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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Politics
Andrew Sparrow, Kevin Rawlinson, Mattha Busby and Alison Rourke

General election: Corbyn claims Trump-Farage-Johnson pact poses threat to rights in UK – as it happened

Closing summary

We’re going to close down this live blog now. Thanks for reading and commenting. For a detailed rundown of the day’s main events, see Andrew Sparrow’s election briefing:

And here’s a summary of what’s happened since he put that together earlier this evening:

  • The former cabinet minister, David Gauke, announced he is to run as an independent. Gauke said it was necessary to prevent his former colleagues forming a government because of the damage their Brexit plan would likely cause.
  • A Lib Dem candidate in a marginal Labour seat stood down. Tim Walker made the unilateral decision to avoid the “nightmare” of handing the constituency back to the Conservatives.

If you’d like to read yet more, my colleagues Rowena Mason and Denis Campbell have tonight’s splash:

Gauke to stand as independent

The former justice and work and pensions secretary, David Gauke, will stand as an independent after losing the Conservative whip, he has said.

Gauke has told the Times he wants to convince Tory supporters to prevent Boris Johnson pushing through a “very hard Brexit” and said he will seek reelection as the MP for South West Hertfordshire.

The paper quotes him as saying it would be “no bad thing” if “traditional, long-standing” Conservative supporters backed the Lib Dems this time round, though he was careful to say he was best placed to stop the Tories in the constituency in which he’s standing.

In 2017, Gauke won more than half of the votes, taking the seat with a majority of nearly 20,000 on a turnout of only slightly more than 60,000. According to various correspondents in Westminster, he has acknowledged the news at an awards ceremony in London this evening:

Updated

The SNP holding the balance of power in a hung parliament after the general election would be the “best” outcome for Scotland, The SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The first minister said such a scenario would put “Scotland into a powerful, influential position” where the country’s wishes could not be ignored by Westminster politicians.

The SNP’s local candidate, Mhairi Black, alongside its leader, Nicola Sturgeon, in Johnstone, in Renfrewshire.
The SNP’s local candidate, Mhairi Black, alongside its leader, Nicola Sturgeon, in Johnstone, in Renfrewshire. Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

She has told a rally in Johnstone, in Renfrewshire, that “given the need to make Scotland’s voice heard ... the need to make sure Scotland’s interests are to the fore, perhaps the best way of doing that is to have the SNP and SNP MPs holding the balance of power in a situation where neither of the main parties have an overall majority”.

Sturgeon added that this would put “Scotland into a powerful, influential position where we can make sure Scotland cannot be ignored”.

Fundamentally, the question here is who decides Scotland’s future – is it Westminster, whether that is Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn?

Do we leave Scotland in the position in general elections of having to cross our fingers and hope for the least worst alternative to emerge at the end of that process, or do we take our future into our own hands so we can guarantee we always get the governments we vote for, whoever they happen to be?

She also revealed to she had spent had spent “a fair bit of time” considering her next steps if the UK’s next prime minister refuses to grant her the power to hold a second Scottish independence referendum.

If we are in that situation, all options will be considered.

We’re in an election campaign and if we reach that point, if we get to that bridge, I will set out then how I intend to cross that bridge. I think you can take for granted that I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about this over the past wee while.

But I am not going to concede that point right now, I’m certainly not going to concede that point at the early stage of an election campaign, because as soon as you concede that point, you kind of concede the right of Westminster to have a veto over Scotland’s future.”

Updated

Earlier this evening, the BBC reported that the Tories had selected as a candidate a former MP who lost his seat after being convicted of submitting fake expenses documents. Chris Davies, formerly the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, will now stand in Ynys Môn, the BBC said.

Responding to the the news, the deputy leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Christine Humphreys, has said:

Over 10,000 people signed the recall petition and decisively rejected Chris Davies at the ballot box in August because they had enough of an MP who put their constituency on the map for all the wrong reasons.

By selecting Chris Davies to contest Ynys Môn, the Conservatives have demonstrated their utter contempt for the voters of Ynys Môn. This shows they can offer nothing more than an MP who has admitted to providing false information about his expenses claims.

People deserve better, better than an MP who was rejected by his constituents and has fled his former constituency to seek election somewhere else. Voters should decisively reject Chris Davies at the ballot box on 12 December.

Updated

Labour have responded to the Guardian’s report on a dossier exposing more than two dozen sitting and former Conservative councillors for posting Islamophobic and racist material on social media (see 7.05pm). Naz Shah, the shadow equalities minister, has said:

The Conservative party is rife with Islamophobia, racism and bigotry from top to bottom, but we have no faith that Boris Johnson will do anything about it.

Johnson’s comments about Muslim women looking like ‘bank robbers’ and ‘letter boxes’ were linked to a 375% rise in anti-Muslim hate crime, and polls show a majority of Conservative party members hold Islamophobic views.

Boris Johnson must commit to a full independent inquiry into Islamophobia and stop pretending it doesn’t exist in his party.

When seeking the Tory leadership, Johnson promised to hold an external investigation into Islamophobia. He has not honoured that promise and a “general investigation” into all types of discrimination.

Updated

My colleague, Peter Walker, has this on the news that the Lib Dems plan to replace Tim Walker and fight for Canterbury (see 7.31pm):

Labour have given short shrift to the government’s announcement of greater flood relief efforts, saying they do not go far enough (see 7.28pm). Jon Trickett, the shadow minister for the cabinet office, has said:

‘Too little, too late’ isn’t even the half of it. You can’t trust Boris Johnson to look out for the North or the Midlands or protect our communities from flooding.

But Labour will provide an extra £5.6bn in flood defence funding, to level up flood defences over 10 years. Every home ruined and every business destroyed demands we act now.

The Brexit party have hit back at Louis Steadman-Bryce after he quit as its general election candidate in Glasgow North East over Nigel Farage’s decision to back out of fighting the Tories in hundreds of constituencies (see 7.04pm).

The party’s director of campaign strategy, Jack Irvine, has said:

I don’t understand Mr Steadman-Bryce’s logic. Had Nigel Farage not announced that we wouldn’t contest the 317 constituencies that the Tories won in 2017 there is every chance we would be looking at a far-left, Corbyn government that will keep us trapped in the EU indefinitely. Louis is a successful businessman and passionate Brexiteer. Is that really what he wants?

Having been lucky enough to have “bumped into” the prime minister just as he was mulling over his love for fish and chips and why, exactly, we’re having this election, the Tories have put out this campaign video:

And, almost immediately, the prime minister has come in for criticism for making what Labour claim is a series of false claims – including that they would hold referendums on both Brexit and Scottish independence in 2020 if Corbyn got in to No 10 next month.

Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s co-national campaign coordinator, has said:

Boris Johnson can’t seem to open his mouth without misleading people, whether it’s on the state of our economy or the shameful lack of investment in our public services. You can’t trust a word he says.

In contrast, Labour is running the most radical, people-focused election campaign our country has ever seen. It is time for real change after a decade of cuts and neglect under the Tories.

The former chancellor, Philip Hammond, has found a job worth about £125,000 a year within a week of stepping down as an MP.

He has become a non-executive director of Irish metal and glass packaging firm Ardagh, which is listed on the New York stock exchange. The firm said Hammond had joined its board and would serve on its audit committee, which oversees financial reporting and disclosure.

The Lib Dems intend to replace Walker and contest the Canterbury seat, a party spokesman has said.

Updated

The Liberal Democrat candidate in a marginal Labour seat has unilaterally decided to stand down, saying that while the two parties could not agree on a pact he wanted to avoid the “nightmare” of handing the constituency back to the Conservatives.

In an article for the Guardian, Tim Walker said that while he did not trust Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit, he wanted to give Rosie Duffield, the Labour candidate who took Canterbury from the Tories for the first time in 2017 by just 187 votes, the best chance of winning.

The announcement of his candidacy had dismayed some Lib Dems, who argued that while there is no formal deal between their party and Labour it would be better to stand aside to help Duffield, who is strongly pro-remain. In 2017 the then-Lib Dem candidate received more than 4,500 votes.

An additional 100 armed forces personnel will be sent to flood-affected areas following today’s Cobra meeting, No 10 has said.

Boris Johnson convened the emergency meeting five days after the flooding hit parts of northern England and the Midlands after calls to do some from the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. The prime minister had earlier said the flooding was not sufficient to be defined as a “national emergency”. Following the meeting, Johnson said:

The recent flooding has had a devastating effect on people and businesses and it’s essential that our communities have the support they need to recover. We’re announcing this funding to support households and businesses get back on their feet.

I want to express my deep gratitude to the emergency services, armed forces, Environment Agency and local authorities across the country who have responded to the flooding with distinction.

The government announced that, under the flood recovery framework, it will “provide funding to support the recovery efforts of local councils where households and businesses have been affected”. No 10 has said:

  • The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will provide a community recovery grant to local councils – equivalent to £500 per eligible household - to help communities with their immediate recovery.
  • The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will provide funding for a business recovery grant, which will provide up to £2,500 per eligible small and medium-sized businesses which have suffered severe impacts from the floods that cannot be recovered from insurance.
  • The UK Standby Battalion, based in Catterick, will be deployed from tomorrow.

Updated

Twenty-five sitting and former Conservative councillors have been exposed for posting Islamophobic and racist material on social media, according to a dossier obtained by the Guardian that intensifies the row over anti-Muslim sentiment in the party.

The disclosure that 15 current and 10 former Tory councillors have posted, shared or endorsed Islamophobic or other racist content on Facebook or Twitter will increase pressure on Boris Johnson after he backtracked on a pledge to hold an independent inquiry into the issue.

Inflammatory posts recorded in the dossier, which has been sent to the party’s headquarters, include calls for mosques to be banned, claims the faith wants to “turn the world Muslim”, referring to its followers as “barbarians” and “the enemy within”.

The Brexit party’s Scottish MEP, Louis Stedman-Bryce, has quit as its general election candidate after Nigel Farage announced the party would not contest seats held by the Conservatives.

Stedman-Bryce was planning to stand in Glasgow North East, a Labour marginal seat won at the last election by Paul Sweeney with a very narrow majority of 242. No pro-Brexit party has yet stood in that seat, although the British National party has twice contested it, and twice lost its deposit.

One of Scotland’s few black political representatives, Stedman-Bryce won the Brexit party’s only seat in Scotland in the May European elections with nearly 15% of the vote after it capitalised on a surge in pro-Brexit sympathies, replacing Ukip which had won a seat in 2014.

He tweeted that Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would be a disaster for the UK and should be resisted:

Farage announced on Monday that his party was no longer going to contest 317 seats being defended by the Tories, focusing instead on Labour seats around the UK. Stedman-Bryce’s resignation as a candidate in Glasgow North East will have little impact on the result there, since that contest is a straight fight between Labour and the SNP.

The Brexit party is also expected to stand candidates in SNP-defended constituencies, a move likely to lower the odds of the Tories winning in the hyper-marginal seat of Perth and North Perthshire. The Tories were 21 votes short of taking the seat off the SNP’s Pete Wishart in 2017 and hope this year to displace him.

The BBC has reported that the former Ukip and Brexit party MEP in Scotland, David Coburn, has called on Farage to stand down all the party’s candidates in Scotland to “give the Conservatives a good run at things”. Coburn said:

We want to make sure we do not let the SNP in and all [the Brexit party] are going to do is divide the vote – especially the Brexit vote.

Updated

Sticking with Swinson’s efforts to win round Welsh voters, she has launched the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ campaign on the steps of the Senedd, the assembly building, in Cardiff today.

The Lib Dems have a five-point plan in Wales – with stopping Brexit at the top of the agenda, but they are also focusing on issues such as the climate emergency, teacher recruitment and mental health.

Swinson was also keen to highlight the number of women the party has on the team in Wales and argued that this could attract more female voters.

However, the Lib Dems only had one Welsh MP in the last election: Jane Dodds, who won the byelection in Brecon and Radnorshire in the summer. As a whole, Wales voted to leave the EU.

Swinson’s party has an agreement with Plaid Cymru and the Greens to put up only one remain candidate in 11 of the 40 seats. But the Lib Dems and Plaid are keenly fighting the marginal seat of Ceredigion in west Wales, where both believe they have a good chance of a win. Swinson has said:

We have a strong team of women in Wales. Our politics could do with more women at all levels; especially in leadership roles. We live in a society that is still very far from being equal in terms of gender. When you have a lot of women in political roles a wider range of issues gets talked about. I’m not saying I don’t value the contribution of our male colleagues but you notice a different tone of debate when you have more diverse voices.

On Brexit, she has said:

There are huge number of people here in Wales who want to stay in the EU, not least those who voted to leave but now want to remain. This is an opportunity for people to say we want to stop Brexit. This may be the last chance for them to do that.

And, referring to the remain alliance, she has said:

Ceredigion is a very close seat and ourselves and Plaid Cymru are having a lively campaign there. We have been able to work constructively in other seats. I’m very proud we’ve been able to come to that agreement. This is not a normal election. It’s about the future of our country, who we are as a country.

The Lib Dems say their five-point plan in Wales is to...

  • Stop Brexit and invest a £50bn “remain bonus” in public services and tackling inequality.
  • Tackle the climate emergency by providing enough money to insulate every home by 2030 to cut emissions, prioritising all fuel-poor homes by 2025.
  • Give every child the best start in life by recruiting more teachers, as part of an extra £560m for schools.
  • Build a fair economy with opportunity for all by providing universal free childcare, and delivering a right to lifelong learning by investing in skills people need throughout their lives.
  • Transform mental health by providing enough money for the Welsh NHS to treat it with the same urgency as physical health.

Updated

It will be “very difficult” to conclude a tariff and quota-free trade deal by the end of 2020, Ireland’s deputy prime minister Simon Coveney has said.

“It’s possible … I think the timeline will be very tight,” he told reporters in Dublin. Coveney also pointed out that some trade deals have taken up to a year to ratify, not to mention negotiate. Canada’s deal with the EU took seven years to negotiate and member states took 11 months to ratify it.

Updated

He’s best known for standing outside parliament shouting “stop Brexit” over live broadcasts. Now, Steve Bray is now going to be a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate in the Welsh constituency, Cynon Valley.

Steve Bray in Park Lane, in London, prior to the People’s Vote march on 19 October 2019.
Steve Bray in Park Lane, in London, prior to the People’s Vote march on 19 October 2019. Photograph: Stephen Bell/Alamy Stock Photo

The party’s leader, Jo Swinson, has insisted Bray should not be seen as a joke candidate, adding:

Our candidates are chosen by local and national parties, so the constituency will have chosen Steve as a candidate. He is a Liberal Democrat member and he is a passionate campaigner. He has been well-known within the remain cause more widely and I am sure he will bring that energy to the campaign here in Wales.

Asked how she would respond to people who might not take his candidacy seriously, Swinson said:

I would respectfully say that I disagree and he is somebody who is true to his values and cares very deeply. I think we do want to have our politicians care about the issues that they are addressing. I think Steve is an example of somebody who very clearly does just that.

Bray has gained the nickname “Mr No Brexit” for his longrunning demonstration. In October, he told the Observer his protest began online, before he decided to move it to College Green:

Updated

Labour plans to complain to the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, over Sky News’ branding of the upcoming vote as the “Brexit election”. The party believes that is tied too closely to what it sees as a Conservative strategy to focus the campaigning on Brexit.

Officials have been making representations directly to Sky News in recent days but feel that route has now been exhausted. A Labour source has said:

This does the Tories’ work for them, effectively ensuring their Brexit election slogan is on screen and all over social media all day, every day. It’s for voters to decide what’s important to them, and this election is about more than one issue and about the real change we need after a decade of cuts under the Tories and Lib Dems.

The news was first reported by HuffPost UK this evening. It is worth noting, however, that the prime minister has sought to include NHS funding and other issues he’s described as the “people’s priorities” in his campaigning.

Updated

A Channel 4 election debate was scrapped because the chancellor, Sajid Javid, was “terrified” and refused to take part, according to the man who was due to face him; John McDonnell. In a video posted on Twitter, the shadow chancellor has claimed:

We’ve just heard that Sajid Javid has pulled out of the debate that had been planned on television this weekend. I know why: because he’s terrified of debating the truth about Labour’s policies. He’s been putting forward silly, fictitious, fake news figures that we will rip apart.

Let’s make it absolutely clear: we’ll be bringing forward our manifesto, it’ll be fully costed, all the funding sources identified. And, yes, only the top 5% of earners will pay a bit more income tax, 95% of our people will not pay any increase in income tax or VAT or national insurance.

So, come on chancellor – come and debate the real truth of Labour’s policies.

Updated

Afternoon summary

  • Boris Johnson has claimed that the situation is “stabilising” for those affected by the flooding in northern England, as he spoke to broadcasters after chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee to consider the situation. He rejected claims that the government had been complacent in its handling of the matter. But No 10 only announced the Cobra meeting after Jeremy Corbyn publicly called for one (although Downing Street says it was scheduled anyway), and Corbyn and the Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson both made personal visits today to residents affected. During his visit Corbyn said Labour would spend £5.6bn over 10 years improving flood defences
  • Jeremy Corbyn has unveiled what he described as one of Labour’s most transformative plans - a lifelong learning proposal that he said would give every adult an entitlement to six years of free education. This plan will delivered by Labour’s national education service, and the proposals will be based on ideas set out in a report (pdf) from the party’s lifelong learning commission. At a launch in Blackpool Corbyn said that this was one of the party’s plans he was “most excited about”. Although he announced the plan at the event, he left it to Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, to outline most of the details. Rayner said that people taking up the party’s offer (up to six years’ free study for qualifications up to level 4-6) would be able to get the same maintenance support available to students in higher education. And workers would have the right to paid time-off for study, she said. Rayner’s speech was powerful because she was able to recount how, as a teenage mum, her own life was transformed by adult education and her performance will do nothing to quell speculation that, if she is not setting up a national education service after the election (and the polls continue to imply she won’t be), she might be running for the leadership instead.

That’s all from me for today.

My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is writing the blog now.

Johnson adds that he’s concerned some people are not heeding the authorities’ advice and calls on them to evacuate when they’re told that do so is necessary.

He denies political opponents’ accusations that a disproportionate amount of money is being spent in south-east England than in the north and the Midlands, saying the “whole country is protected”.

Since a political point has been raised, Johnson says, he feels he should respond by pointing out the Tories’ public sector spending plans.

Updated

The prime minister is delivering a briefing after the Cobra meeting on the flooding that hit parts of England last week. He’s asked why he has only just convened it now – five days after the crisis started.

He does not answer that directly, instead saying he visited Derbyshire and that, in all, 850 homes have been flooded and about 3,000 people have been evacuated. He says things “perhaps are stabilising” but that waterlogged ground means we need to prepare for the possibility of more flooding this winter.

Boris Johnson adds that he is looking into where the army might be able to help and he adds that the “Environment Agency hasn’t done too bad a job” but there’s no room for “complacency”.

Corbyn says Labour would spend £5.6bn on improving flood defences

Jeremy Corbyn has been visiting a site of flooding in Doncaster, eight miles from where the Lib Dem leader made her visit earlier in the day. He used the visit to announce Labour’s plans for a new £5.6bn fund to level up flood defences over 10 years, funded through the party’s £250bn “green transformation fund”.

The Labour leader was shown around Custom Windows and Doors in Bentley that has become the site of a community effort to help people affected by the floods back on their feet, with piles of donations of clothes and food.

Asked whether politicians were guilty of taking advantage of the disaster in south Yorkshire, Corbyn said the policy announcement was necessary. He said:

I think it is appropriate that we say so, so people understand we are very serious about providing the resources necessary to deal with what are the personal and human disasters of floods.

Emma King, 36, showed Corbyn around the home she lives in with her three children and partner. Her house was flooded on Friday and she said it now smelled like “stale, rotten fish”. King’s house was last flooded in 2007. “It shouldn’t have happened again,” she said. “Defences should have been put up.”

“Oh isn’t he a lovely man,” said added, looking on at Corbyn admiringly as he gave media interviews outside her house.

Jeremy Corbyn speaking to a resident affected by the flooding in Bentley.
Jeremy Corbyn speaking to a resident affected by the flooding in Bentley.
 Photograph: POOL/Reuters

Updated

Here is Neil Kinnock’s tribute to Frank Dobson.

Frank was sharply bright, tenacious, irreverently funny, blunt, a great team player, a strong democratic socialist and a remorseless foe of racism.

His instincts and capacities would have made him an outstanding health secretary but, after just 18 months, he was talked into running for London mayor by appeals to his loyalty.

Others would have been soured by the way in which he was then treated, but he rose above rancour and continued energetically to serve the Labour cause and his constituency.

He will be greatly missed by his beloved family and his countless friends who valued his wisdom, rationality, fidelity to principles and comrades and uproarious humour.

Sajid Javid, the chancellor, returned to his father’s old shop in Bristol and described how his family had to “watch every single penny” when living there, the Press Association reports. The PA story about Javid’s visit goes on:

Javid walked down Stapleton Road, previously described as Britain’s most dangerous street, during a visit to the city on Tuesday afternoon.

He walked into BS5 Flooring, situated at 307-309 Stapleton Road, telling staff who took over the shop on November 1: “I used to live here above the shop - can I have a look?”

The chancellor walked up a set of stairs and went to a door leading to the flat where he had lived with family for five years, leaving when he was aged 12.

Back outside the shop, he pointed to a billboard hanging in front of where his childhood bedroom used to be and told how his father, Abdul, sold ladies’ clothing at the shop.

Javid described those in the area as hard-working, aspirational people who wanted to do the best for their families.

“Every time I come back here, it gives me very fond memories,” he said.

“I had a wonderful childhood here. There was a lot in material terms that we didn’t have but that didn’t matter because there was so much in terms of human wealth here.

“It is nice to be back. I popped in a shop I used to live above and its nice to see another business has just moved in here.

“It’s nice to see the community is still thriving.”

Sajid Javid walks around the building, now a carpet shop, where his parents once worked during a visit to his former home at Stapleton Road in Bristol.
Sajid Javid walks around the building, now a carpet shop, where his parents once worked during a visit to his former home at Stapleton Road in Bristol. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

Updated

YouGov has released some new polling, intended to take into account the impact of the Brexit party not standing in Tory-held seats, that gives the Conservatives a 14-point lead over the Labour. As with all polling, it may not tell you precisely what would happen if there were an election tomorrow - but it’s a lot better than guessing. This is from the Times’ Matt Chorley.

Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader and MP for Doncaster North, and in the Bentley suburb of Doncaster meeting residents affected by the flooding.
Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader and MP for Doncaster North, and in the Bentley suburb of Doncaster meeting residents affected by the flooding. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

Boris Johnson will shortly be recording a clip for broadcasters about this afternoon’s Cobra meeting about the flooding.

Labour has suffered a second cyber attack, the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar reports.

In a blog the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush has more information about what happened in the first one.

I’m reliably informed by multiple sources that the cyberattack on Labour targeted Contact Creator – the system that holds information about where voters are and whether or not they say they will support the party – and the party’s fundraising information and software, two vital parts of its campaigning infrastructure. That points to its relative sophistication, but does not give us a clear sense of whether it was a state actor, a politically motivated and tech-savvy individual with a grudge, or someone hoping to make money or cause mischief for the fun of it.

What matters in this instance is that Labour’s defences held up pretty well – that’s the good news. The bad news is that someone, for some reason, has launched the first major cyberattack on a political party in the United Kingdom – and that the political discourse around what happened has been sorely lacking.

Updated

Liz Evenden-Kenyon, the Lib Dem candidate in Boris Johnson’s constituency, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, has announced that she is standing down for personal reasons (an illness in her family). She says she expects the party to select another candidate before nominations close on Thursday.

Updated

Negotiating UK-EU trade deal probably not possible within one year, says Verhofstadt

The European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, has said he has “doubts” that a trade deal can be negotiated in under a year as claimed by the UK when “in other cases it takes five, seven or nine years”.

Speaking to the European parliament’s committee on constitutional affairs, Verhofstadt said:

I can confirm the doubts that I have that in one year you will do what you need.

For example, [it took] nine years with Canada. An FTA with Britain is even more complicated as the interests at stake are more important, the trade is more important with the UK.

Boris Johnson claims that he would be able to negotiate a trade deal by the end of next year, and on that basis he has ruled out extending the transition period beyond December 2020 - a statement that helped persuade Nigel Farage not to stand Brexit party candidates in Tory-held seats.

Verhofstadt, the former Belgian prime minister, also said today that the solution on Northern Ireland in the revised withdrawal agreement was the concept proposed by the EU “on day one” of the talks with the UK.

He said that he was “disappointed” with the political declaration on the future relationship as it was “less ambitious” than the document agreed with Theresa May.

He said that the May version had included an “association agreement” with a “large number of [areas of] cooperation” while the latest declaration provides for a “downsized free trade agreement”.

Verhofstadt said that the scope of the trade agreement would be determined by the UK commitment to keep up with EU standards on workers’ rights, environmental standards and taxation. He said:

We have described a level playing field in the new political declaration saying this free trade agreement will be broad if there is an acceptance by the UK side of the level playing field in the broadest sense.

The text of the political declaration is more narrow than the previous text but it safeguards that, whatever the scope of the FTA, it will be in relation to the acceptance by the UK side of level playing field in standards and our regulations in the union.

Guy Verhofstadt in the corridor of the European parliament in Brussels.
Guy Verhofstadt in the corridor of the European parliament in Brussels. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

Survation has published some new polling figures today. Most recent polls have given the Conservative party a very large lead over Labour - the Guardian poll tracker, which averages all polls over the last two weeks, has the Tories 12 points ahead - but this Survation survey has the Conservatives just six points ahead.

Of course, at the last two general elections the polls did not provide a reliable guide to the final - although in other elections they have turned out to be fairly accurate.

Yesterday a separate ICM poll put the Conservatives eight points ahead of Labour.

Sajid Javid giving an interview during a visit to Stapleton Road in Bristol, which is where he lived when he was growing up.
Sajid Javid giving an interview during a visit to Stapleton Road in Bristol, which is where he lived when he was growing up. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

Labour says election debate on economy shelved because Sajid Javid won't participate

According to Labour, a proposed TV debate between the chancellor, Sajid Javid, and his Labour shadow, John McDonnell, that was scheduled for Sunday 17 November has been shelved. Ed Davey and Kirsty Blackman, the Lib Dem and SNP Treasury spokespeople respectively, were also invited to the 90-minute programme on Channel 4. Labour says it has now been told the debate will not go ahead because Javid won’t participate.

I’ve asked the Conservatives for a comment and have been told someone will get back to me. I’ll post their reply when I get it.

A Conservative Party electronic poster in London, making a claim about Labour tax plans that has been widely discredited. See post at 11.29am.
A Conservative Party electronic poster in London, making a claim about Labour tax plans that has been widely discredited. See post at 11.29am. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Plaid Cymru sets up commission to examine how independence could work for Wales

For many years Welsh independence was never seen as a particularly serious proposition. Even Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, used to treat it as more of a long-term ideal than a realistic goal. But the Brexit vote in 2016 (arguably an English nationalist vote) has stirred up separatist sentiment in Wales as well as in Scotland, Plaid Cymru elected a new leader last autumn, Adam Price, much more committed to independence and now in Wales there now even marches for independence.

Today Price has announced that he has set up a commission to consider how an independent Wales could work. It will be chaired by Jocelyn Davis, a former minister in the Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition government in the Welsh assembly. Explaining what the commission would do, Price said:

Something is happening in Wales. Over the past year, thousands have marched together in independence marches in Cardiff, Caernarfon and Merthyr. Polls show that around 30% consistently support independence. Independence has moved from the margins into the mainstream of Welsh political debate.

Our mission is to convince the people of Wales that independence is not merely desirable, but actually vitally necessary to tackle our problems and improve our standard of living.

That’s why I’m proud to announce that Plaid Cymru have set up a commission, chaired by the formidable Jocelyn Davies, to look at how Wales can become independent in the next decade. The arms-length commission will undertake extensive analysis and develop effective policy to carve a clear pathway to the independence we need as a nation.

This is a watershed moment in our country’s history. Plaid Cymru believe that independence is the best choice for the people and communities of Wales. This commission will play a crucial part in proving that. It’s time to declare a new Welsh spirit of independence and hope by refusing to put our faith in the Westminster establishment that has failed us for so long. It’s time to choose a future that we ourselves will shape. It’s time to choose our independence.

Nicola Sturgeon (holding the baby) campaigning with SNP candidate Catriona MacDonald (left) in Edinburgh South at Blossom Tree Nursery today.
Nicola Sturgeon (holding the baby) campaigning with SNP candidate Catriona MacDonald (left) in Edinburgh South at Blossom Tree Nursery today. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The National Cyber Security Centre has said that it regards the cyber-attack on Labour as an incident that is now closed. In a statement it said:

The NCSC has worked closely with political parties for several years on how to protect and defend against cyber-attacks.

We met the major parties last week ahead of the general election.

In terms of this incident, the Labour party followed the correct, agreed procedures and notified us swiftly.

The NCSC is confident the party took the necessary steps to deal with the attack.

The attack was not successful and the incident is now closed.

Updated

Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater (back row, centre), Scottish parliamentary group co-leader Alison Johnstone (right), with the party’s general election candidates for the Edinburgh constituencies.
Scottish Green party co-leader Lorna Slater (back row, centre), Scottish parliamentary group co-leader Alison Johnstone (right), with the party’s general election candidates for the Edinburgh constituencies. Photograph: Ken Jack/Getty Images

Updated

Johnson receives second letter from EU asking him to nominate European commissioner

The incoming president of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has sent a second letter to Boris Johnson seeking a British nominee for the new commission by the end of the week after Downing Street missed a previous EU deadline.

The prime minister had already been asked to provide a name by Monday but the deadline came and went without any word from the UK government.

A spokeswoman for the commission said that Von der Leyen had sent a “reminder” on Tuesday morning of the UK’s obligations under the EU treaties and they expected a response “at any rate by the end of this week”. The spokeswoman said:

Time is running out. This is why the president-elect is expecting an answer very soon to this second letter.

A UK government spokesman said the letter had been received and a response was being considered.

There would have been no obligation on the UK to nominate a commissioner if it had left the EU on 31 October as originally planned, but Johnson’s decision to accept a Brexit extension - in accordance with the Benn act, and despite Johnson’s repeated claims that he would never agree to a delay - means the UK is now obliged to nominate someone.

Ursula von der Leyen.
Ursula von der Leyen. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

MPs urged to sign 'rural powerhouse' pledge

In normal general elections, the rural vote is reliably Tory in most of England. But while many farmers are in favour of Brexit, the disappearance of EU subsidies with only Boris Johnson’s word to guarantee future government support is worrying some, while the prospect of EU import tariffs on UK-produced food and floods of cheap imports has spooked the NFU.

A no-deal Brexit, even if delayed under a Johnson government to the end of next year, could spell disaster for thousands of rural businesses. This time, the Conservatives may have to make more of a play for the 9.5 million voters who live in the countryside.

Today, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), representing 30,000 landowners and rural businesses, is writing to all prospective MPs to ask them to sign up to a five-point plan for a “rural powerhouse”, along the lines of the “northern powerhouse” promised by previous governments.

Top of their list of demands is connectivity: rural broadband, long a bugbear of country-dwellers, and mobile phone coverage. They want mobile operators to be given short-term targets for improving coverage, instead of post-2024 targets, and a continuous roll-out of broadband to reach full fibre by 2025.

Their other five demands are: changes to the planning system to make it easier to build homes, helping to solve the housing crisis; fast-tracking of the agriculture and environment bills, held up by Brexit, and a commitment to keep high welfare and environmental standards in farming; £200m a year investment in skills and training for farmers; and a simpler tax regime so that farmers who diversify into other businesses can file a single tax return, cutting red tape and saving them money.

Tory HQ has forbidden candidates to sign pledges on the climate emergency or the NHS, but a rural pledge might be a different matter.

Mark Bridgeman, incoming president of the CLA, said: “Any future MP worth their salt should proudly back the campaign.”

Updated

John McDonnell has said Labour would hit the City of London and wealthier individuals with higher taxes to pay for the party’s spending plans.

Dismissing Conservative claims that every taxpayer in Britain would need to pay £2,400 more in tax under Labour (see 11.29am) as “fake news”, the shadow chancellor said the party’s manifesto would ramp up taxes on the top 5% of earners only.

Speaking at a protest for striking McDonalds workers outside Downing Street, calling for higher wages and union recognition at the US fast-food chain in Britain, he told the Guardian:

Ninety five per cent of the people would be protected against any increase in income tax as well as VAT.

You will see our taxation proposals that we will publish alongside our manifesto. It will be fully-costed. The reality is that working people will be protected but the City and wealthy people and corporations will pay a bit more.

The shadow chancellor attacked McDonalds for a “long history of exploitative employment” and failing to pay enough tax in Britain.

They’re one of those companies that makes large amounts of profits and then doesn’t pay their workers properly and don’t pay their taxes effectively. It’s one of the things we’ll clamp down on.

John McDonnell with McDonalds workers during a protest outside Downing Street today.
John McDonnell with McDonald’s workers during a protest outside Downing Street today. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Updated

From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh

Blair, Brown and Corbyn lead tributes to Frank Dobson

Here is my colleague Rowena Mason’s story about the death of the former Labour health secretary Frank Dobson, which includes tributes to him from Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

And here are some more tributes.

From Jeremy Corbyn

From Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary

From Matt Hancock, the Conservative health secretary

From Charlie Falconer, the former Labour lord chancellor

From the writer and Labour activist John O’Farrell

From Karen Buck, the Labour candidate for Westminster North

From the Labour former cabinet minister Yvette Cooper

From Rushanara Ali, Labour candidate in Bethnal Green and Bow

From Nick Smith, Labour candidate in Blaenau Gwent

From the former Labour MP Michael Dugher

From David Lammy, Labour candidate for Tottenham

From Stella Creasy, Labour candidate for Walthamstow

Swinson criticises Labour for not backing 'Unite to Remain' alliance

Jo Swinson has been paying a visit to the Doncaster charity Stainforth4All, speaking to volunteers who have rallied to help victims of the recent flooding. They showed the Lib Dem leader the piles of clothes and supplies donated by locals and said they were appalled that the prime minister hadn’t declared a national emergency.

“I visited Fishlake [an area badly affected by the flooding] and it broke my heart,” said Rosemarie Squires through tears.

Swinson used the visit to pledge a £5bn flood defence fund that local authorities would be able to apply to improve their area’s protections. Asked if politicians were guilty of exploiting the flooding in south Yorkshire, she said:

I think it’s important, whether there’s an election or not, when things like this happen, for leaders to come and listen and to understand what is happening in communities.

Swinson insisted that she would have visited the area even if there hadn’t been an upcoming election, but that the media attention that came with the campaign could increase national awareness. Jeremy Corbyn is due to pay a visit to Doncaster this afternoon.

Asked if the Lib Dems should cooperate more with Labour candidates in light of the Brexit party’s “unilateral leave alliance”, Swinson said:

I’ve worked with Labour MPs who want to stop Brexit in parliament, but unfortunately the Labour leadership doesn’t want to stop Brexit and when the Unite to Remain alliance was put together they approached the Labour party who said absolutely not.

If you look at this election, the Liberal Democrats are the party best placed to win seats from the Conservatives. The Labour party is way down in the polls compared to two years ago. They are going to be struggling to hold on to the seats that they have. They’re not going to be winning seats from the Tories. The Lib Dems can win seats from the Conservatives. A huge number of our target seats are against the Conservatives.

On last night’s resignation of the party’s candidate in Thurrock, Kevin McNamara, after 10-year-old racist and homophobic tweets were unearthed, Swinson his statements had been abhorrent.

It is absolutely right that he is no longer a candidate for us and that when these things come to light, the party takes swift action. It’s not feasible to have looked at every social media post over the past 15 years for every candidate. What we can control is that, when things like this happen, we take very swift action.

Jo Swinson in Stainforth in South Yorkshire meeting peopel affected by the flooding.
Jo Swinson in Stainforth in South Yorkshire meeting peopel affected by the flooding. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

Updated

NHS, workers' rights and safe food all at risk from Trump/Farage/Johnson alliance, claims Corbyn

Here are the main points from the Jeremy Corbyn Q&A.

  • Corbyn said British voters were now at risk from a Trump/Farage/Johnson alliance that would threaten the NHS, workers’ rights and safe food. In response to a question about the Brexit party decision to stand down candidates in Tory-held seats, he repeated a point made yesterday about Tory and Brexit party interests being aligned. But he also added Donald Trump, and escalated his warning about what might be at risk from a post-Brexit UK-US trade deal negotiated by a government led by Boris Johnson. Corbyn said:

What we have before us is an alliance between Donald Trump and Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson. We know where that alliance is designed to take us – into a sweetheart trade deal with the United States that will threaten all of our regulations, all of our conditions, and threaten our public services ...

Farage and Johnson only offer division, division, division, and a deal with Donald Trump. You’ll then be saying whatever happened to our wonderful national health service? Whatever happened to all the regulations that we had that protected our rights at work, our right to clean environment and our right to safe food. All of that is at risk from the kind of trade deal that they want to do with the USA. We will have none of it.

It is worth pointing out that Labour claims about what would happen under a UK-US trade deal are like Tory claims about Labour tax policy (see 11.29am) – not facts, but predictions, based on assumptions of varying degrees of probability. US negotiators would try to put drug pricing on the table in trade talks, and their employment and food quality standards are looser than UK ones. But the Tory government has also said that it would not include the NHS or drug pricing in a trade deal and that it would not lower employment or food standards, and in practice a Johnson administration would be constrained to an extent by what was politically acceptable to the public.
  • Corbyn said that he was “very nervous” at the thought that yesterday’s cyber attack on Labour could be a foretaste of things to come. Asked about the attack, he said:

We have a system in place in our office to protect us against these cyber-attacks, but it was a very serious attack against us. So far as we’re aware none of our information was downloaded and the attack was actually repulsed because we have an effective in-house developed system by people within our party.

But if this is a sign of things to come in this election, I feel very nervous about it all because a cyber-attack against a political party in an election is suspicious, something one is very worried about.

  • He said Labour’s transport priority would be improving rail and bus transport north of Birmingham. Asked about the leak of the government review of HS2 (see 9.53am), he said he could not comment on that directly. But he went on:

Our priority is investment in rail and bus infrastructure north of Birmingham, into the north-east, north-west and Yorkshire ... As far as we’re concerned, that is the absolute priority. Because if we don’t improve transport links from Birmingham northwards ... and develop the Crossrail for the north, which would be a high-speed, efficient line linking Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Hull, then I think we will see a problem in future economic development across the regions.

Jeremy Corbyn at an election event in Blackpool.
Jeremy Corbyn at an election event in Blackpool. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

Updated

Corbyn and Rayner's lifelong learning launch - Snap verdict

I‘ve been watching Angela Rayner and Jeremy Corbyn speak in a campaign event at Blackpool football club (not that you’d know it, as the blinds are pulled down on the picture windows behind us overlooking the pitch).

Corbyn made the arguments for Labour’s lifelong learning policies, including six years of free adult education, which he was here to launch.

He was given a standing ovation by the activists here, and his promise that the NHS is “not for sale” in a trade deal with the US under a Labour government was greeted with enthusiastic applause.

But the star turn was Rayner, who talked about the importance of adult education in her own life, after she left school at 16 to look after her son. Under Labour’s policy, she said, “whether you left school with no GCSEs or 10, your ability to pay or your willingness to take on debt will not determine whether you get the education you need”.

She skewered politicians’ habit of parroting the idea that vocational qualifications are as important as academic ones, or that the UK can simply copy Germany.

And she had another nice line that “poverty is not just about being penniless, it is about being powerless”, because workers often don’t have the opportunity to train.

Just anecdotally, the atmosphere is warm here, but the audience doesn’t seem quite as big, as young or as lively as the most memorable Labour events I went to during the 2017 campaign. Back then, some Corbyn fans were coming from miles around just to get a glimpse of their man.

Labour campaigners I chatted to here said they were finding a lot of “undecideds” on the doorstep. Perhaps enthusiasm will build as we get closer to 12 December? We’ll see.

Jeremy Corbyn and Angela Rayner at the lifelong learning launch in Blackpool.
Jeremy Corbyn and Angela Rayner at the lifelong learning launch in Blackpool. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

Updated

Corbyn says there was a time when being a further education lecturer was a good job. Now he meets many of them on zero-hours contracts, with multiple jobs. They are stressed, he says. He says they come into teaching because they love the job, but many leave because of the stress. There is something going badly wrong, he says.

Q: Does Labour still support HS2, even though it would now reportedly cost £88bn? (See 9.53am.)

Corbyn says he does not know how accurate this report is. Labour’s priority would be investment in rail and bus infrastructure north of Birmingham.

Updated

Q: Don’t you need Nigel Farage and the Brexit party to keep standing and split the Brexit vote in Labour marginals?

Rayner says it is clear now that if you want a different future for this country, you should vote Labour. If you want a hard-right government, vote for the Conservatives or the Brexit party. She says they are the same.

She says she is disgusted about what Boris Johnson has said about communities like hers.

She does not fear the Brexit party or Boris Johnson. “Bring it on.”

Corbyn says people in Britain voted leave and remain. Labour’s strategy is to bring people together.

If the election results in a Tory government supported by Nigel Farage, you will have over-sized classrooms, people in debt and people being denied educational chances.

A national education service will be Labour’s legacy and its gift to the British people, Corbyn says.

Lack of education is “such a waste”.

He says he is trying to bring people together. Farage and Johnson only offer “division, division, division”. And they would put the NHS at risk with a trade deal with the US, which would also threaten the environment and our clean food.

Q: What is your policy for apprenticeships?

Rayner says the party will be talking about its policy at its manifesto launch.

Updated

Angela Rayner says the Labour manifesto will be about delivering for everyone. It will not put ideology first, she says.

Corbyn's Q&A

Jeremy Corbyn is now taking questions.

Q: If you were chairing Cobra on flooding, what measures would you be taking?

Corbyn says the floods are appalling. He was in the Don Valley at the weekend. People are in a very difficult situation.

He says he would have chaired Cobra earlier to release Bellwin money. Councils should get that money immediately.

He also says he would do a lot more on flood defences. We are getting more flooding, he says. He says people in the Don Valley were telling him they were concerned about the quality of dredging of streams flowing into the Don.

He says Labour would also make dealing with flood protection a statutory duty for fire brigades.

Q: Who do you think was responsible for the cyber-attack on the Labour website?

Corbyn says this happened yesterday. It was very serious. But, as far as Labour is aware, none of its data was lost. But, if this is a sign of things to come, he feels “very nervous”. He says a previous cyber-attack on the NHS was dangerous.

He says the attack has been reported to the National Cyber Security Centre, who are investigating.

Q: You say you will pay for some of this with VAT on private school fees. Does that mean you won’t abolish private schools?

Corbyn says the party will finalise its policy at a meeting this weekend. People will love the manifesto, he says.

Q: Do you think the Tories will benefit from the Brexit party standing down in Tory seats? And what will happen if the Brexit party stand in Labour-held seats?

Corbyn says there is an alliance between Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Donald Trump. That is a threat to the NHS, he says.

He says he is not interested in parlour games about who might stand where. He is putting forward a manifesto that would create a fairer society, he says. He says he approaches elections in a positive frame of mind. Hundreds of people are actively supporting the party, and giving it money, he says.

Updated

Rayner says Labour will also ensure workers can get time off to study.

But poverty is not just about being penniless, it is about being powerless. Too often, workers do not have that power, that time or that security. They have a right to request time off to study, but it can only be training for their current job, and it is easy for their employer to simply say no. This does nothing for the worker trapped on low pay or zero hours, looking to move from a job that isn’t supporting them to a career that can. They are trapped, forced to choose between taking a chance on their education and losing what little economic security they have. That is why Labour will put this power back in the hands of working people.

Working with businesses and trade unions, we will give workers a new right to paid time off for education and training, enshrined in law so that they can access the opportunities that are right for them.

Updated

Rayner says Labour will also offer maintenance support to people in further education.

Not only will we make learning itself free and accessible, we will make sure that all barriers, not just tuition, are removed from the path of learners. Too many people will not be able to go back into education because they cannot meet the cost of living.

If they had gone to university they could get maintenance support, but this is not an option for too many people taking other routes. This cannot be justified. It locks people out of education, it creates unfairness, and it is a sign of an education system that privileges one form of learning over all others. This will not be the case in Labour’s national education service.

Learners who use their entitlement to study at higher levels will also receive maintenance support, on the same basis as their equivalents in higher education. In Labour’s national education service, nobody will be unable to access an opportunity because of their own financial situation.

Updated

Rayner is now summing up Labour’s offer.

Every single adult will be able to access six years of credits at level 4 to 6. Qualifications above A-level, up to and including the equivalent of an undergraduate degree, will be available to all those who need it, whenever they need it. The whole range of qualifications that will be necessary to equip working people for the decades ahead. High level, specialised qualifications in fields such as engineering, digital, and construction, to name a few.

From someone who has been stuck in low-paid work or unable to progress, to those who face the risk of being displaced by automation, this new entitlement will empower them to take control of their own lives.

Updated

Back in Blackpool Angela Rayner is still speaking about Labour’s plans.

Whether you left school with no GCSEs or 10, your ability to pay or your willingness to take on debt will not determine whether you get the education you need.

In the last eight years, the number of adults achieving a qualification in English and maths has fallen by 40%. This isn’t their fault. We will ensure every adult is supported to re-enter education, and we will give them the chance to gain the basic qualifications they need, whether that’s at level 1, GCSE or through functional skills, so that nobody is locked out of work or other opportunities because they did not succeed in education the first time. And if they don’t already have them, we will provide the funding for everyone to access A-levels, T-levels, or NVQs, whatever level 3 qualification is right for them. These are vital skills, necessary for working people across the country. But we cannot let this be the limit of our ambition. Our goal is a high skill, high wage economy fit for the challenges of the future.

Under the Tories, people are trapped in a low skill, low wage economy, unable to make ends meet. Addressing this challenge requires a revolution in our education system. Not more warm words about parity of esteem, or platitudes about matching the performance of Germany. We cannot simply pretend that we can copy a country with a society, economy and education system vastly different to our own. What we require is far bolder than an attempt to imitate our European partners. That is why the next Labour government will deliver the most radical expansion of adult education in our country’s history.

As part of the next Labour government’s national education service we will throw open the door to retraining, upskilling and lifelong learning.

Angela Rayner
Angela Rayner Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

Former Labour health secretary Frank Dobson has died

This is from my colleague Rowena Mason.

And here is our story on it.

Updated

Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, is speaking now.

She says she has seen four education secretaries since she took up her post.

She says Corbyn was one of the first people in the party to call for a cradle-to-grave education system. So it is fitting he is here, she says.

She says her life was transformed by adult education. When her friends were sitting their GCSEs, she was thinking about her new baby. Adult education gave her a second chance. She enrolled in a sign language course, and then a counselling course, and that led to volunteering and then a job. Then she went on to get a qualification in care. Education helped her, but also her son, she says. She says this experience encouraged her to become a union rep.

Adult education changed my life. It gave me, and so many others, a vital second chance.

Updated

Corbyn says the Tories should apologise for the way they have cut eduction funding since 2010.

The Tories ... want you to be grateful for their offer to reverse some of the cuts to schools made by the Tories.

The money they say they’ll put in doesn’t even cover the money they took out.

But their feeble promise is an admission that their cuts are damaging and wrong.

So are they going to apologise to all the children who have missed out since 2010?

Corbyn says Labour would offer “the best” in education.

And what is the best?

The best is a Sure Start centre in every community to offer health and welfare advice to new parents.

The best is 30 hours of free childcare to all two-, three- and four-year-olds. If you are the parent of a two-year-old, you’ll save £5,000 a year.

The best is all primary school children learning in classes of fewer than 30.

The best is a free school meal for every child in primary school – and we’ll put VAT on private school fees to pay for it.

The best is an education that prepares children for life, not just exams, so we’ll get rid of unnecessary SATs.

The best is every child being able to learn musical instruments, drama and dance – the things that bring us joy – through our arts pupil premium.

The best is well-funded schools that are locally accountable – so we’ll end the divisive academy and free schools programme.

The best is world-leading further education, which is so important to working class students.

And the best is university tuition open to anyone from any background for free, without racking up tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

Updated

Corbyn says multinational corporations need an educated workforce, and should pay for it.

I’d rather give a break to the worker who wants to learn than give a tax break to the billionaire who wants for nothing.

That’s the difference between Labour and the Conservatives.

It makes me angry when I see big multinational corporations like Amazon and Google, who rely on a well-educated workforce to make their millions, paying hardly any tax in our country.

The national education service will benefit those companies by giving their workers the chance to advance their skills.

I simply say it would be nice if those multinationals could pay their share towards it.

And it makes me angry when I hear of schools closing on a Friday because they can’t pay their bills, while the government can afford multi-billion pound tax giveaways to corporations and the richest.

It is our children who suffer as a result.

Britain should have the best education service in the world.

Updated

Corbyn is now speaking about education. He says the party’s plan for a national education service is one of the policies he is most excited about.

Imagine it: a national education service that’s there for you as a child; as an adult; and in old age – so that no one is held back.

I see education as an escalator running alongside you throughout life that you can get on and off whenever you want.

That’s what Labour’s national education service will offer people – free education, as a right for all.

Under our plan, skills and vocational qualifications will be valued the same as university degrees.

So if you left school with few GCSEs but now want to learn a new trade, Labour will make education free for you.

If you’ve done the same job for your whole working life and want to change direction, Labour will make education free for you.

And if you’ve always wanted to learn new skills but can’t afford the training, Labour will make education free for you.

The national education service will allow you to pursue your dreams.

Updated

Corbyn calls for an assurance that local councils will get reimbursed by central government for the money they spend on dealing with the flooding.

We now need a guarantee from the government that the Bellwin money is made immediately available to local government.

Back in 2014 Cameron vowed: “We will build a more resilient country for the future.”

Instead, under the Tories, frontline flood response and Environment Agency staff have been slashed by a fifth, and fire and rescue staff by nearly a quarter.

So here we are again.

We are in a climate and environment emergency. Funding flood defences and emergency responders is a priority. That’s just common sense.

In fact, the government announced on Saturday that Bellwin funding would be made available.

Updated

Corbyn claims Johnson only decided to call Cobra meeting on flooding after he demanded one

Jeremy Corbyn starts by thanking Blackpool football club for giving the party a venue for the speech today.

He says, before he gets on to education, he wants to talk about the flooding.

More than 1,000 homes have been evacuated and one woman, Annie Hall, has lost her life. Our hearts go out to her family and friends.

The Conservative government’s response to the floods has been woeful.

If this had happened in Surrey instead of Yorkshire and the East Midlands, I think it would have been a very different story.

When terrible floods struck the south in 2014, David Cameron rightly said: “Money is no object in this relief effort. Whatever money is needed, we will spend it.”

This time, Boris Johnson waited five days before calling a Cobra meeting – and only after I wrote to him demanding it.

No 10 claims Johnson decided to call a Cobra meeting on flooding before Corbyn called for one publicly yesterday afternoon.

Updated

There is a live feed of the speech at the top of the blog.

Gordon Marsden, who is seeking re-election as Labour MP for Blackpool South, is introducing Jeremy Corbyn.

He says the policy announced by Labour today for adult learning is the product of policy work that goes back years. It is based on the work of Labour’s lifelong learning commission (pdf), he says.

Jeremy Corbyn's speech

Jeremy Corbyn is about to give a speech in Blackpool on Labour’s plans for adult education.

And this is from the Reuters news agency on the cyber-attack on Labour.

Updated

These are from Rowland Manthorpe, Sky News’s technology correspondent, on the cyber-attack on Labour.

Updated

Farage criticised by Brexit party candidates for decision not to contest Tory seats

Some Brexit party candidates have been criticising Nigel Farage’s decision not to stand candidates in constituencies won by the Tories in 2017.

This is from Robert Wheal, who was due to stand for the Brexit party in Arundel and South Downs.

In an interview with LBC this morning, Wheal said:

My aim has always been to get out of Europe. Clean break ...

I’ve always been very critical of the [Brussels] regime. It’s unelected, as you all know. It spends our money as it sees fit - wastes most of it.

It was made very clear to us all at the first Brexit party rally that we will put country before party and that, if Farage managed to arrange a deal with Boris Johnson that he would agree to drop his rotten withdrawal agreement and take on a no deal, we would all stand down and support him. But what we have here is absolute codswallop.

This is from Neil Greaves, who was due to stand in Harlow for the Brexit party.

Greaves told PA Media:

Nigel has let Brexiteers down ... he should be standing up for the 17.4 million people who voted for Brexit.

I don’t regard Boris Johnson’s deal as Brexit. It’s not even close.

Farage has been totally outmanoeuvred and out-negotiated without Boris [Johnson] even having to say anything.

And this is from Ruth Jolley, who was due to stand for the Brexit party in South West Norfolk.

And Jolley told PA Media:

For me the Brexit party was about more than Brexit. It was a chance to change politics for good and shake up our institutions ...

I couldn’t vote for those who are standing in my constituency in all good conscience. I couldn’t vote for [local Conservative candidate and cabinet minister] Liz Truss because I do think the Tories have negotiated a terrible deal.

Updated

Labour party says it has suffered serious, but unsuccessful, cyber-attack

The Labour party says it has suffered a serious cyber-attack. A spokesperson released this statement.

We have experienced a sophisticated and large-scale cyber-attack on Labour digital platforms. We took swift action and these attempts failed due to our robust security systems. The integrity of all our platforms was maintained and we are confident that no data breach occurred.

Our security procedures have slowed down some of our campaign activities, but these were restored this morning and we are back up to full speed. We have reported the matter to the national cyber security centre.

Labour is out campaigning hard both on and offline for a Labour government that will bring the real change our country needs.

Updated

Tory claim about extent to which Labour would raise taxes dismissed as 'fake news'

Every Conservative election campaign in recent history has involved a version of a Labour “tax bombshell” claim, a phrase famously used in a 1992 election poster. The Tories have unveiled theirs today, alleging that personal taxes would go up by £2,400 a head under a Jeremy Corbyn government. Sajid Javid, the chancellor, has been tweeting about it this morning.

The Conservatives have tried to justify their claim in a news release here. They have also released a more detailed, 15-page document with their costings here (pdf).

All figures published by one political party about the tax and spending plans of another are hypothetical. But they can range between plausible guesswork and mostly made-up. The Tory figures are nearer the “mostly made-up” end of the scale, to a large extent because their baseline assumption is that Labour would spent an extra £1.2tn over the course of a parliament and, for reasons that my colleague Richard Partington explained in a good article on Sunday, some of the assumptions used to come up with this figure are so wrong or unfair as to make it wholly implausible.

Labour does have hugely ambitious spending plans, and, although the party says just the richest 5% would pay more under its plans, it is not unreasonable to assume that, in practice, others would have to contribute more. After all, Labour firmly believes that using taxation to fund public services is a good thing. But the Tory claim is not credible. The party could have proposed a plausible figure, but instead put forward a sensational figure.

Will it make a difference? Who knows, but it is interesting that it has not featured on any of the front pages of the Conservative papers this morning. The Daily Mail has got a story on page two, and the Sun has got a spread on pages 6 and 7. But the Daily Express and the Daily Telegraph are only running small stories on the claim, on pages 4 and 5 respectively.

This is what Jonathan Reynolds, a Labour Treasury spokesman, said about the Tory claim last night.

This is more fake news from Conservative HQ after Sajid Javid had his plan to use the civil service for party political ends scuppered.

Labour will set out our plans and our costings fully when we release our manifesto.

The Conservatives should spend more time looking at their own policies as they failed to produce costings at the last election and – as Kwasi Kwarteng demonstrated – have no idea about the cost of their own policies.

Updated

Labour has described the recent government announcement about a fracking moratorium as bogus, following the release of a Whitehall report showing some support for loosening planning rules related to the process.

At the start of this month the government announced an immediate halt on fracking in England, saying it should be stopped with immediate effect “until compelling new evidence is provided” that shows fracking is safe.

But after that announcement the government quietly released responses to a consultation on changing fracking planning rules. While the document (pdf) acknowledges that current policy is to not allow fracking, it suggests this could change in the future, and it says: “The government remains committed to making planning decisions faster and fairer for all those affected by new shale developments, whilst also ensuring that local communities are fully involved in planning decisions that affect them.”

In a statement, Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, said:

You can’t trust a word the Tories say on fracking. In just over a week their policy has evolved from a “ban” to a “temporary pause” and now, seemingly, an extreme “frack-at-will” policy imported from Trump’s USA.

Labour would ban fracking, she insisted.

Updated

Nigel Farage snubs Tory calls to stand down in Labour marginals

Nigel Farage has branded Conservative calls for the Brexit party to stand down in Labour marginals as “almost comical”, saying his party needs to get MPs into parliament to hold Boris Johnson’s feet to the fire, my colleagues Rowena Mason and Kate Proctor report.

When Boris Johnson became prime minister he commissioned a review into whether the HS2 rail project should go ahead. The report is not due to be published until after the election, but the Times today says a leaked copy of the document is recommending that HS2 does go ahead - even though the cost is rising to £88bn. In their story (paywall), Louisa Clarence-Smith and Graeme Paton write:

The leaked document recommends that the government commit to the full high-speed rail network – the biggest infrastructure project in Europe – but admits that it is “not affordable” within the £56bn budget set in the 2015 government spending review. The new estimate of £88bn is likely to be revised upwards again, the report notes ...

The report, written by Douglas Oakervee, the former HS2 chairman, has found that the procurement strategy for the first phase of HS2 has been a failure, with prices being significantly inflated. It also says that escalating costs mean that the benefit to taxpayers has fallen from £2.30 for every £1 spent in 2017 to between £1.30 and £1.50 for every £1 spent this year.

However, in a boost for the project, the report says that without HS2 “large ticket price rises” would be needed to discourage travel at peak times.

Updated

University bosses are paid too much, says Labour's Angela Rayner

In an interview on the Today programme, highlighting the plans Labour is announcing today to offer every adult in England six years of free study, Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, confirmed that Labour would abolish university tuition fees. She said:

If Labour gets into power on December 13, we will abolish tuition fees, no ifs, no buts.

Students at the moment are leaving university with £57,000 worth of debt. That is not sustainable.

Our country needs those skills for the future and Labour will reverse that trend and ensure that we have the skills for the future through adult education as well as university education.

She also said Labour wanted university vice-chancellors to be paid less. She explained:

I absolutely agree that vice-chancellors might not like what I’m saying because I’m saying that vice-chancellors are paid too much and are unaccountable for that pay, and I’ll crack down on that.

Angela Rayner with Jeremy Corbyn at the Spinning Mill in Leeds on Saturday.
Angela Rayner with Jeremy Corbyn at the Spinning Mill in Leeds on Saturday. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Updated

Farage urges Tories to stand aside in some Labour-held seats to help Brexit party

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Mattha Busby.

Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, was on BBC Breakfast earlier. We have already quoted a line from him (see 8.31am), but here are details of what he said.

  • Farage urged the Conservatives to stand aside in some Labour-held seats to give the Brexit party a better chance of winning in them. He said:

I’ve just gifted the Conservative party nearly two dozen seats and I did it because I believe in leave.

Now if they believed in leave what they would do is stand aside in some seats in Labour areas where the Conservative party has not won for 100 years and will never win.

I think what you’re seeing from this reaction is for the Conservative party it is about them as a party, not about delivering Brexit.

  • He said it was important for the Brexit party to have MPs in parliament to hold Boris Johnson to account. Assuming a Conservative election victory, he said:

What we now need to do is to get Brexit party MPs in parliament to hold him [Boris Johnson] to account. Because too often over the years, recent years, the Conservatives have made promises and then backtracked on them. So that’s our plan, we need to win some of those Labour seats.

  • Farage rejected suggestions that Donald Trump played a role in persuading him not to stand candidates in Tory-held seats. Asked if he had had any communication with Trump about the “leave alliance” he announced yesterday, Farage said:

How many times do I have to tell you, I haven’t spoken to him since he was on LBC with me a few weeks ago and he has no influence over my decision at all.

My decision is made, number one, to stop a second referendum, to prevent Liberal Democrats winning seats in the south and the south-west, and number two, because Boris Johnson has indicated we’re now going for a free-trade deal, not political linkage.

Farage’s answer ignored the fact that, when he did interview Trump on his LBC show two weeks ago, Trump said explicitly that he did want to see Farage and Boris Johnson cooperating. Trump told Farage:

[Johnson] respects you a lot, I can tell you that, he respects you a lot, I don’t know if you know that or not ... I wish you two guys could get together, I think it would be a great thing.

Nigel Farage speaking at a rally in Sedgefield last night.
Nigel Farage speaking at a rally in Sedgefield last night. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Updated

Government rejects criticism over Russia report delay

Sunak did not directly respond to the question of whether anyone apart from the prime minister was preventing the report on Russian influence being published.

I’m not a member of the National Security Council, I’m not a privy to the contents of the report but what I do know is that the standard process for reports like this is that they have to go through an appropriate period of vetting due to the sensitive information they contain. The report was received towards the end of October and it takes on average several weeks for that process to happen.

Asked if the non-disclosure of the report was “shameful”, Sunak turned his fire on Labour – in comments that would be strongly rebuked by the party.

I don’t think that’s fair. [Have you asked Clinton] whether she thinks its also shameful that the leader of the opposition sided with Russia when they carried out an attack on our soil?

Updated

The chief secretary to the Treasury, Rishi Sunak, is the latest minister citing disputed figures on Labour’s spending commitments. He said the Tories’ pledges would be delivered without increased taxation.

Asked if Labour’s pledge of an extra £6bn for social care was appropriate, Sunak told the Today programme:

If you’re talking about spending commitments, you have to look at them in the round and not in isolation. If you look at it in the round, we’ve seen from the Labour party a quite frankly reckless amount of uncosted spending commitments.

Pressed on the specific social care figure, he said: “We’ve invested in the social care system to ensure it is stable for the next year. I’m not actually sure of the details of the Labour plans. I can’t tell you what it does or doesn’t do.”

However, Sunak went on to claim Labour’s plans would effectively cost each taxpayer an extra £2,400 each year.

We will not borrow for day-to-day spending. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast show that there are are £30bn surplus on the current balance over the next few years. We’ve said we will invest about £13.5bn on people’s priorities, like the NHS, schools, policing. We will not tax people extra.

Updated

Farage rejects claims Trump persuaded him to stand down candidates in Tory-held seats

My colleague Rowena Mason reports that Nigel Farage has rejected suggestions that the US president had any role in his decision to not run Brexit party candidates in Tory-held seats.

The Brexit party leader spoke to Sky yesterday in Hartlepool:

Updated

Labour’s Ben Bradshaw has tweeted this morning urging the report to be released: “Johnson doesn’t want you to know about all those Russian Tory donors or the extent of the Kremlin’s interference in our democracy.”

David Lammy tweeted: “The rest of the world is looking on in horror at Boris Johnson’s decision to cover up the report into Russian interference in our democracy.”

Mike Gapes tweeted: “Why is Johnson not releasing this agreed intelligence and security Committee report? What have Conservatives got to hide? Dodgy donations? Close links with Putin oligarchs? Direct Kremlin interference in EU Referendum? Personal Russian links to Johnson or his key advisers?”

Rishi Sunak, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has been on Good Morning Britain defending the government and saying its normal for these kinds of reports to go through several weeks of vetting to ensure sensitive passages are redacted.

He’ll be on the Today programme shortly, followed by Labour’s shadow education secretary, Angela Raynor.

Updated

Hillary Clinton, the former US secretary of state, has said she is “dumbfounded” that Downing Street will not release a report that examines Russian infiltration of British politics.

Last night Clinton told the Guardian that the suppression of the intelligence and security committee report by Boris Johnson’s government was “damaging, inexplicable and shaming”.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning:

We need a strong UK. We need a UK with smart, sensible, forward looking leadership. So I’m dumbfounded that this government won’t release the report about Russian influence. Because every person who votes in this country deserves to see that report before your election happens. That should be an absolute condition because there is no doubt, we’ve seen it in our country, we’ve seen it in Europe, we’ve seen it here [in the UK]. That Russia in particular, is determined to try to shape the politics of Western democracies, not to our benefit, but theirs.

Updated

Away from the election, and emergency hospital admissions for children with pneumonia have risen by more than 50% in England over the past decade, figures have suggested, with admission rates highest in more deprived areas. According to NHS Digital data analysed by the charities Unicef and Save the Children, the rise is being primarily driven by a large increase in bronchiolitis, with small increases in other diagnoses including viral pneumonia and influenza with pneumonia. You can read the full story here.

Updated

Jeremy Corbyn has started the day by sending good wishes to Sikhs in the UK and around the world celebrating the birthday of Guru Nana.

Updated

Australia’s former high commissioner to London, Alexander Downer, has intervened in the election campaign in a fairly spectacular way. Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Downer declared that Australia would need to “substantially reduce” intelligence sharing with London in the event Jeremy Corbyn wins on 12 December. As Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy, writes, Downer, in an excoriating assessment of the Labour leader, contended that a Corbyn victory would imperil substantial Australian investments in Britain, and would trigger a reassessment of the “very intimate” security relationship between Canberra and London.

Downer said the UK election result mattered to Australia because Britain was the second-largest offshore destination for Australian investment.

Updated

The Guardian has unearthed a video showing how Dominic Cummings honed his people-versus-parliament strategy as far back as 2004. A video from the North East Says No (Nesno) campaign in the north-east referendum of 2004 (where Cummings was strategy adviser) deploys strategies reminiscent of Vote Leave’s 2016 playbook, writes Johnny McDevitt.

The advert from the “forgotten referendum” not only pits the people against politicians but also pledges to pump millions into the NHS that would otherwise be used to run political institutions. Nesno’s campaign defeated the then deputy prime minister John Prescott’s plan for regional assemblies, including a 78% rejection of devolution – despite early polling predicting a 60%-plus victory for the government’s “yes” campaign.

Updated

The morning papers are full of Nigel Farage’s U-turn on fielding candidates in Tory seats.

The Mirror doesn’t lead with Farage, but with the ongoing floods crisis.

Here are some of the comings and goings we can expect on the campaign trail today:

  • Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee in response to the floods in the north.
  • Jo Swinson will travel to flood-affected South Yorkshire. The Lib Dems are promising a €5bn fund for investment in flood defences.
  • Jeremy Corbyn will launch Labour’s adult education and further education policy in Blackpool.
  • Nicola Sturgeon will join SNP candidate Catriona MacDonald on the campaign trail in Edinburgh South.
  • There will be a Brexit party rally in Westminster at 11am.

And not directly campaign-related, Labour’s MP in the North Yorkshire seat of Redcar, Anna Turley, will be back in court today where she is suing the party’s biggest backer, Unite, for defamation.

Updated

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday’s live coverage of the general election campaign. I’m Alison Rourke and I’ll be kicking off the day’s news where Nigel Farage has made a significant entrance into proceedings.

After the Brexit party leader promised yesterday not to stand his candidates in the seats of sitting Conservative MPs, senior Tories are now pushing for him to go one step further, and withdraw from contests in which the Conservatives are targeting Labour MPs. Farage claims his U-turn over standing candidates in the 317 Tory seats came after the PM released a video in which he pledged to go after a free-trade “super-Canada-plus” style arrangement.

Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems say Farage’s reversal points to a pact between him and Johnson over a secret hard-Brexit deal, something both have denied.

You can read Dan Sabbagh’s analysis of why Farage’s move may not help the Tories as much as it first appears here.

Labour will announce its education pledge today, including six years of free study for adults. Under plans for a radical expansion of adult learning the shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, will say any adult without without A-level or equivalent qualifications would be able to study for them for free at college, with maintenance grants available for those on low incomes.

But as Fiona Millar writes, Labour should be sweeping the floor with the Tories who have “brought schools to their knees”, but still seem to be stumbling, including just last week asking for education policy ideas.

Let’s get started on the day.

Updated

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