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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Civil servants will be banned from helping Brexit ministers, Cameron says - Politics live

David Cameron has published 4 rules for ministers who want to campaign for Brexit
David Cameron has published 4 rules for ministers who want to campaign for Brexit Photograph: POOL/Reuters

Afternoon summary

  • David Cameron has made it clear that civil servants will not be allowed to help ministers who want to make the case for Britain leaving the European Union. He set this out in a letter listing four rules that will apply to ministers who want to campaign for Brexit. (See 4.17pm.)
  • Lord Mendelsohn, a shadow business minister, has told peers that the trade union bill is an attempt to “defenestrate the Labour party’s finances”. Speaking in a Lords debate on behalf of Labour, he said:

This bill is unworthy of how politics in this country should be conducted. The government’s clear attempts to defenestrate the Labour party’s finances not just breaches the longstanding agreement that any measures which have a bearing on the finances and the capabilities of a party should only be [introduced] by agreement with all the other parties, but has led to the most ludicrous denials I have ever heard. This is not about party funding, it is said. Is this really plausible after this has been a repeated topic of discussion during rounds of party funding discussions?

Lord Mendelsohn
Lord Mendelsohn Photograph: Parliament TV
  • Ipsos MORI has published a poll showing that senior business leaders working for major companies strongly favour Britain staying in the EU. Here is an extract from the news release.

The findings, from Ipsos MORI’s “Captains of Industry”, a survey of more than 100 of the most senior figures in top UK companies, show most think continuing EU membership would be best for their business (87%), are personally hoping for a “stay” result in the forthcoming referendum (87%) and would themselves vote to stay in (83%) if there was a referendum tomorrow.

The clear stance of business leaders contrasts with the more mixed views of the wider public, and appears to be driven by concerns about the impact a vote to leave the EU would have on various aspects of trade, business and the economy. A clear majority (79%) consider that Brexit would have a negative effect on Britain’s trade with Europe. Over three-quarters predict a negative effect on the British economy overall (78%), on foreign investment in the UK (78%) and on Britain’s standing in the world (72%).

There is less concern about direct negative effects on their company, such as its prospects (76% predict no impact) or ability to attract and retain talented employees (61% say it would make no difference). Additionally, only minority (37%) think a vote to leave would negatively affect trade with the rest of the world. More believe that an exit vote would make no difference (49%). Only 13% think that it would have a positive effect on non-EU trade.

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.

Cameron publishes 4 rules for ministers who want to campaign for Brexit

Number 10 has just released a three-page open letter from David Cameron to ministers setting out the rules that will underpin his decision to allow them a free vote in the EU referendum. He set out four basic guidelines.

1 - Collective cabinet responsibility will continue to apply until the EU renegotiation is concluded. During this period, “all ministers should continue to support the position set out in our manifesto and say or do nothing that will undermine the govenrment’s negotiating position.”

2 - Ministers will only be free to dissent on the issue of staying in the EU or leaving. On all other EU-related matters, cabinet responsibility will apply.

All other EU or EU-related business, including negotiations in or with all EU institutions and other member states, and debates and votes in parliament here on EU business will continue to be subject to the normal rules of collective responsibility and party discipline.

Ministers who speak from the frontbench will be expected to support government policy. But “we need to be flexible and apply common sense”, Cameron said.

Ministers who choose to depart from the government’s recommendation [to stay in the EU, assuming that is what it is] because of long-standing and sincerely held views will not be expected directly to contradict such a position while otherwise defending government policy in parliament.

This implies that Outist ministers will not be allowed to make the case for leaving the EU from the Despatch Box.

3 - Civil servants will not be able to help ministers who want to make the case for leaving the EU.

It will not be appropriate or permissible for the civil service or individual civil servants to support ministers who oppose the government’s official position by providing briefings or speech material on this matter.

Until the last 28 days of the campaign special advisers will be able to help ministers make the case for leaving the EU, provided they want to help and that they are doing so “in their own time”. During the last 28 days separate purdah rules will apply governing what they can do.

4 - Ministers will be expected to treat each other with courtesy.

It will be very important during this period for ministers on both sides of the debate to treat each other with appropriate respect and courtesy.

Cameron said he hoped the government would remain “a united, harmonious, mutually respectful team”.

Updated

The wives of Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson are among 107 senior lawyers who have been made QCs, the Press Association reports

Environmental barrister Justine Thornton, who is married to the ex-Labour leader, and human rights lawyer Marina Wheeler, wife of the London mayor, are to join the ranks of Queen’s Counsel.

Thornton said she was “absolutely delighted” by the announcement, and Ms Wheeler will mark the occasion with a quiet family celebration over the weekend. Mr Johnson is said to be “delighted” for his wife.

Candidates for the status - known as “taking silk” because of the right it confers to wear special robes in court - are considered each year from across the legal profession by an independent panel “for excellence in advocacy in the higher courts”.

The journalist and commentator Joshua Rozenberg, who writes for the Guardian, is among eight made honorary QCs by the Queen on the recommendation of Michael Gove, the justice secretary. (Perhaps this means he will be able to double his freelance rates?)

Updated

Peers start debating the trade union bill

In the House of Lords Lady Neville-Rolfe, a business minister and a former civil servant, has opened the second reading debate on the trade union bill. She started by saying unions had a valuable role to play. But reform was necessary, she said.

Every great social institution requires occasional modernisation if it is to remain relevant and responsive ... Every institution can benefit from greater transparency, better accountability and clearer regulation. This bill seeks to modernise trade unions, not to undermine their place in society, but to strengthen it by making sure that they are accountable, transparent and use their powers responsibly.

It is not fair that a strike in the education sector in 2014, organised by the National Union of Teachers, was held on the support of just 22% of their members. Similarly in 2014 a strike amongst NHS workers was called by Unite on the basis of the support of just 12% of members.

Lady Neville-Rolfe
Lady Neville-Rolfe Photograph: Parliament TV

Karl Turner appointed shadow attorney general

Karl Turner has been appointed shadow attorney general, the Labour party has announced.

Turner, MP for Hull East and a barrister, was previously shadow solicitor general, a post he first held under Ed Miliband and retained when Jeremy Corbyn became leader.

Updated

The RMT union has announced that it is going to stage three 24-hour Tube strikes, the Press Association reports.

The RMT union said workers will strike for 24 hours from 18.30 on January 26, February 15 and February 17 in the long running row over pay and the proposed all-night Tube service.

The union’s station staff members will take a week of industrial action from February 7 in a separate dispute over jobs and rosters.

Leaders of the drivers’ union Aslef are expected to confirm that its members will stage 24-hour strikes from 21.14 on Wednesday January 27 followed by two further 24 hour stoppages from the same time on February 15 and February 17 in the night Tube dispute.

LU has offered a four-year pay deal and said it will hire part-time drivers to staff an all-night service at weekends.

But unions have been seeking assurances for months about terms and conditions for their members.

Margaret Hodge, the former chair of the Commons public accounts committee, has been tweeting about the retirement of Lin Homer.

GMB boss tells Corbyn unions will fiercely oppose his attempt to change Labour policy on Trident

Sir Paul Kenny, the outgoing general secretary of the GMB union, has just been on the World at One telling Jeremy Corbyn that he might have to think again if he wants to commit the Labour party to unilateral disarmament. Here are the key points.

  • Kenny indicated that the GMB union would fiercely oppose any attempt by Corbyn to abandon Labour’s commitment to Trident.

The Labour party policy at the moment, reaffirmed at the party conference recently, is the renewal of Trident. Jeremy is perfectly entitled to say he wants to change that policy. He needs to go through the same democratic process that arrived at that policy in the first place ...

There are rules. This isssue of a mandate: I don’t remember any speech anywhere where someone said ‘I’m standing on a platform that I will do what I want, when I want, irrespective of what the rules of the Labour party are’. So let’s just get back to the basics.

Of course people are entitled to want to change policy. Why not? That is how it evolves. But there is a process and there are rules. And if anybody thinks that unions like the GMB are going to go quietly into the night while tens of thousands of our members’ jobs are literally Swaneed away by rhetoric, then they’ve got another shock coming.

(Kenny deserves credit for a particularly creative use of the word Swanee.)

  • He said the GMB would soon be helping to organise a conference to highlight the tens of thousands of jobs that would be lost if Trident renewal did not go ahead.

There are tens of thousands of British jobs involved here, and British workers. We are going to call a conference. There are about 50 sites around the UK whose livelihoods depend on defence contracts. We are going to ask those people what they think about the Labour party effectively shutting down their jobs. We want their voices heard in this debate.

Sir Paul Kenny
Sir Paul Kenny Photograph: Rick Findler/PA

Updated

Lunchtime summary

  • Corbyn has refused to rule out authorising drone strikes to kill jihadis. (See 9.45am.)
  • Cameron has announced an extension of his national citizen service programme. He did so in a well-trailed and substantial speech on life chances which also confirmed plans to rebuild 100 “sink estates”, to promote parenting classes, and to improve perinatal mental health services, and included new plans for a mentoring programme for under-performing teenagers. (See 11.29am, 12.32pm and 12.39pm.) I will post more from the speech when I have seen the full text.
  • Cameron has urged junior doctors to call off tomorrow’s strike. He said:

This strike is not necessary, it will be damaging. We are doing everything we can to mitigate its effects but you cant have a strike on this scale in our NHS without their being some real difficulties for patients and potentially worse. The Royal Air Force has used Brimstone missiles against Isis in Syria for the first time, Downing Street has confirmed. Four Brimstone missiles were deployed on two missions on Sunday. As Frances Perraudin and Ewen MacAskill report, one missile was used against enemy positions near Raqqa, including targeting an Isis vehicle. Three Brimstone missiles were also used in an attack on the Omar oilfield on the same day. There were also three other RAF missions in Syria on Sunday that did not use Brimstone missiles, including striking enemy tunnels near Raqqa.Bombing Syria may please allies, but will have little effect on IsisRead moreThe prime minister’s spokeswoman declined to say whether the strikes had resulted in casualties, saying: “These will all have been focused on either targeting Daesh [Isis]’s resources or targeting Daesh terrorists who are seeking to destabilise Iraq, Syria and threatening other countries.”

  • Peter Robinson has stood down as first minister of Northern Ireland saying he is leaving the job confident that devolution has been secured for generations to come. In his his final speech from the Northern Ireland assembly’s frontbench ahead of handing over to Arlene Foster, Robinson said:

When we take a step back and with the perspective of history we can see just how far we have come. We now live in a new era. You only have to look around to see the progress that there has been, not just in the physical structures that didn’t exist a decade ago, but in the lives of our people.

Though we don’t always fully appreciate it, devolution underpins the level of peace and stability we enjoy today. After 35 years of stop-go government, devolution, with local people taking the decisions, is once again the norm.

That has allowed us the platform to recast Northern Ireland’s international image and to bring in more jobs than at any point in our history. Whereas once tourists avoided coming here we now attract people from all over the world.

I hereby resign the office of first minister with confidence that the political institutions we have together created will be here for generations to come.

Among those paying tribute to him was Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein deputy first minister. McGuinness said:

We faced many challenges and many difficulties but I think we came through in the end. I had a friendship with Ian Paisley until the day he died and I have no doubt I have a friendship with Peter which will exist until the day we both die.

In his Q&A David Cameron also claimed there was no inconsistency between leading a government imposing cuts and proposing news social programmes, as he did today. (See 11.29am, 12.32pm and 12.39pm.)

This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

Cameron urges junior doctors to call off tomorrow's strike

In his Q&A after his speech David Cameron urged junior doctors to think again before going on strike tomorrow.

This is from the BBC’s Giles Dilnot on Paula Sheriff resigning as Jon Trickett’s PPS. (See 12.09am.)

Cameron announces mentoring scheme for under-achieving teenagers

In his speech David Cameron also announced a mentoring scheme to help teenagers at risk of under-achieving. Here is an extract from the Number 10 news release about this.

A new generation of high-flying mentors will be created to help struggling teens fulfil their potential and improve their life chances – Prime Minister David Cameron announced today.

Christine Hodgson, chair of Capgemini UK and The Careers & Enterprise Company, has agreed to lead a major campaign to encourage business people and professionals to volunteer to act as mentors to young teens at risk of dropping out of education or achieving less than they could.

While figures for young people not in education, training or employment (NEET) have fallen since 2010 - with numbers now at the lowest levels since records began - there are still tens of thousands of teenagers who are at risk of falling through the cracks.

Alongside this many bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds are not fulfilling their potential with figures showing pupils who score highly in primary school often struggle to continue that success into secondary school.

Around 25,000 pupils about to begin GCSEs risk under-achieving or dropping out: many of these would benefit from a mentor and the campaign will aim to ensure that they are not denied that support because no suitable mentors are available.

The national mentoring campaign will see schools and businesses encouraged to work together to give these young people the best possible chance to succeed in later life.

Cameron says national citizen service will cover 60% of 16-year-olds by 2021

David Cameron has just finished his life chances speech. In it, he announced a major expansion of the national citizen service programme, the volunteering scheme for teenagers.

I will post a full summary of the speech when I’ve seen the full text.

On the Daily Politics Lord Falconer, the shadow justice secretary, says Catherine McKinnell was an “incredibly effective” shadow attorney general.

As is becoming conventional, Catherine McKinnell’s resignation from the Labour frontbench has been accompanied by colleagues posting messages on Twitter paying tribute to her.

Here are some of them.

From Jon Ashworth, the shadow minister without portfolio

From Stephen Doughty, who resigned from the frontbench himself last week

From the Labour MP Wes Streeting

This is from ITV’s Paul Brand.

ITV’s Paul Brand reports a further (very minor) Labour resignation: Paula Sheriff resigning as PPS (parliamentary private secretary) to Jon Trickett, the Corbyn-supporting shadow communities secretary.

(To be honest, many of us didn’t know that Trickett even had a PPS. In the past the only opposition figure to get a PPS was the party leader.)

The parliamentary Labour party meets tonight at 6pm. Jeremy Corbyn was expected to address the meeting, but the Press Association’s Joe Churcher says he will be giving it a miss.

Here is a live feed of David Cameron’s speech.

David Cameron’s life chances speech

Full text of Catherine McKinnell's resignation letter

Here is the full text of Catherine McKinnell’s resignation letter (for anyone having difficulty reading the picture she posted on Twitter.)

Dear Jeremy,

I was genuinely surprised to be asked to join your shadow cabinet as shadow attorney general last September, however, I instantly acknowledged my duty to serve and the honour of doing so.

Whilst I did not support you for the leadership election, I recognised the significant mandate you had won from all sections of the party and was of course proud to be a member of a shadow cabinet that - for the first time ever - had a majority of women.

I also have huge respect for you personally as someone who has stood by their principles over many years and done so with decency and respect for those with whom you did not agree. I therefore thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your team.

Since my election as the MP for Newcastle North in 2010, I have worked hard to represent my constituents both in Newcastle and in Westminster whilst juggling the demands of having young children and living in two different places.

I am the first to recognise that many parents and carers up and down the country are also balancing work with family life, However, there are three reasons why this situation has become more difficult for me since returning to parliament after the election in May.

As you know, I had my third child twelve months ago and have spend this past year combining care for him with both a general election campaign and then returning to parliament, including taking on the additional responsibility of a shadow cabinet post. The logistics of managing family life in Newcastle with my work down in Westminster have inevitably become more of a challenge.

The second is the reality of being a shadow cabinet member. Whilst this is of course a huge honour and privilege, it is perhaps not generally understood that this precludes an MP from speaking up in Parliament on issues outside their brief. Whilst I have been able to use my position to raise concerns about issues such as corporate criminal liability, serious economic crime, prosecution rates, legal aid, and access to justice, I have found it increasingly difficult not to be able to speak up in the Commons about other matters that are of huge importance to my constituents in Newcastle North.

Both of these issues are amplified by a third factor - the situation in which the Labour party now finds itself. As somebody who came into politics with the sole motivation of making life better for my city, my region and, by extension, the country as a whole, I recognised that our electoral defeats in both 2010 and 2015 demanded a genuine and profound response from the Labour party. I therefore shared your optimism for the ‘new kind of politics’ you spoke so compellingly about.

However, as events have unfolded over recent weeks, my concerns about the direction and internal conflict within the Labour party have only grown, and I fear this is taking us down an increasingly negative path. I feel that I would like to channel my energy constructively, into making positive changes for my constituency.

Therefore, having given this much consideration over the weekend, I have reached the conclusion that I can better serve my constituents and the Labour party from the backbenches at this time, and with a heavy heart I resign from my post within your shadow cabinet.

Yours sincerely,

Catherine McKinnell

McKinnell says she fears Labour is 'going down an increasingly negative path'

In her resignation letter Catherine McKinnell said there were three reasons why she wanted to resign from the shadow cabinet.

She said that birth of her third child 12 months ago had made managing family life harder and that she found it frustrating not being able to speak out on constituency issues because of her shadow cabinet role.

But there was a third factor, she said - her concern about the direction in which the party was heading under Jeremy Corbyn.

As somebody who came into politics with the sole motivation of making life better for my city, my region and, by extension, the country as a whole, I recognised that our electoral defeats in both 2010 and 2015 demanded a genuine and profound response from the Labour party. I therefore shared your optimism for the ‘new kind of politics’ you spoke so compellingly about.

However, as events have unfolded over recent weeks, my concerns about the direction and internal conflict within the Labour party have only grown, and I fear this is taking us down an increasingly negative path. I feel that I would like to channel my energy constructively, into making positive changes for my constituency.

Catherine McKinnell is the fourth shadow minister to resign following Jeremy Corbyn’s reshuffle. Technically her resignation is more serious than the others because, as shadow attorney general, she was a member of the shadow cabinet.

The others who resigned last week - Jonathan Reynolds, Stephen Doughty and Kevan Jones - were all shadow junior ministers.

Labour's shadow attorney general resigns over concerns about the party's direction

The Press Association has just snapped this.

Shadow attorney general Catherine McKinnell has resigned from Labour’s frontbench citing “concerns about the direction and internal conflict” within the party.

David Cameron is about to give a big speech on life chances and extending opportunity.

He is not going to get much coverage on 24-hour news TV today, in the light of the death of David Bowie, but Number 10 have already briefed out three stories from the speech.

In the House of Lords today peers will debate the second reading of the trade union bill. As the Guardian’s splash reports, Labour thinks the proposals in the bill to replace the current “opt out” system for people paying a levy into a union’s political fund with an “opt in” system will cost the party £6m a year.

The Lib Dems are also arguing that this is unfair. Normally peers do not vote on a bill at second reading, but Lord Tyler, the Lib Dem constitutional affairs spokesman, has tabled an amendment saying part of the bill should be considered by a select committee. This would delay consideration of the bill.

The Lib Dems say the committee on standards in public life proposed two key reforms to party funding laws in a report in 2011: a cap on individual donations, which was particularly hit the Tories; and an opt-in rule for union political funds, which would particularly hit Labour. The committee said its plans should be considered “as a package” because implementing one recommendation, but not the other, would be unfair. But this is exactly what the government is doing, the Lib Dems say. Tyler will highlight this point in the debate.

In a statement Tyler said:

Whatever your political background it is clear that this move is unfair, undemocratic and sets a dangerous precedent.

The Tories are manipulating the system unilaterally so they can hold on to power for years to come.

We are calling on the government to fulfil their past promises, to act in the public interest; they have to stop pulling strings behind the scenes to silence their opponents.

It is not clear, though, whether the Tyler amendment will actually be put to a vote. Votes at second reading in the Lords are very rare and Tyler may decide that it is more fruitful to push this point to a division at a later stage in the bill’s passage through the Lords.

Here is some reaction to the Jeremy Corbyn interview from journalists on Twitter.

From the Guardian’s Michael White

From the Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn

From Channel 4 News’s Michael Crick

From the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush

From the Sunday Times’s James Lyons

From Robert Colvile, the former Telegraph comment editor

Jeremy Corbyn's Today interview - Summary

Jeremy Corbyn has had some praise for his Today programme interview. I will post a round-up shortly. But first here are the main news points..

I think that’s a hypothetical question. You have to look at the sources of the support of Isil, you have to look at the way it gets its money, the way it gets its weapons.

When pressed on this, he went on:

I would want to know what the evidence is, what difference it would make by doing that, what the chances were of capturing somebody - I suspect probably very, very low in those circumstances - so action could be taken.

I want members to have a big say in it. Whether that comes as a vote of individual members, or a vote at conference, that will be decided. I have not made up my mind on that.

But he suggested he was leaning towards a new procedure.

My whole election programme was based on the need for ordinary people to be able to participate much more in politics, so that leaders don’t go away and write policy, so that executive groups don’t go off and decide what the policy is, ordinary people do.

  • He said Labour’s new policy on Trident should have supporting the nuclear non-proliferation treaty at its heart.

It has to start from the basis that we are signed up to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, itself a creation of the 1960s Labour government of Harold Wilson, and that there also has to be a policy of what we do to ensure protection of skills and jobs throughout British industry that are in some part reliant on the whole Trident nuclear programme.

But if we want to live in a nuclear-free world, we have to recognise that we have to make a contribution to it. Renewing Trident, in my view, goes against the fundamental spirit of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which requires the five declared nuclear weapons states not to renew their weapons systems.

  • He said he supported the anti-Trident rally being planned for February and did not rule out speaking at it.
  • Corbyn said that he was “not in favour of terrorism of any sort” and that he did not believe the French government was responsible for the attacks on Paris.

I am absolutely not in favour of terrorism of any sort. It is absolutely appalling and disgraceful that civilian life should be taken by random acts of terrorism as happened in Paris ...

Of course the French government were not responsible for the attacks on the streets of Paris any more than any other government was from the West.

But I would just say, listen very carefully to the analysis that President Obama gave of the situation in the Middle East when he said we have to think long and hard about the longer-term effects of both the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, about what that does. We have a terrible situation in Syria, we have a terrible situation developing in Iraq and now sadly getting even worse in Afghanistan. Can we not think very long and hard about what our long-term policies and objectives have to be.

Corbyn said he agreed with what Pat McFadden said about terrorists being responsible for their behaviour. But he also said he thought McFadden’s comments on this in the Commons were distorting what Corbyn thought. He said McFadden was sacked as shadow Europe minister not just because of that, but because of various critical things he had said.

  • Corbyn said he opposed Saddam Hussein long before many of those who supported the Iraq war.

I was probably opposed to Saddam Hussein long before all those people who supported the war decided they were opposed to him.

  • He praised Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, for his “brilliant” performance attacking the government over its relationship with Saudi Arabia. He said he had had very long discussions with Benn during the reshuffle last week during which Benn kept his post, but he would not go into details.
  • He said British foreign policy should be based on human rights.

We has a country have got to develop a human rights-based foreign policy.

  • He claimed he did not know who briefed journalists that he intended to move Benn. “I’m not sure where the briefing came from,” he said.
  • Corbyn claimed the reshuffle had made his frontbench team more representative of the country and of the parliamentary Labour party. He particularly highlighted two junior appointments as important: Emma Lewell-Buck taking responsibility for campaigning in the north; and Kate Osamor taking on equalities role
  • He said he supported junior doctors’ strike.

We should recognise that junior doctors are qualified, extremely hard working, deserve to be treated properly, and Jeremy Hunt should now come to an agreement with them.

  • He brushed aside the claim that he is not capable of winning over voters who do not already agree with him.

Somewhere along the line I’ve managed to be reelected eight times in my constituency, with very large majorities. I started off with a very small majority. I managed to receive the support of 250,000 members and supporters of the party during the leadership election. I realise that’s not the public.

But I just say this. If we carry on like this in this county, we end up with a more divided Britain, we end up with more people sleeping homeless, we end up with more young people in overcrowded accommodation, underachieving at school. We have a housing strategy that denies opportunity for everybody. Middle-class families whose children cannot leave because they cannot afford to buy anywhere, poorer families cannot get any council housing, forced into very expensive private rented accommodation. We can, will and must do things very differently.

  • He paid tribute to David Bowie.

I think that it is great that we are spending time remembering a great musician, a great entertainer and someone that represents all that’s best in the fantastic cultural diversity of this country. I can’t think of David Bowie without thinking Life on Mars.

Updated

Q: Do you support the junior doctors’ strike?

Corbyn says he has sent a message of support to them. There is no strike in Wales or Scotland, he says.

Q: Do you understand why people worry that Labour won’t win if you are going to war with your party?

Corbyn says he does not want to go to war with anyone. He wants to offer a different approach to the economy. He has defeated the government on police cuts, on tax credits, and on the prison contract for Saudi Arabia.

Q: People wonder if you can win over people who are not Labour supporters. I have known you for years. You like protesting. You don’t seem interested in talking to people who do not agree with you. People will say you cannot even persuade Labour colleagues to agree with you.

Corbyn says if we go on as we are going now, Britain will be more divided, inequality will get worse and more people will not be able to get housing. We need an alternative, he says.

And that’s it. I will post a summary soon.

Q: A recent poll said fewer than one in five voters trust you to keep people safe. You sacked Pat McFadden for saying terrorists are responsible for their actions. Isn’t that reasonable?

Corbyn says on the face of it what McFadden said was reasonable. But McFadden had said various critical things.

Q: Was it a distotortion of your views?

In some respects, yes, says Corbyn. Corbyn says he abhors terrorism.

Q: That’s not the point. People think that you think France was partly to blame for what happened.

Corbyn says it is important to think about the consequences of foreign policy actions.

He says he wanted a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis.

Q: If you were told a drone strike could kill the militant seen in the recent Islamic State video, would you approve it?

Corbyn says it is a hypothetical question. He would want to see the evidence.

Q: It is not really hypothetical. You disapprove of drone strikes.

Corbyn says he would want to see the evidence.

Q: Is it inconceivable that you could stand for election in 2020 on Labour’s current policy?

Corbyn says Nick Robinson is suggesting a crisis that does not exist. The Labour party will look at this policy.

Q: There is a big anti-Trident rally in February. Will you speak at it?

Corbyn says he has not been invited yet. But he is supportive of the rally.

Jeremy Corbyn's Today interview

Jeremy Corbyn starts with a tribute to David Bowie. He represented the cultural diversity of the UK, he says.

Q: How did the reshuffle make Labour stronger?

Corbyn says he has widened the shadow cabinet, to represent the diversity of the country and of the PLP.

Q: Why did you not move Hilary Benn?

Corbyn says there is huge work for Maria Eagle to do at culture. He says the party has a policy on Trident. But he has a position on Trident too.

Q: Journalists were briefed you wanted to move Benn?

Corbyn says he does not know where that briefing came from.

He had a long chat with Benn. He wants Benn to focus on attacking the government’s human rights record.

Q: What will you do to ensure the party adopts your stance on Trident?

Corbyn says there will be a review of policy.

It will start by ensuring Labour backs the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, agreed by Harold Wilson’s government.

Q: Will members of the Labour party get a vote on this?

Corbyn says he won’t decide this; the national executive committee will decide.

But he wants a debate.

Q: You want members to have a vote?

Corbyn says he wants them to have “a big say”. Whether that is through a vote, or through a vote at conference, he has not decided.

Updated

Politicians pay tribute to David Bowie

Obviously, another story is dominating the headlines this morning. Jeremy Corbyn was due to get the 8.10 slot on the Today programme, but he has pushed off that by the death of David Bowie.

Here are some of the politicians who have already paid tribute to David Bowie. At this rate, you wonder whether there might be a statement in the House.

From David Cameron, the prime minister

From George Osborne, the chancellor

From Boris Johnson, the mayor of London

From John Whittingdale, the culture secretary

From Sajid Javid, the business secretary

From Nicky Morgan, the education secretary

From Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader

From Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister

From Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader

From Ed Vaizey, the arts minister

From the Labour MP Chuka Umunna

Updated

Jeremy Corbyn is giving an interview to the Today programme shortly. Among the topics that may come is is Labour’s stance on Trident, which my colleague Nicholas Watt has covered in the paper today.

Later we’ve got a big speech from David Cameron.

Here is the agenda for the day.

8.10am: Jeremy Corbyn’s Today interview.

Around 11am: David Cameron gives a speech on life chances and extending opportunity.

2.30pm: Theresa May, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

Around 3pm: Peers begin debating the trade union bill.

As usual, I will also be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I will post a summary at lunchtime and another in the afternoon.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on@AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments BTL but normally I find it impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time. Alternatively you could post a question to me on Twitter.

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