Interesting from the Guardian’s political editor. Is the Labour party preparing for more resignations?
Hearing Labour party staff have had their access to membership and voter contact databases removed today - does party fear more MPs could leave, and take data with them....?
— Heather Stewart (@GuardianHeather) February 20, 2019
And separately, Labour’s general secretary Jennie Formby has emailed staff, warning about potential breaches of data protection law... pic.twitter.com/sp3kJpjPKP
— Heather Stewart (@GuardianHeather) February 20, 2019
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Here’s the first photoshoot of the Independent Group all together.
The first “family photo” of the Independent Group pic.twitter.com/GBcIZhE665
— Liz Rawlings (@lizrawlings) February 20, 2019
Afternoon summary
- The three former Tory MPs who quit this morning in protest at the Conservative party’s move to the right have given a press conference. They said they had become dismayed by Theresa May’s pandering to the far right of her own party and complained that she was pushing the country towards a hard Brexit. They said the Tories were as affected by entryism as Labour and that many MPs were afraid of being deselected by their local parties. Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen said there were many MPs who felt the same as them.
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Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clashed on Brexit in a PMQs, where there was no mention of the 11 MPs who have quit their parties. The new Independent Group of MPs sat in their new positions on the opposition benches and could be seen taking selfies ahead of the debate.
- Former Labour MP Joan Ryan became the latest to leave the party in protest at its handling of antisemitism and Brexit last night. Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme this morning, she said the party’s problems with antisemitism only began when Corbyn became leader.
We never had this problem in the party before he was the leader. It comes with him, it is part of his politics, I am afraid.
- Theresa May is travelling to Brussels this afternoon to meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, with plans to secure legal assurances that the Irish backstop will not permanently bind the UK into a customs union. Speaking in Berlin this morning, the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said the government could now see a way of getting its deal through parliament by the 29 March deadline. He said a compromise needed to be reached that would allow the attorney general to change his legal advice to MPs.
I think what’s changed in the last four weeks is that we’ve now seen a way that we can get a parliamentary majority for the withdrawal agreement – that seemed much more difficult before – and that is essentially to take the deal that we have on the table in its entirety, but make a simple but important change to the Northern Ireland backstop, but one that guarantees the future of the Belfast, Good Friday peace agreement.
Updated
Linda Fabiani, a former Scottish National party minister, has been appointed to chair the special Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish government’s botched handling of its investigation into sexual harassment complaints against Alex Salmond.
At its inaugural meeting on Wednesday Labour and Tory members lodged formal objections to an SNP MSP chairing the committee, set up to investigate the actions of civil servants, the first minister Nicola Sturgeon and her special advisers before it emerged the inquiry was legally flawed.
Salmond denies the allegations and mounted legal action against the government, which admitted in court last month the senior civil servant who led the internal inquiry into allegations against by two women had had prior contact with both complainants. The Scottish government agreed that gave the inquiry the appearance of bias.
Sturgeon has since admitted she discussed the case five times with Salmond while her chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, was instrumental in brokering the first meeting between Sturgeon and Salmond.
Now a deputy presiding officer at Holyrood, Fabiani is one of three former SNP ministers on the committee was served under Salmond when he was first minister, as European affairs and culture minister from 2007 until 2009. Under Holyrood rules, it is the SNP’s turn to chair a new committee but the party has the right to step aside.
Jackie Baillie, a Scottish Labour MSP on the committee, and Donald Cameron, for the Tories, said they did not doubt Fabiani’s probity but warned it could raise questions about the committee’s independence and transparency.
The Liberal Democrats and Greens supported the SNP chairing the committee, which has now suspended its investigations until Salmond’s trial on 14 charges including attempted rape and sexual assault has finished. He denies all the charges.
Looks like Lineker is a fan ...
No idea where this will lead, but for many that are politically homeless this could conceivably be a place of shelter from the increasingly extremist political duopoly. https://t.co/Um5KE6kKMA
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 20, 2019
Wollaston says there is a very aggressive and well-funded social media campaign that has been waged against them. “It’s very clear to me that our associations are changing. We have people who are very clearly Ukip and they are turning the Conservative party to Blukip,” she says.
Soubry says lots of Tory MPs are frightened of being deselected. They are not frightened of their electorate, but people in their associations, she says.
Soubry says she stands by the Tory austerity policy after 2010 and that it was the right thing to do for the country.
Wollaston says it is extraordinary that “just at the point when we can start to reverse austerity, we are knowingly and deliberately about to send ourselves back into an economic downturn”.
Updated
Asked why they voted with the government on a no-confidence motion just a few weeks ago, Soubry says: “The last thing this country wants or needs is a general election.”
Allen and Soubry say they would not rejoin the Conservative party. Heidi Allen says she had one text from a cabinet minister last night trying to persuade her not to leave, but Wollaston and Soubry say they’ve had nothing.
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Heidi Allen says the three MPs had run out of ammunition to persuade May to change her path on Brexit. “This is designed to be a wake-up call,” she says. “This is a taste of more to come.”
Sarah Wollaston says that the new Independent Group is bigger than the DUP and the ERG – instead of constantly reaching out to those groups, Theresa May should reach out to them.
Updated
Heidi Allen says there are lots of MPs who agree with them. She says they had no idea that the seven Labour MPs were planning their announcement, but decided to “pick up the baton” today.
Anna Soubry says that they are appealing for everybody – even people who voted for Brexit – to join them. Moves to modernise the Tory party under Cameron have all been thrown away, she says, and it is now in the grip of the ERG.
Updated
“I’m not leaving the Conservative party. It has left me,” she says. Soubry calls on other MPs to join them and says there are millions of people who support their values and who are tired of tribal politics.
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Soubry says you don’t join a political party to fight it. “The battle is over and the other side has won,” she says. “The rightwing, the hardline anti-EU awkward squad are running the Conservative party from top to toe.”
She says that many of her friends in the party know “in their heads and in their hearts that it’s over”. “Brexit now defines the Conservative party.”
She says her colleagues are being hounded in their constituency parties by infiltrators, even though they are supporting the prime minister’s deal. “It’s ironic that Conservatives observe it and condemn it in the Labour party, but it is happening in their own party.”
Updated
Anna Soubry says the Conservative party has been very good to her. She says she had rejoined the party in 2002 as a single mother of two when it had started to modernise. “It is with a heavy heart that I have today resigned my membership of the Conservative party,” she says.
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Sarah Wollaston is up next. She says she wants to answer the questions of why now and what next. She says she wouldn’t have joined the Conservative party if it had looked then as it does now.
“This is about more than Brexit. I joined the party after spending 24 years in the NHS as a frontline doctor wanting to make a difference,” she says. She joined a tolerant, modern open-hearted Conservative party, which has since disappeared, says Wollaston.
She says the Conservatives were once the party most trusted on the economy but that they were now driving the country up to the cliff edge with their approach to Brexit.
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She says she feels excited in a way she hasn’t felt since she was elected, and a sense of liberation. “The United Kingdom deserves better,” she says.
“Yes we are putting our heads above the parapet and we might fail, but isn’t the prize worth fighting for?”
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Heidi Allen has taken to the stage. She says that he we heard yesterday about “the magnificent seven”, then yesterday evening about the “lone ranger”. Now we are meeting the “three amigos”.
“I am tired of feeling numb,” she says. “So today – alongside my wonderful colleagues – I have resigned from the Conservative party.”
She says she found herself fighting for a compassionate welfare system. “Those that rely on the [safety] net are people and not numbers.”
“I can no longer represent a party that can’t open its eyes to suffering in our society. Suffering that has deepened, when it was in our power to fix it.”
Updated
Three former Tory MPs give press conference
The three MPs who this morning announced they had resigned from the Conservative party are now giving a press conference in Westminster. (You can watch the live stream at the top of this blog.)
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Ahead of the press conference by the Independent Group, here are some potted bios of who exactly is resigning from the Tory party.
Anna Soubry was elected as MP for Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire following the 2010 general election. She was elected onto the Justice Select committee later that summer. Soubry worked as a journalist until the mid-1990s, presenting regional and networked television programmes. She is a prominent supporter of the People’s Vote campaign.
Sarah Wollaston had been a member of the Conservative Party since 2006. She was elected to represent Totnes, Devon in the 2010 general election. She later became the Chair of the Liaison Committee and the Health Select Committee. Wollaston practised as a GP until her election into parliament.
Heidi Allen was elected to represent South Cambridgeshire in the 2015 general election. She used her maiden speech to criticise the government’s plan to cut tax credits. She was promptly elected onto the Work and Pensions Select Committee. In 2017 Allen failed to obtain a Conservative Party nomination for Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Before entering parliament, Allen worked for RS Bike Paint Ltd, a company owned by her parents.
Ian Blackford has asked an urgent question to the prime minister to set out the analysis the government has done on the economic impact of its proposed EU withdrawal deal. Mel Stride, financial secretary to the Treasury and paymaster general, says the government published its analysis on the economic impact of Brexit at the end of November. He says a no-deal Brexit would be bad for the economy. Blackford says it is clear from Stride’s answer that there has been no specific analysis of the withdrawal agreement. He says that economists are clear that the PM’s proposed deal would be disastrous for the economy.
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Angela Eagle asks the PM what her definition of “smooth and orderly Brexit” is.
As I say to every member of this house, there will come a further point in this chamber when every member will have a decision to take as to whether we want to ensure that we deliver on the result of the referendum – and most members of this house stood on a manifesto to do that – and to do that by leaving the EU with a deal ... I know where I stand and I hope the honourable lady agrees.
And that’s it from PMQs. No mention of the 11 MPs who have left their parties to be independents. We’ll have to wait until the 1.15pm press conference for more on that.
Here we go again... pic.twitter.com/219e72212U
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) February 20, 2019
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So far the only defection mentioned by May has been that of Brighton Labour councillor Anne Meadows, who has defected to the Tories saying she’s suffered months of abuse and antisemitism.
That’s the harsh reality that decent moderate Labour councillors are having to face every day, due to Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to stand up to bullying and racism in his party. We will welcome her with open arms into the Conservative party. I’m sure she will be an excellent Conservative councillor.
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It looks like we might get through a whole PMQs without anybody mentioning the elephant in the room – the elephant being the 11 MPs who have defected from their respective parties and are sitting together on the opposition benches.
The vibe of this #pmqs very ‘if someone came to work in their pants, & everyone politely didn’t mention that their trousers are now sitting as independents’
— Gaby Hinsliff (@gabyhinsliff) February 20, 2019
What could be more British than 11 MPs leaving their respective parties, and everyone being too embarrassed to mention it? #PMQs
— Robert Hutton (@RobDotHutton) February 20, 2019
None of the new Independent Group are bobbing at PMQs. Slightly surprising
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) February 20, 2019
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Leo Docherty asks the PM to join him in thanking the home secretary for showing that people who join terrorists abroad do not deserve citizenship. Theresa May says she dealt with cases of deprivation of citizenship when she was home secretary and that they come with a very clear set of criteria. She says it is important for “this government and this country to take action against those who are involved in terrorism”.
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Here’s a pretty startling image, showing former MPs Soubry, Allen and Wollaston sitting behind Corbyn.
And another here:
Updated
Corbyn asks May when she is going to stop “putting the interests of the Conservative party ahead of the country’s interests”. May responds with the same charge back at Corbyn – “At every stage he has acted to frustrate a deal and acted to make no-deal more likely.”
On Honda, May says the company has made it clear the company’s decision was not about Brexit. She says that seeing as Corbyn wants to talk about jobs, why doesn’t he welcome today’s high employment figures.
Corbyn asks why she won’t listen to industry bodies who want a customs union. “When investment is cut today, jobs are cut tomorrow,” he says.
Updated
May says they need to find a solution that is going to deliver for the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and address the concerns of the commons so the country can leave on the 29 March with a deal.
She asks Corbyn to “tell us what his policy is – to back the deal or to stay in the European Union?” He says he wrote her a letter setting out the party’s position.
Updated
Corbyn asks May about Brexit negotiations. She says: “What matters in all of this is legally binding changes that address the concerns that have been raised in this house.”
Corbyn says it “sounds like it might be a bit confusing” for the EU to understand what she is “turning up with”.
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Asked about antisemitism, Theresa May says: “I never thought I would see the day when Jewish people in this country would be worried about their safety in their country,” and when a “once-proud Labour party” is accused of anti-semitism. “It is racism and we should act against it,” she adds.
Jeremy Corbyn says: “Antisemitism has no place whatsoever is any of our political parties.” He has to pause because of MPs jeering. “My own political party takes the strongest action to deal with antisemitism whenever it rears its head.”
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PMQs has kicked off. Theresa May is paying tribute to Labour MP Paul Flynn, who died this weekend. She reminds the house of his excellent quote when he was sent to the backbenches by Corbyn.
RIP Paul Flynn. Gave me one of my best ever quotes after he left the Labour frontbench in 2016. pic.twitter.com/L32lZk2wvk
— Kevin Schofield (@PolhomeEditor) February 18, 2019
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MPs are gearing up for what will be a very interesting PMQs. The Independent Group MPs have taken their new seats.
The new @TheIndGroup seem to be enjoying their new seats in @HouseofCommons #allchange #selfietime pic.twitter.com/n9UtE3iVB7
— John Lamont MP 🏴🇬🇧 (@John2Win) February 20, 2019
Here they all are - the new Independent Group sitting together on the opposition benches pic.twitter.com/i1PJFwWCz6
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) February 20, 2019
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Here is that resignation letter in full from Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen:
Dear Prime Minster
It is with regret that we are writing to resign the Conservative whip and our membership of the party.
We voted for you as leader and prime minister because we believed you were committed to a moderate, open-hearted Conservative party in the one nation tradition. A party of economic competence, representing the best of British business, delivering good jobs, opportunity and prosperity for all, funding world class public services and tackling inequalities. We had hoped you would also continue to modernise our party so that it could reach out and broaden its appeal to younger voters and to embrace and reflect the diversity of the communities we seek to represent.
Sadly, the Conservative party has increasingly abandoned these principles and values with a shift to the right of British politics. We no longer feel we can remain in the party of a government whose policies and priorities are so firmly in the grip of the ERG and DUP.
Brexit has re-defined the Conservative party - undoing all the efforts to modernise it. There has been a dismal failure to stand up to the hard line ERG which operates openly as a party within a party, with its own leader, whip and policy.
This shift to the right has been exacerbated by blatant entryism. Not only has this been tolerated, it has been actively welcomed in some quarters. A purple momentum is subsuming the Conservative party, much as the hard left has been allowed to consume and terminally undermine the Labour party.
We have tried consistently and for some time to keep the party close to the centre ground of British politics. You assured us when you first sought the leadership that this was your intention. We haven’t changed, the Conservative party has and it no longer reflects the values and beliefs we share with millions of people throughout the United Kingdom.
The final straw for us has been this government’s disastrous handling of Brexit.
Following the EU referendum of 2016, no genuine effort was made to build a cross party, let alone a national consensus to deliver Brexit. Instead of seeking to heal the divisions or to tackle the underlying causes of Brexit, the priority was to draw up “red lines”. The 48% were not only sidelined, they were alienated.
We find it unconscionable that a party once trusted on the economy, more than any other, is now recklessly marching the country to the cliff edge of no deal. No responsible government should knowingly and deliberately inflict the dire consequences of such a destructive exit on individuals, communities and businesses and put at risk the prospect of ending austerity.
We also reject the false binary choice that you have presented to Parliament between a bad deal and no deal. Running down the clock to 29 March amounts to a policy of no deal and we are not prepared to wait until our toes are at the edge of the cliff.
We can no longer act as bystanders.
We intend to sit as independents alongside the Independent Group of MPs in the centre ground of British politics. There will be times when we will support the government, for example, on measures to strengthen our economy, security and improve our public services. But we now feel honour bound to put our constituents’ and country’s interests first.
We would like to thank all those who have supported us and worked alongside us within our constituencies over many years. We genuinely wish our many friends and colleagues within the party well, indeed we know many of them share our concerns.
We will continue to work constructively, locally and nationally, on behalf of our constituents.
However, the country deserves better. We believe there is a failure of politics in general, not just in the Conservative party but in both main parties as they move to the fringes, leaving millions of people with no representation. Our politics needs urgent and radical reform and we are determined to play our part.
Yours sincerely,
Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston
Updated
Reaction is coming in to the news of the three Tory MP resignations.
Expected, sad, and ultimately a big mistake for the individuals https://t.co/QKYS1ICrUg
— Eric Pickles (@EricPickles) February 20, 2019
Very sorry to read this from my principled and fearless friend @Anna_Soubry - any political party should be a broad church and we should regret losing three such talented women from the Conservative Party https://t.co/ird2MeCYIT
— Nicky Morgan MP (@NickyMorgan01) February 20, 2019
"a purple momentum is now subsuming the Conservative party... marching the country to the cliff edge of no deal"
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) February 20, 2019
Kudos to the brave MPs who have left the broken Conservative and Labour parties. Our country deserves better than this national shambles of a Government. https://t.co/YFKD9Ik2Pf
Welcome to the Independent Group @heidiallen75 @Anna_Soubry and @sarahwollaston Both our parties are broken. We are going to #ChangePolitics for the better.
— The Independent Group (@TheIndGroup) February 20, 2019
More defections away from Westminster ...
BREAKING: Labour is on the brink of losing charge of @BrightonHoveCC as Councillor Anne Meadows defects to Conservatives saying she’s had 18 months of abuse and anti-semitism. Exclusive interview on @bbcsoutheast at 1330
— Helen Catt (@BBCHelenCatt) February 20, 2019
PM 'saddened' by decision of three MPs to leave Conservative party
Theresa May has issued a statement in response to the news that three of her MPs have left the Labour party and will join the Independent Group of eight former Labour MPs in parliament.
I am saddened by this decision – these are people who have given dedicated service to our party over many years, and I thank them for it.
Of course, the UK’s membership of the EU has been a source of disagreement both in our party and our country for a long time. Ending that membership after four decades was never going to be easy.
But by delivering on our manifesto commitment and implementing the decision of the British people we are doing the right thing for our country. And in doing so, we can move forward together towards a brighter future.
I am determined that under my leadership the Conservative party will always offer the decent, moderate and patriotic politics that the people of this country deserve.
Updated
Anna Soubry has tweeted a letter of resignation from the three MPs to the prime minister. In it they say they voted for Theresa May because they thought she was “committed to a moderate, open-hearted Conservative party in the one nation tradition”. They say the Conservative party has shifted to the right.
This shift to the right has been exacerbated by blatant entryism. Not only has this been tolerated, it has been actively welcomed in some quarters. A purple momentum is subsuming the Conservative party, as much as the hard left has been allowed to consume and terminally undermine the Labour party.
It is with a heavy heart I have today resigned from the Conservative Party. pic.twitter.com/q0j7m5ylUX
— Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 20, 2019
Updated
Three Conservative MPs to defect to Independent Group
It has been confirmed that three Conservative MPs – Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen – have left the party and will join the Independent Group of eight in parliament. They will be holding a press conference at 1.15pm.
We no longer feel we can remain in the party of a government whose policies and priorities are so firmly in the grip of the ERG and DUP.
Brexit has re-defined the Conservative party – undoing all the efforts to modernise it. There has been a dismal failure to stand up to the hardline ERG, which operates openly as a party within a party, with its own leader, whip and policy.
Three Tory MPs defect to fledgling Independent Group https://t.co/q9zyQWrTcK
— The Guardian (@guardian) February 20, 2019
Updated
Momentum nominee wins Labour’s North of Tyne mayoral candidate race
Well, well - that's quite the result. Looks like North Tyneside will get a socialist mayor now that Labour has selected the Momentum candidate - do we know yet which Tory is standing, plus any interesting independents? https://t.co/BcJM2WGc2g
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) February 20, 2019
Momentum is celebrating after its candidate this morning won the selection battle to represent Labour in the elections to become the first North of Tyne mayor. Socialist grassroots activist Jamie Driscoll beat “heir of Blair” Nick Forbes, who has been the leader of Newcastle city council since 2011.
Driscoll, a former nurse who went on to set up his own software development firm, who was first elected to Newcastle council last May. He won 2,514 votes to Forbes’s 1,930 in a poll of local Labour members.
Described by Labour’s shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, as “a 100 per cent genuine socialist”, Driscoll’s website promises “radical regional renewal”. His policies include setting up a regional bank and a renewable energy cooperative owned by workers and customers.
The north-east of England has long been a Labour stronghold and so the party’s candidate has a good chance of becoming the mayor, who will be a figurehead for the local authority areas of Newcastle city, North Tyneside borough and Northumberland county.
The mayoral election will take place on 2 May. The winner will preside over an extra £600m of central government funding being devolved to the area, together with powers over the economy, education, skills and transport.
Updated
Over in Greece, Britain’s ambassador, Kate Smith, has welcomed the news that the rights of an estimated 45,000 UK citizens living in the country will be fully protected in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Describing British citizens living in Greece as “an important bridge of friendship between our two countries”, the Greek foreign minister, Georgios Katrougalos, pledged that whatever happened after 29 March, UK nationals would be able to remain in the country without risk.
“There is a substantial Greek community in the UK and a sizeable UK community in Greece and we wish for both of them to continue to enjoy fully the benefits and privileges they had before withdrawal,” Katrougalos wrote in a letter to his British counterpart, Jeremy Hunt, published by the UK government this morning.
With ratification of the withdrawal agreement far from a done deal, Katrougalos said Athens was now obliged “to prepare for the eventuality of a no-deal scenario”.
In this scenario too, citizens’ rights is a top priority and our aim is to ensure that both Greek and UK citizens who chose to live, study and work in each others’ countries will continue to do so without obstacles and will fully enjoy similar, if not identical, rights as before withdrawal …
Let me assure you, in this respect, that British citizens already living in Greece are welcome, valued and [are] an important bridge of friendship between our two countries. Their rights will be fully recognised and guaranteed, in line with the reciprocity offered by the UK to EU citizens.
The Greek state was working expeditiously, he insisted, on fast-tracking legislation that will “give British citizens and their family members already living in Greece before the withdrawal date, the opportunity to remain here and continue to live, study and work, as well as enjoy social security and healthcare benefits”.
Around 30,000 Greeks – not least the country’s well-heeled shipping community – are thought to live in the UK.
Kate Smith tweeted: “Delighted that the Greek government has confirmed that in the event of no deal the rights of UK nationals already living in Greece will be fully recognised and guaranteed, in line with the reciprocity offered by the UK to EU citizens.”
The letter from Minister of Foreign Affairs G. Katrougalos addressed to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt regarding UK nationals rights after the EU Exit, is available in English: https://t.co/mUxpT1Ri6y#UKnationalsinEU
— Kate Smith (@KateSmithFCO) February 20, 2019
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Ruth Smeeth, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, who has herself reported antisemitic abuse, has ruled out following her friend Luciana Berger in leaving the Labour party.
Writing for Jewish News, she said she came from a family of proud jewish trade unionists.
I am devastated that my friend, Luciana Berger, has been hounded out of our party for nothing more than being a Jewish woman; for standing up against antisemitism within the Labour party, and for being brave enough to speak out.
But I will not walk away and allow my once great party – the party of Attlee, of Barbara Castle, of Manny Shinwell or Ian Mikardo and allow it to become a natural home for antisemites.
I refuse to abandon the thousands of decent and hard-working members of the Labour party who campaign each and every week for a better country or give up on the 120-year history of a movement which has been the greatest force for social change in our country.
We cannot let the racists win and after decades of loudly campaigning against racism wherever I found it, I refuse to be silenced when it is in my own party.
So to my Labour family and my Jewish family, I want to say that I have never walked away from a fight and I have no intention of doing so now.
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Jeremy Hunt: We need a 'simple but important change' on backstop
Jeremy Hunt has just finished speaking at the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation in Berlin.
Asked how likely it was that EU withdrawal would be delayed past 29 March, Hunt said:
This is a very important deadline. It is a legally binding deadline. I think what’s changed in the last four weeks is that we’ve now seen a way that we can get a parliamentary majority for the withdrawal agreement – that seemed much more difficult before – and that is essentially to take the deal that we have on the table in its entirety, but make a simple but important change to the Northern Ireland backstop, but one that guarantees the future of the Belfast, Good Friday peace agreement.
If we can make that change we are confident that we can get this deal through and the critical thing is that the British attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, needs to be able to change his advice to parliament that currently says that it is possible, if not likely, that Britain could be under the current backstop arrangements, trapped in the customs union, forever, against its will. That is the issue that parliamentarians have difficulty with, so this is really the only way through the current situation and that is why 29 March is concentrating everybody’s minds.
Nobody wants a no-deal outcome and I think we now have to do what Europeans do very well, which is to come together around a table and find a compromise that allows Geoffrey Cox to change his advice and then I think we can meet that 29 March deadline.
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Congratulations to my old friend @DegsyHatton back in the band @UKLabour - word of caution mate, being mates with wiggy will be bad for your reputation Degsy #BrexitDegsy 😉@Arron_banks pic.twitter.com/HPhjR8aaeD
— Andy Wigmore (@andywigmore) February 19, 2019
Andy Wigmore, a prominent Nigel Farage associate, has tweeted his congratulations to Derek Hatton for being readmitted to the Labour party, 34 years after being expelled for his membership of the Militant faction.
Here is some reaction from people in Liverpool, where he was deputy leader of the council.
Newsnight’s Nick Watt again, saying that Tory defections are set for 11am.
Word is new defections set for 11am
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) February 20, 2019
Earlier this morning, former Conservative cabinet minister Ken Clarke told the Today programme that he believed some Tory MPs were considering joining the new Independent Group.
Certainly some Members of Parliament are getting very fed up. There are some, I think - not including me - who probably are contemplating leaving if the party moves too far to the right and no longer represents what they regard as the mainstream Conservative views they have held for all the previous years. I hope that doesn’t happen. I hope it doesn’t come to that.
Jeremy Hunt will be giving a speech in Berlin shortly. Speaking this morning, he said achieving a Brexit deal would require statesmanship on all sides.
The message is really to everyone that it is possible to find a way through this. Of course it’s challenging, of course there are difficulties. But there is a solution. We can get this deal through Parliament if we can have a deal where the Attorney General can change his advice on the backstop, that’s going to be key to unlocking it. With vision and statesmanship on all sides, this can be done and I’m hopeful it will be.
My thoughts on #Brexit as I head to Berlin this morning pic.twitter.com/ozmS9aHtxA
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) February 20, 2019
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In light of Labour’s announcement that they are consulting on allowing constituents to trigger a by-election if their MP leaves the political party they were elected in, people on Twitter have dragged up this 2010 tweet from Corbyn.
@Fleeper our electoral system u vote 4 ur MP rather than a party/leader & I hope that on that basis u can cast ur vote feelin comfortable
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 7, 2010
Joan Ryan: Corbyn responsible for Labour anti-semitism
Joan Ryan has been speaking on the BBC’s Today programme. She said the party’s problems with anti-semitism only began when Corbyn became leader.
We never had this problem in the party before he was the leader. It comes with him, it is part of his politics I am afraid. Labour should be the bulwark against that - against the hard right and their views. Instead of that, inside Labour it is perpetuating anti-Semitism ...
He (Corbyn) has introduced or allowed to happen in our party this scourge of anti-Semitism. It has completely infected the party and at every opportunity to deal with it he has not done so. We have had a whitewash report, we have had unprecedented actions of Jewish people feeling they have to demonstrate against the Labour Party in Parliament Square. We have had endless calls on him to deal with the most virulent, vile anti-Semitism - bullying, abuse and aggression - and he has turned away from doing that.
Ryan said Corbyn was aiding and abetting a hard Brexit and that many Labour MPs were unhappy with the party’s leadership. “I hope that all like-minded MPs from whatever party will want to join this group. It is early days. It is about trying to change the political weather,” she said.
Labour is consulting on extending the Recall of MPs Act 2015 to enable constituents to recall MPs if they leave their political party. At present, constituents can only do this if their MP is jailed or suspended from parliament for 21 days for a serious breach of rules.
Jon Trickett, Labour’s shadow cabinet office minister, said: “Power comes from the people but for too long the overwhelming majority have been shut out. That’s why trust in politics and in elites is rightly falling.
“Communities should not have to wait for up to five years to act if they feel their MP is not properly representing their interests, especially with restrictions of the Fixed Term Parliament Act.
“This proposed reform has the dramatic potential to empower citizens and will be one of the any measures the Labour party is planning to consult on and announce that will change the way politics in this country is done.”
BREAKING: Labour responds to the resignation from the party of 8 backbenchers by calling for new rules allowing constituents to force by-elections by recalling MPs who quit their parties. pic.twitter.com/CnuIEdFwvf
— Kevin Schofield (@PolhomeEditor) February 20, 2019
Updated
Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt reports that the Conservative MPs rumoured to be planning a departure to the Independent Group could do it shortly before PMQs.
I reported last night on Newsnight: strong rumours that Sarah Woolaston, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen would defect to the Independent Group this morning. Looking like it may happen shortly before PMQs@Anna_Soubry @sarahwollaston @heidiallen75 @BBCNewsnight @TheIndGroup
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) February 20, 2019
A source in The Independent Group told me last night of possible defection of the three Tories: I can neither confirm nor deny. But tomorrow [Wednesday] will be a busy day
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) February 20, 2019
Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s politics live blog.
Joan Ryan, the MP for Enfield North, has become the eighth parliamentarian to leave the Labour party and join the breakaway Independent Group, claiming Jeremy Corbyn’s party has become “infected with the scourge of anti-Jewish racism”. Ryan said she had been a member for four decades – but could no longer remain as a Labour MP.
There are rumours that a string of centrist Tories could be poised to follow her in joining the Independent Group, which was formed on Monday by seven former Labour MPs, including Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie. Possible candidates are thought to be ardent anti-Brexit campaigners Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston, as well as Heidi Allen.
RIP Malthouse Compromise. Quietly killed in a late evening DExEU press release, which didn’t even really register because of the Labour split.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) February 19, 2019
In Brexit news – Theresa May is travelling to Brussels to meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, with plans to secure legal assurances that the Irish backstop will not permanently bind the UK into a customs union. Downing Street hopes this will be enough to convince Eurosceptics to back her Brexit deal.
The prime minister was forced to admit to Conservative MPs who met her on Tuesday night that the Irish backstop could not be replaced by the “Malthouse compromise” – proposals for a free trade agreement with as-yet-unknown technology to avoid customs checks on the Irish border. However, she stressed that this solution would still be examined in future to help solve the issue of customs arrangements at the Irish border.
Here’s a good summary of what the Malthouse compromise was –
We can expect more reaction today to the news that the home secretary has ordered Shamima Begum, the teenager who travelled from east London to Syria to join Islamic State in 2015, to be deprived of her British citizenship.
Sajid Javid wrote to her family informing them he had made the order, believing the fact her parents are of Bangladeshi heritage means she can apply for citizenship of that country – though Begum says she has never visited it.
People are questioning the legality of this move as it is illegal, under international law, to make a person stateless. Begum’s family lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, said they were “considering all legal avenues to challenge the decision”, that had left them “very disappointed”.
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt will make a speech at a meeting with German counterpart at around 9am, which will be streamed here. We’ll have PMQs at midday as usual and there will be a short debate in parliament about anti-semitism.
We’ll bring you all of the other politics news and developments throughout the day.
