Lunchtime summary
- David Davis has suggested that the government would consider making contributions to the EU budget in exchange for access to the single market, saying his Department for Exiting the EU would consider all options to get the best deal with the bloc. The pound rose after he made his comment in the Commons. See 12.40pm.
- Tony Blair has announced that he is creating a new organisation to support politicians who are fighting “the new populism of left and right”. Explaining his plan on his website he said:
This new populism may differ in some respects between left and right – the left anti-business, the right anti-immigrant – but in others what is remarkable is the convergence between them, especially around isolationism and protectionism, in what is an essentially closed-minded approach to globalisation and its benefits and to international engagement.
So we want to add a fourth pillar to what we do. I emphasise this is not in place of our other work but in addition to it.
This is the creation of a platform designed to build a new policy agenda for the centre ground together with the networks which link people up, and allow a reasonable and evidence based discussion of the future which avoids the plague of social media-led exchanges of abuse.
This platform will have a policy unit which will draw on the best ideas and practical solutions, building partnerships with other organisations, in the public policy and private spheres, so that those in the frontline of politics have a bigger and better policy agenda to reflect upon; and a networking capability to join like-minded people up.
This is not a think tank. There are enough of those, many doing excellent work we would want to utilise. It is a platform for engagement to inform and support the practising politician.
- Voters have been going to the polls in the Richmond Park byelection.
That’s all from me for the moment.
Tonight I will be blogging from the Richmond Park byelection count. I’ll launch the blog at around 10pm and you’ll find it here.
Thanks for the comments.
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Ed Balls says he would 'love' to return to politics
Ed Balls, the former shadow chancellor and Strictly star, was on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show this morning and he told the programme he would “love” to return to politics. He also said that he was not planning a comeback, and that he thought it might not happen, but nevertheless his comments were quite striking.
It is a really, really difficult time for the country so it would be foolish for me to pretend that I don’t miss it. I miss it very much, but I think maybe I had my time.
Once you have been a cabinet minister, you always hanker after having that kind of responsibility and difficulty and public service again.
So if I spent the next 15 years never having a chance to do public service again, I would feel as though I’d missed out. I’d love to do that, but how and in what way and where, I don’t know and that’s OK.
I really wanted to be chancellor and I think I probably missed my chance last year and I’ve not been thinking about being re-elected again because it’s a long process.
But I’m not going to say to you that I can never imagine it because there is a little part of me that thinks that, having done it once and knowing how hard it is and how important and how people much people depend on you ... If I said to you that there wasn’t a bit of me that hankered, that would be untrue, but it is not the plan and I think it is probably the wrong thing, but I don’t know.
Balls has never categorically ruled out a return to politics in any of the interviews he has given since losing his seat in the 2015 general election, but he has always implied that it is a remote possibility. Today’s comments suggest that a comeback of some kind is less unlikely than we assumed.
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The pound rose in value this morning after David Davis’s comment about the government considering paying the EU after leaving for access to the single market, my colleague Graeme Wearden reports.
Pound jumps after Brexit secretary suggests UK could pay to access the single market https://t.co/3uwiJVgE3r pic.twitter.com/ouasEaAhsL
— Graeme Wearden (@graemewearden) December 1, 2016
There is a byelection in Richmond Park today. And next week there is another, in Sleaford and North Hykeham. My colleague John Harris has been there to make this video, which is well worth watching.
The department for business has put out a press release today about government support for EU postgraduates who are studying in the UK that says “funding support will cover the duration of their course, even if the UK leaves the EU”. (My italics.)
Does that mean Brexit might not actually mean Brexit? Er, no. The department says it would be wrong to read that as meaning it is planning for the possibility that the UK might not leave the EU. It just seems to be loose drafting.
Brexit questions in the Commons - Summary
Often cabinet ministers can waltz through an hour of taking questions in the Commons without saying anything of interest, but David Davis, the Brexit secretary, is more willing to engage with questions than some of his colleagues and today’s Brexit questions was quite revealing. Here are the key points.
- Davis said the government may continue to pay the EU after it leaves for access to the single market. Labour’s Wayne David asked if the government would consider “making any contribution in any shape or form for access to the single market” after Brexit. Davis replied:
The major criterion here is that we get the best possible access for goods and services to the European market. And if that is included in what he’s talking about, then of course we will consider it.
- Davis said that he was opposed to the European commission’s plan to conduct the Brexit negotiations in stages. According to Sky News, Michel Barnier, the commission’s Brexit negotiator, wants to negotiate a transitional deal with the EU before negotiating a final trade deal. Davis said he was opposed to this. In response to a question from Labour’s Pat McFadden about whether the government wanted to negotiate withdrawal from the EU and the final UK-EU trade deal at the same time, Davis replied:
The answer is yes. We want to see them both done in parallel, inside the two years.
In Brussels jargon the approach Davis is advocating is now known as “parallelism”.
Later, in response to a question from Labour’s Emma Reynolds, Davis confirmed that seeking a transitional deal was still an option.
We are seeking to ensure a smooth and orderly exit from the European Union, and it would not be in the interests of either side, Britain or the European Union, to see disruption. To that end, we’re examining all possible options, focusing on the mutual interests of the UK and the European Union.
But he also restated his opposition to conducting the negotiation in stages. On the subject of whether the negotiation is conducted “in parallel” or “in series”, Davis said:
We do not accept the “in series” approach. In terms, we’ve made that plain to the European Union and we need to deal with that before we come to the detailed question of whether there’s a transition or not.
On transition itself, I just make this important point ... Transition when it’s raised by various people means different things. For example, at least one of the Europeans talking about this has effectively meant a much, much longer negotiation period, whilst other people are concerned about matters such as financial stability. The different issues need to be dealt with in different ways.
This suggests that Davis might agree to a transitional period if, when it starts, it has already been decide what will happen when it ends, but not if the transitional period is just a means of extending the two-year Brexit negotiation.
- He said he did not believe reports saying Boris Johnson has told EU ambassadors in private that he personally favours free movement of people. Davis said:
What I’ve seen in the papers this morning strikes me as completely at odds with what I know about [Boris Johnson’s] approach to this matter. He believes very clearly, and he made this clear in the leave campaign because he was a much more major part of it than I was, that some immigration is useful. We all believe that. That is not the same as thinking that free movement of people as it now stands is a good idea.
- Davis said the government expected to see “pretty free movement of highly talented labour”. Asked about immigration policy after Brexit he said:
The function of my department, and this strategy, is to bring back control of migration to the British government, the British parliament. That will be exercised in the national interest. That means we would expect to see pretty free movement of highly talented labour and, in other aspects of the economy, it is no part of the national interest to cause labour shortages. So I think businesses should be aware, this is not a shutting the door, this is a taking back control.
- He dismissed reports that the European commission could ask the UK to pay €60bn to leave the EU, saying that was just an “opening bid”. When Labour’s Matthew Pennycook asked about this, Davis replied:
We have seen from the European Union an opening bid - it’s nothing more than that - an opening bid for the maximum price on departure from the union. Frankly, I’m not going to engage in chipping way at that bid. We will start from scratch when we go in that door when the negotiations start in March.
- David Jones, the Brexit minister, said that government had not yet decided what powers repatriated from Brussels would be devolved to Scotland.
- Jones said it was “extremely difficult” to see how Scotland could stay in the EU single market if the rest of the UK left, despite this being one of the Scottish government’s key Brexit objectives. Jones said:
I have to say I find it extremely difficult to see how one part of the United Kingdom could remain part of the single market while the rest was not. I would refer you to what the first minister of Wales Carwyn Jones said only the other day, when he said he couldn’t see how there could be separate market arrangements between different nations in the UK that share the same land mass.
- Jones claimed UK regions were a “European construct”. In response to a question from fellow Conservative James Duddridge who labelled regions a “pernicious invention”, Jones said:
Indeed. The regions of course are a European construct and post-Brexit we will be able to choose which parts of our country benefit from Government support.
Labour’s Jenny Chapman said she did not agree. She told Jones:
I can assure him that not where I come from in the North East, they are very much not a European construct, they are something about which we are intensely proud.
Here is the key quote where David Davis said the government would consider paying the EU after Brexit for access to the single market.
Labour’s Wayne David asked if the government would consider “making any contribution in any shape or form for access to the single market” after Brexit.
Davis replied:
The major criterion here is that we get the best possible access for goods and services to the European market. And if that is included in what he’s talking about, then of course we will consider it.
Brexit questions is over.
I’ll post a summary shortly.
The DUP’s Sammy Wilson asks if Davis is disappointed by Donald Tusk’s “petulant” response to the request for an early resolution of the issue about EU nationals in the UK.
Davis says that was disappointing. But he is not going to be rude about Tusk. He says over the next two years he intends to be polite to everyone.
Davis says he expects to see “pretty free access” to the UK for skilled labour. And the government does not want to create labour shortages, he says. He says the government’s focus is on taking back control of immigration.
Davis says the government is giving very high priority to achieving tariff-free access to the EU. That could be achieved by a number of methods, he says.
Davis says people should be wary of taking economic assumptions underlying a forecast as a statement of what will happen.
The SNP’s Roger Mullin asks Davis where in the OBR documents it shows the financial bonanza the UK will have after Brexit.
Davis says John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has spoken about the possible benefits coming to the UK. Sadly Keir Starmer does not agree, Davis says.
Labour’s Mary Creagh says Andrea Leadsom, the environment secretary, told the environment committee that between a quarter to a third of EU environmental legislation would not be transposed into UK law in the great repeal bill. What will happen to it?
Davis says that may require separate primary legislation.
The SNP’s George Kerevan says Philip Hammond gave strong backing at a speech this week for a transitional deal for the financial sector. Does Davis agree?
Davis says he will say when he has seen what Hammond said. But he says what transition means is a moot point.
Davis says the hard economic data since the referendum has been better than people expected. The UK is well placed to deal with challenges that may arise from leaving the EU, he says.
David Davis says the aim of the government is clear in relation to EU nationals: it wants to guarantee the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, and the rights of Britons living in Europe.
Labour’s Helen Hayes says the government should unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU nationals living here.
Davis says most EU nationals living here already have the right to stay because of how long they have been here. If they have been here two and a half years, they will certainly be able to stay.
David Jones, the Brexit minister, says he finds it “extremely difficult to see” how Scotland could remain part of the single market if the rest of the UK was out of the single market.
Labour’s Emma Reynolds asks about a possible transitional deal. What will the government do if it cannot conclude Brexit talks within two years?
David Davis says Theresa May has said we want a smooth and orderly exit. How that occurs will be affected by a number of things. He says the government does not accept the Brussels views that the negotiation will have to take part in stages.
Updated
The Labour MP Wayne David has tweeted to say that he thinks David Davis’s comment about being willing to pay for access to the single market was significant.
In reply to my Question, David Davies has stated that govt is prepared to consider 'paying' for access to Single Market. Significant #brexit
— Wayne David (@WayneDavid_MP) December 1, 2016
Davis says the government’s preparatory Brexit work covers around 30 separate policy areas. If ministers appeared before select committees to discuss them all, there would not be any time for making policy, he says.
Davis says, if the government has to pass a bill after the supreme court judgement, there will be time to get it through parliament before the end of March.
David Davis says the government wants to see the EU withdrawal negotiations, and negotiations for a new trade deal with the EU, done in parallel within the two-year withdrawal process.
David Davis the supreme court decision on article 50 will not just be a yes/no outcome. The nature of any bill that parliament may have to pass may be decided by the judgment, he says.
David Jones, the Brexit minister, tells MPs that the government is still considering what powers repatriated from Brussels will be devolved to Scotland.
Sir Keir Starmer says the government says there will be no running commentary on the government’s Brexit plans. Yet there is a running commentary, based on leaks and what Boris Johnson is saying. This is damaging. So when will the government set out its plans.
Davis says the government has already set out its strategic aims. It does not want to, at this stage at least, go into great detail.
The key issue is what’s best for Britain, Davis says.
Starmer says Davis told MPs recently that the government would reveal in due course whether the government will seek to remain in the customs union. There are just 121 days until article 50 has to be invoked, he says.
Davis says 121 days is a long time in policy terms. The government is doing the analysis first before deciding its policy. Starmer will have to wait until the analysis is complete.
- Davis confirms government is still analysing its Brexit options and has not yet finalised its policy.
Davis says Boris Johnson does not support free movement
David Davis says what he has seen in the papers today about Boris Johnson - he is referring to this Sky story - is completely at odds with what Johnson thinks.
Johnson thinks some immigration is valuable. But that is not the same as saying that there should be free movement, he says.
- Davis says Boris Johnson does not support free movement, contrary to claims based on what he allegedly told ambassadors in private.
Updated
David says we are four months from triggering article 50. That will be the point when the government is very clear about where it is going, he says.
Government may continue to pay EU after Brexit for single market access, Davis says
David Davis, the Brexit secretary, is responding to questions in the Commons now.
Labour’s Wayne David asks if the government will consider making any contribution to the EU after Brexit in return for access to the single market.
Davis says the government’s priority is to get the best possible access to the single market. So if that would involve paying the EU, then the government would consider it.
- Davis says government considering paying EU for continued access to single market.
Labour’s Hilary Benn says, in the week when it has has been reported that Boris Johnson is telling ambassadors about the government’s plans, does Davis understand why MPs are fed up with not being told about the government’s plans.
Davis says Benn knows full well that the success of the negotiations depend on keeping things secret.
He says the “scribbled note in Downing Street” did not represent government policy.
Matthew Pennycook, the shadow Brexit minister, says it has been reported that Britain may have to pay €60bn to leave the EU. How much will the government spend?
Davis says that 60bn figure was just an opening bid from Brussels.
Updated
And here is my colleague Alan Travis’s story on the immigration figures.
And here is how it starts.
Immigration to Britain hit its highest ever annual level of 650,000 in the run-up to the Brexit referendum, new official figures have revealed.
But the latest official figures show that since the Brexit vote in June new national insurance registrations by workers from the European Union have fallen, with the largest drop – 17% – among workers from Poland and other east European countries.
The latest quarterly figures show that annual net migration to Britain in the 12 months to June 2016 continued at a record level of 335,000, according to the Office of National Statistics.
Here is the first take from the Press Association’s story on the immigration figures.
Net long-term migration to the UK has remained around record levels at a third of a million as the inflow of EU citizens hit a historic high, official figures show.
The headline measure - the overall difference between the numbers arriving and leaving the country - was estimated at 335,000 in the year to June.
This was just below the previous peak of 336,000 in the previous year.
Immigration, which covers the numbers of people coming into Britain only, was at 650,000 - the highest estimate recorded, the Office for National Statistics said.
An unprecedented 284,000 EU citizens are estimated to have arrived in the UK in the year to June, which covers a period up to and just after the referendum, while net migration from the bloc, which excludes UK citizens who went to other EU states, was at 189,000.
Net migration remains three times higher than government's target at 335,000
The migration figures are out.
At 335,000, net migration is still more than three times higher than the government’s target, 100,000.
Net migration 335k in year to June 2016, close to last year's high of 336k https://t.co/ctHj8W1Q3g pic.twitter.com/1zspsETyJc
— ONS (@ONS) December 1, 2016
We have known for a long time that Theresa May has hardline views on immigration - David Cameron reportedly told colleagues that she seemed to be the only person in his cabinet, apart from him, who actually wanted to hit the Tory target of getting net migration below 100,000 - but a leak today sheds new light on her thinking on this topic. Last year May wanted schools to “deprioritise” the children of migrants living in the UK illegally. As letters leaked to the BBC reveal, the education department opposed the idea strongly and it was dropped from the immigration bill. The episode helps to explain why Nicky Morgan, then education secretary, was sacked when May became prime minister.
This morning Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, has described the proposal as “disgusting” and said it is worrying that May was even considering it. Rayner told the Today programme:
It shows that actually Theresa May was not just considering it, her department was pushing it and I’m deeply concerned about it. I think it’s a terrible idea. Denying innocent children because of the circumstances of their parents the right to a good education is disgusting, it’s not a British value that we have.
There will be more on this topic today when the immigration figures come out within the next hour.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Immigration figures are published.
9.30am: David Davis, the Brexit secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
10am: Sir Michael Wilshaw, the outgoing Ofsted chief inspector, publishes his final report.
And people are voting today in the Richmond Park byelection.
As usual, I will also be covering the breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web.
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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