Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
The government is refusing to budge on Labour’s central demand for a permanent customs union in cross-party talks on Brexit, according to Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary.
She also said the government’s plan to put May’s withdrawal agreement back before parliament without first reaching agreement with Labour was a “dangerous” stunt.
Long-Bailey, a key member of Labour’s negotiating team in the talks, said the issue of the customs union remained the key sticking point.
“In terms of the customs union, we’ve been repeatedly pushing them on this point, and they haven’t reached the position that we would like them to get to by any stretch at the moment,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday.
Asked if the government had moved at all on the issue, Long-Bailey said: “At the moment, no, they haven’t moved to the position that we need them to. And what worries us … is we also see letters from Tory MPs stating that they categorically shouldn’t support a customs union type arrangement.”
Long-Bailey was not asked whether Labour would support, or abstain on, the withdrawal agreement bill when it returned to parliament in the first week of June. Although she is considered the most pro-Brexit member of Labour’s negotiating team, she suggested the party was not ready to back it.
“It’s imperative that this is sorted out as quickly as possible,” she told BBC Breakfast. “And I think stunts and pushing things forward without consensus within parliament are very dangerous at this stage.”
She later told Today: “If it fails for a fourth time, I think people are very quickly going to start losing faith in our abilities as a parliament to be able to deal with this. So the government really needs to recognise this and very, very quickly.”
She said Labour was worried that whatever was agreed in the talks could be “ripped into pieces” by Theresa May’s successor.
Michael Gove
The fortunes of the environment secretary remain hard to predict and opinion is split in the party. His detractors believe he is deeply unpopular with the country and has ruined his reputation for good when he stood against Johnson at the last leadership race. However, most MPs were delighted by his performance in the no-confidence vote where he tore into Corbyn.
Matt Hancock
While the response of many voters to mention of the health secretary is still likely to be ‘Who?’, to some he is starting to have the makings of a from-the-sidelines contender. The former culture secretary is only 40 but has six years of frontbench experience, and is on to his second cabinet post.
Jeremy Hunt
The nickname ‘Theresa in trousers’ has stuck. Most colleagues speak about his candidacy unenthusiastically and warn about his reputation with the country after having weathered the junior doctors’ strike. He could still succeed by bridging the Brexit-remain divide and attracting colleagues looking for a moderate grown-up.
Sajid Javid
The home secretary is reported to have told Tory MPs he is the only one who can beat Jeremy Corbyn in a general election, but has made less of an impact than first predicted. Several MPs believe that the case of Isis bride Shamima Begum was mishandled and find Javid’s speeches and vision less than inspiring.
Boris Johnson
Still favourite for the top job, Johnson has kept himself out of the messiest Tory warfare in 2019 and has enthusiastic support from younger Brexiter MPs – and the patronage of Jacob Rees-Mogg. His supporters insist no other name on the list can connect with voters in the same way and win a general election. However, his reputation is still severely damaged from his time as foreign secretary and there is a concerted ‘anyone but Boris’ campaign among party colleagues.
Andrea Leadsom
Leadsom has revived her reputation somewhat during her tenure as Commons leader, especially her rounds in the ring with the Speaker, John Bercow. However, few believe she would ever be first choice again among Eurosceptics and a number of her former campaign team have said they will discourage her from running.
Esther McVey
Former cabinet minister McVey has already announced her intention to run. She has the Brexit credentials, having quit as Work and Pensions Secretary in protest at Theresa May's withdrawal agreement, and claims to already have enough support from fellow MPs to make her bid viable.
Penny Mordaunt
The international development secretary is a confirmed Brexiter, which will appeal to much of the leadership electorate, but is also decidedly liberal on social issues, so could be seen as a unifier. But for some the idea of Mordaunt is more credible than the reality. There is still, however, time for her to turn this impression around.
Dominic Raab
The former Brexit secretary has a loyal fanbase and a professional team, including support from Vote Leave’s ex-comms director Paul Stephenson. MPs are forming the view that the next party leader should be a younger face from a new generation of politicians – which gives Raab the edge over Boris Johnson.
Amber Rudd
The work and pensions secretary, the favourite among the party’s left, has all but ruled herself out of the race. She could still be a powerful kingmaker, and is being wooed as a running mate by everyone from Johnson and Michael Gove to Hunt.
Liz Truss
Truss has worked the circuit more than almost any other potential candidate, speaking on the future of the Tory party at almost any venue that will have her – thinktanks, launches and in weekend newspaper spreads. She hopes to win Brexiter backing with a publicly enthusiastic embrace of a no-deal Brexit – much to the scepticism of Treasury colleagues.
And those not in the running
Among the senior figures not expected to run are Brandon Lewis, the party chairman, Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, and Philip Hammond, the chancellor, who acknowledges that he is not popular enough. Gavin Williamson’s recent sacking after the Huawei leak inquiry will also surely rule him out as an option this time around.
Later on Thursday, May will face a showdown with members of the executive of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs over their demand for a firm resignation date.
Before the meeting, the committee’s treasurer, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, told the Press Association: “It would be infinitely preferable if she set a date rather than us force her out. It’s better that she does it than we have a vote of confidence. What I would like to see is her set out a timetable to trigger a leadership contest.”
After May’s appearance before the committee, it will consider changes to the party’s leadership rules that currently prevent another leadership contest before December.
May’s former joint chief of staff Nick Timothy wrote in the Daily Telegraph that it was “beyond time” for her “to accept that the game is up”.
In order to avoid a “national humiliation” and save the Conservative party, Timothy said May must “do her duty and stand aside” rather than cling to power.
