go back to the negotiating table" 1/2
— Dan Bloom (@danbloom1) April 25, 2017
But he won't be drawn on exactly what happens in that case - i.e., does Britain stay in the EU until it can get a deal 2/2 #GE2017 #r4today
— Dan Bloom (@danbloom1) April 25, 2017
From the Guardian’s Zoe Williams
Keir Starmer on Today showed that it is possible to have a conversation about Brexit that isn't puffed up neoimperialist bullshit
— (((Zoe Williams))) (@zoesqwilliams) April 25, 2017
Damian Green says Labour’s position on Brexit ‘completely incoherent’
Work and Pension secretary Damian Green has attacked Labour’s position on Brexit as “incoherent”.
He claimed Labour would be threatening the rights of Britain’s abroad if they agreed to guarantee rights to EU citizens without a similar deal for British citizens living in the EU.
Speaking to Sky News, Green said:
Their Brexit negotiating strategy this morning is completely incoherent.
They have said that ‘no deal is not a viable option’. So a Jeremy Corby government would go into the negotiations saying ‘whatever happens we are going to make a deal’. That’s not a strong opening stance in any negotiation.
Asked about Labour’s commitment to guarantee the rights of EU workers living in Britain on day one, Green said:
It is an incoherent negotiating strategy because in saying that, they are dumping into the negotiations more than a million British citizens who are living in other European countries.
You can’t just say to a million British citizens, ‘we are ignoring you, we are going to grant these rights to EU citizens and we then see if we can negotiate your rights as well.’ You have got to do that as part of a package.
Green said the risk of a Corbyn government was so great that voters should ignore opinion polls.
Asked about a YouGov poll suggesting the Tories winning a 150 seat majority, Green said:
Nobody should take anything for granted. Polls have got things terribly wrong not just in this country but around the world. So we are absolutely fighting for every vote, because the risk of a Jeremy Corbyn government is so big to this country.
We saw over the weekend that he would hugely damage our national defences, their economic policy would involved borrowing £500bn more of money and would wreck our economy.
Starmer says unchanged single market membership is not a viable option.
But he would leave options on the table.
May has taken everything off the table, she says.
That leaves her in a weak bargaining position. She may be clear, but she is “rigid and reckless”, he says.
Q: Corbyn cannot even agree a position on Trident with his defence spokeswoman. How will he run a successful negotiation?
By being smart and flexible, says Starmer.
He says people say Labour’s position is nuanced. But that is a good thing, he suggests.
Q: You are promising parliament a meaningful vote. So what would you do if you get an unsatisfactory deal.
Starmer says parliament must be fully involved in the process.
Q: So parliament could reject it?
Starmer says a vote against the deal would lead to negotiators going back to the table. He says he hopes this would not happen. But it would be possible.
Q: So it would be possible that Labour would end up staying in the EU?
Starmer says Labour would go back to get a better deal.
And that’s it. I will post a summary soon.
Starmer says Labour would not rule out staying in customs union
Q: You want to put the economy before immigration. You want the exact same benefits as we have now. Isn’t that the same as saying we are not leaving?
Starmer says businesses want arrangements with no tariffs and no customs burdens. And they want to avoid new regulations on trade. And they want a common platform for workers’ rights.
Starmer says he does not think there is an appetite for tariffs in the EU. On customs, he says he does not think there is a case for new customs burdens.
He says we should leave the option of staying in the customs union on the table.
- Starmer says Labour would not rule out staying in customs union.
Q: You are offering a different tone. And you would prioritise trade, not immigration. But you would also say EU citizens can stay here from day one. Doesn’t that give the EU something they want from day one?
Starmer says May’s tone is just out, out, out. In Europe that is being interpreted as May not wanting cooperation.
Q: So you are saying this is a concession, but a concession with a purpose?
Starmer says it is the right thing to do. Many EU citizens are concerned about their status. But, from his talks in Brussels, he thinks this would be well received.
Q: Won’t leave supporters think you are giving away something for nothing?
Starmer says it will create a good tone.
Nick Robinson is interviewing Sir Keir Starmer.
He starts by imagining what will happen if Labour wins the election. People will want to know what Jeremy Corbyn would do about Brexit, he says.
Today plays clips from two voters who have given up on Labour because of its stance on Brexit.
Q: Theresa May say Brexit means Brexit. What does it mean for Labour?
Starmer says this is about what sort of country we live in. Labour wants an outward-looking country.
Labour wants a relationship with Europe based on collaboration and cooperation in all fields, he says. That is the world Labour wants to live in.
Sir Keir Starmer's Today interview
Good morning. I’m taking over the blog now.
Sir Keir Starmer, Labour’s Brexit spokesman, is about to give an interview to Today about the speech he is giving later. Here is our preview story.
Centrica boss criticises Tory energy price cap plan, saying some in government 'just don’t believe in free markets'
Iain Conn, chief executive of biggest energy company Centrica, has criticised the Conservative’s pledge to cap energy bills after the company’s share price fell following the announcement.
Conn said the party proposed cap on standard variable tariffs raised questions about the commitment of ministers to the free market.
Centrica’s share price fell 3.5% on Monday after ministers said that the cap on standard variable tariffs, which more than two-thirds of households pay, would save the average family around £100 a year.
Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Conn said:
I’m the first to admit that the UK market is not perfect. I just don’t think that capping prices is actually the right way to help the market, and it probably will have unintended consequences.
Governments and regulators do have to set the conditions within which markets operate, but clearly there are ways of doing this. And I think there are some at the heart of the government who just don’t believe in free markets. I find that concerning at a time when this market is highly competitive, and the UK is seeking to forge a new future relying upon free trade with the rest of the world.
The bank Berenberg calculated that a £100 annual cut for the 17m households on standard variable tariffs would cost energy suppliers at least £1.7bn a year, with the big six bearing the brunt of the losses.
Conn confirmed that about 74% of Centrica’s British Gas customers are on standard tariffs. He suggested customer services would suffer if the cap was imposed. He said:
It is worth testing the logic of this. Our average after tax margin is £52 a customer so if this heralded £100 was to come into effect we would absolutely be losing money. Clearly we are going to have to address our costs and look at service.
Updated
The Snap: your election briefing
Good morning and welcome to another day’s live coverage of all the action on the campaign trail.
Andrew Sparrow will be along a little later, but we’ll keep you up to date in the meantime. The comments are open below so do give us your thoughts.
What’s happening?
Labour says it will scrap the Brexit white paper and replace it with new negotiating priorities with the emphasis on keeping the benefits of the single market and customs union. In a speech on Tuesday Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, will set out the plans alongside a pledge to unilaterally guarantee existing rights for all EU nationals as part of the party’s election manifesto, hastily being put together following the snap election announcement last week.
Voters are being urged to unseat prominent Brexit-supporting MPs such as Iain Duncan Smith, Theresa Villiers and Kate Hoey by the successor organisation to Britain’s pro-EU remain campaign. Open Britain has drawn up an “attack list” of 20 seats, held mostly by Conservative MPs, where constituents voted to stay in the EU but their representatives are Brexit supporters.
Tony Blair argues that Labour’s only chance lies in convincing voters that it will hold the government to account on any deal with the EU.
Meanwhile it’s not been a great start to the week for Ukip as speculation mounts that the party leader, Paul Nuttall, will not stand and other high-profile names including Arron Banks and Suzanne Evans declined to fight for seats.
At a glance:
- Green MP Caroline Lucas argues the case for an anti-Tory electoral alliance.
- Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones reveals growing concern over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership as poll suggests the party could lose century-long dominance in Wales.
- And if you haven’t had enough Labour yet, read the Guardian view on Labour’s manifesto process: get ready for the blame game.
Poll position
An ITV/YouGov poll puts the Tories on 40% support in Wales, with Labour on 30%. That would see the Conservatives win 10 seats from Labour to put them on 21 versus 15.
Diary
- Theresa May speaks in south Wales at 2.15pm
- Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer speaks at 10am in London
- Lib Dem leader Tim Farron speaks in Portsmouth on national security
Talking point
The government appears to have performed a U-turn on business rates and says a £300m relief fund to help small businesses worst hit by the shakeup is now available for councils to share out, writes Zoe Wood.
Read these
Is it too late to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader before the election, asks Laurence Janta-Lipinski on the New Statesman.
Make no mistake, replacing the Labour leader now would terrify the Tories.”
English voters admire Nicola Sturgeon – but they fear her too, writes Deborah Mattinson of research consultancy BritainThinks for the Guardian.
One voter told us: “I thought she was going to be Salmond’s puppet, but she’s turned out to be really strong and tough. It’s hard not to admire her, but I like her too.”
Revelation of the day
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales (full disclosure: he is a non executive director at Guardian Media Group) is launching a new online publication that aims to fight fake news by pairing professional journalists with an army of volunteer community contributors.
The day in a tweet
Audacious of Tories to accuse other parties of chaos after EU civil war, surprise referendum result, leader resigning, surprise election etc
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) April 24, 2017
And another thing
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