David Davis's Brexit statement - Summary
Here are the main points from David Davis’s marathon Brexit statement.
- David Davis was widely criticised by Labour and SNP MPs for being unable to give details of the government’s Brexit plans as he used a Commons statement to set out the process the government will follow as it negotiates EU withdrawal. In her response Emily Thornberry, the shadow Brexit secretary, said:
What we’ve heard instead hasn’t been a strategy, it hasn’t been a thought out plan, it’s just been more empty platitudes from a government that just continues to make it up as it goes along.
- Davis gave the clearest sign yet that the government will abandon single market membership as part of its Brexit settlement. In response to a question from the Labour Eurosceptic Kate Hoey, who asked Davis to accept that it was not necessary to be a member of the single market to access it, Davis agreed. He replied:
Access to the single market is not really up for grabs. It is there for everybody. There are many, many countries, many countries outside the European Union, that do a better job, frankly, of exporting to the single market than we do, even without a trade arrangement. So of course we want to have access to the single market. We don’t need to be a member of it to do it. Indeed, being a member of it has caused some of the problems of sovereignty that this referendum was driven by.
Later, when the pro-European Tory Anna Soubry asked Davis to confirm that he was willing to abandon single market membership, Davis replied:
What I’m saying is that this government is looking at every option. But the simple truth is that if a requirement of membership is giving up control of our borders, I think that makes it very improbable.
- Davis said he did not accept the claim that there was a trade off between getting control of immigration and protecting free trade by remaining in the single market. It was a false choice, he argued, because it was in the interests of both sides to promote free trade. (See 4.46pm.)
- He said the government’s post-Brexit immigration system would be “more rigorous” than a points-based system. He said Theresa May was “very clear” in her comments in China earlier.
She was concerned that a points-based system was too open-ended, that it did not actually put a control on the number of people coming to the UK. And therefore she wanted something which sounded like it would be more rigorous not less.
- He said he would oppose any attempt to undermine workers’ rights as part of the Brexit settlement. He said this in response to a question from Labour’s Angela Eagle (see 5.05pm) using language very similar to that he used in his ConservativeHome article in July. In that article he said:
The great British industrial working classes voted overwhelmingly for Brexit. I am not at all attracted by the idea of rewarding them by cutting their rights.
- He said the government would have to decide whether or not it wanted to remain part of the European customs union before invoking article 50, starting the formal EU withdrawal process. (See 5.20pm.)
- He refused to say whether the UK would remain part of Europol. Labour’s Yvette Cooper asked this. Davis said the government wanted to preserve the relationship with the EU on security matters as best we can. He went on: “Of course we are aiming to maintain that. And that’s the answer.” But he seemed to be making a general point, not answering the specific question about Europol. That is how Cooper interpreted his answer.
Asked if Gov had made decision on whether we shd stay in Europol (fundamental for fighting crime & trafficking). Answer came there none
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) September 5, 2016
- He said the government would try to establish a national consensus on Brexit.
As we proceed, we will be guided by some clear principles. First, as I said, we wish to build a national consensus around our position. Second, while always putting the national interest first, we will always act in good faith towards our European partners. Third, wherever possible we will try to minimise any uncertainty that change can inevitably bring. And, fourth, crucially, we will – by the end of this process – have left the European Union, and put the sovereignty and supremacy of this parliament beyond doubt.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
David Davis has just finished taking questions. The session went on for more than two hours, and John Bercow, the Speaker, said 85 backbenchers asked questions.
I will post a summary shortly.
The SNP’s Pete Wishart says Davis’s statement was “meaningless waffle”.
Davis says, for all the SNP’s objections, the EU referendum vote has done nothing to increase support for independence in Scotland.
Henry Smith, a Conservative, says the words “European Union” should be removed from the British passport as soon as possible.
Davis says he will pass that message on to the home secretary.
Labour’s Paula Sherriff asks for an assurance that the UK will be able to abolish the tampon tax once it leaves the EU.
Davis says Sheriff has given an example of why it is important to leave the EU. Countries should be able to set their own tax rates, he says.
Davis says there was undoubtedly a downward dip in confidence after the Brexit vote. That was partly because people said Brexit would be bad for the economy. But confidence has recovered, he says.
Davis says the common travel area with Ireland will continue after the UK leaves the EU.
Here is my colleague Anushka Asthana and Peter Walker’s story about the David Davis statement.
Nigel Evans, a Conservative, asks when the UK will get its hands on the Brexit dividend.
At some point after we have left, Davis says.
Labour’s Stephen Timms asks if it is possible that the UK could remain a member of the single market at the end of this process.
Davis says he wants the best possible access to the single market. But that does not have to involve being a member, he says.
John Baron, a Conservative, asks Davis to accept that the immigration policy after Brexit should not discriminate against non-EU citizens.
Davis says he is not home secretary. He says his job is to bring the powers back; it is the home secretary’s job to exercise them. But he thinks Baron makes a good point.
The Conservative Peter Bone asks Davis when he thinks we will leave the EU.
Davis says that was a good try. He suggests that Bone was a good seducer in his youth, but says he won’t be seduced by him.
Davis says he takes the views of those who voted in the referendum very seriously.
He wants to make this process as open as possible.
But this is a negotiation, he says, and you do not negotiate with your cards turned face up.
The Conservative MP Philip Davies asks Davis to confirm that the government’s red lines in the negotiation will involve control of immigration, no more money going to the EU and the UK no longer being subject to EU law.
Davis says someone on the frontbench has just joked that he should have not problem with that. But he does not want to give away the government’s negotiating position, he says. But he says his view of the EU referendum was that it was a vote for taking back control.
Some Labour MPs are taking to Twitter to express their concern about how little content there is in Davis’s statement.
Not a statement but a random collection of clichés, David Davis speaks for 15mins on #Brexit & without advancing our understanding *at all*
— chi onwurah (@ChiOnwurah) September 5, 2016
Astonishingly empty statement from Brexit Sec David Davis. No plan, no sense of grip, no detail. It's too important for this kind of drift
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) September 5, 2016
Davis has the car, he has the office and he has the officials, but watching this he doesn't have the plan.
— Pat McFadden (@patmcfaddenmp) September 5, 2016
David Davis has not yet said anything in his statement. The government clearly has no idea what Brexit could or should look like.
— Chris Bryant MP (@RhonddaBryant) September 5, 2016
Davis says he has been struck by the tendency of the papers over recent weeks to blame everything on Brexit.
Here is some comment from journalists on the Davis statement.
From BuzzFeed’s James Ball
Davis v Thornberry not going to go down in parliamentary history: two speakers with very little to say (as neither party has a policy yet).
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) September 5, 2016
From the BBC’s Glenn Campbell
I think the only thing I learned from @DavidDavisMP #Brexit statement is that he now has 180 staff in London backed up by 120 in Brussels
— Glenn Campbell (@GlennBBC) September 5, 2016
From the Times’ Patrick Kidd
David Davis's Brexit statement reminds me of WS Gilbert on the Lords during Napoleonic wars: did nothing in particular and did it very well
— Patrick Kidd (@patrick_kidd) September 5, 2016
Davis says the most successful countries in the world at negotiating free trade deals, like Chile and South Korea, do not have to give up anything apart from agreeing free trade.
In answer to his ally Dominic Raab, DD suggests that the UK shouldn't pay anything to get free trade deals with the EU or other countries
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) September 5, 2016
Updated
Davis says there is no point having a vote on invoking article 50 in the Commons. But that does not mean MPs will not debate the issue. He would urge MPs to bring forward concerns raised by their constituents.
Here is Nick Clegg, the former Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister, on David Davis’s statement.
This Govt really is up #Brexit creek without a paddle. More round tables? Is that all they've come up with since 23/6?
— Nick Clegg (@nick_clegg) September 5, 2016
The SNP’s Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh asks what assessment the government has made of the impact of Brexit on the Scottish economy.
Davis says he has not done that assessment yet, but that his department will do that.
He wants to ensure this outcome serves all parts of the UK, he says.
Here is the full text of David Davis’s statement.
Read David Davis's full statement in the @HouseofCommons today https://t.co/nIIqYGfQ4X pic.twitter.com/CAZuXS9epr
— Exiting the EU Dept (@DexEUgov) September 5, 2016
Mark Harper, the Conservative former chief whip, says the government should not rush decisions over Brexit as Labour is demanding.
Davis says he will take no lessons in organisation from Labour.
The Conservative Anna Soubry asks if the government has given up plans to remain in the single market.
Davis says it is hard to see how the UK can remain in the single market if it wants to control immigration.
Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative chair of the Commons Treasury committee, asks Davis to confirm that the UK will not remain a member of the customs union.
Davis says being in the customs union puts limits on what a country can do outside it. The government is looking at this carefully, he says. This is one of the matters to be resolved before article 50 is invoked.
- Davis says government will decide whether it wants to remain in the EU customs union before invoking article 50.
Dominic Grieve, the Conservative former attorney general, says the idea of invoking article 50, and thereby abandoning EU law and the property rights for Britons that go with it, troubles him greatly.
Davis says he did not spend all the time he did on the backbenches defending civil rights to give them up easily.
Michael Gove, the former Vote Leave leader, congratulates Davis on his appointment. He says there has been a record increase in service industry and manufacturing industry growth since the Brexit vote. And other countries are pressing for free trade deals. The German vice chancellor says the EU/US trade deal is dead. So doesn’t that prove that the British public have more expertise than all these so-called experts like the IMF and the OECD and the others who all have “oeuf” on their face.
(Gove is speaking in a rather odd accent - a Scottish, high-pitched Enoch Powell. It’s very peculiar.)
Davis thanks Gove for his comments, but says he would be a bit more cautious than Gove at this point about Britain’s economic prospects.
Davis suggests he would oppose any attempt to undermine workers’ rights as part of Brexit
Labour’s Angela Eagle asks if parliament, and the British people, will get a say on the deal that is done.
Davis says his views on the importance of parliamentary accountability have not changed since he left the backbenches.
On employment rights, he says many of those who voted for Brexit were members of the industrial working class. He says it is no part of his brief to undermine their rights.
- Davis suggests he would oppose any attempt to undermine workers’ rights as part of Brexit.
Peter Lilley, the Conservative former cabinet minster, says withdrawal needs to take place quickly. Can Davis confirm two years is a maximum? Other countries that have obtained independence have done so in less than two years.
Davis says Theresa May has said the British people want the government to get on with it. But it is important to get it right. He would rather wait an extra month before invoking article 50 to get it right than go a month early and get it wrong.
The Conservative Owen Paterson says when countries like India got independence, they lifted all UK laws into Indian law. Then, over time, they went through those laws and abolished the ones they did not want. Can’t the UK do the same with EU law?
Davis says originally he thought that, but it is not quite that straightforward, because of the way EU laws interacts with UK law.
Davis says the EU cannot stop the UK talking to other countries about trade deals now. The only thing the UK cannot do is agree those deals.
But talks are taking place already, he says.
He says he has studied article 50, and it is clear that article 50 does not prevent parallel trade talks taking place as withdrawal is being negotiated.
Davis says it is not necessary for Britain to remain a member of the single market
Davis says the single market is there for everyone. Some countries that are not members of the single market are better at selling into it than countries that are members.
- Davis says it is not necessary for Britain to remain a member of the single market.
Labour’s Ben Bradshaw says Theresa May said more in her briefing with journalists in China than Davis did in his statement. Will he confirm that the three Vote Leave promises - a points-based immigration system, £100m a week for the NHS and a cut to VAT on fuel - are in tatters.
Davis address the immigration point. He says Brexit could lead to immigration controls being more rigorous, not less rigorous.
Labour’s Yvette Cooper says David Davis has not given any answers on important matters of detail. Will the UK remain a member of Europol?
Davis says justice and home affairs matters are being considered. The government wants to maintain security cooperation he says, implying it would maintain Europol membership.
I will post the exact quote late.
UPDATE: I have listened to the tape again, and taken out the original line saying Davis suggested the UK would remain a member of Europol.
- Davis refused to say whether the UK would remain part of Europol. Labour’s Yvette Cooper asked this. Davis said the government wanted to preserve the relationship with the EU on security matters as best we can. He went on: “Of course we are aiming to maintain that. And that’s the answer.” But he seemed to be making a general point, not answering the specific question about Europol. That is how Cooper interpreted his answer.
Updated
Ken Clarke, the Conservative former chancellor, says he looks forward to the moment when the government agrees on what Brexit actually means. He says David Davis did not take part in the ignorant and prejudiced attacks on foreigners during the campaign. Does he agree that most people are not hostile to foreigners living here so long as they obey the law? So will the government not turn away foreigners whom employers wish to employ for the sake of it?
Davis says he agrees with Clarke entirely that the “sort of unpleasantness” that has sometimes arisen out of this should be wholly condemned.
But he says that when people complain about immigration, they are not being xenophobic.
And he says he does not accept that there is a trade off between controlling immigration and boosting free trade. A free trade deal is in the interests of both sides, he says.
- Davis says he does not accept there is a trade off between controlling immigration and protecting free trade.
The SNP’s Europe spokesman, Stephen Gethins, starts by asking “Is that it?” David Davis has told us very little, he says.
David is responding to Thornberry.
He says it is something to be accused of incompetence by Labour.
Labour seems to be adopting a “load, fire, aim” strategy, he says.
On immigration, he says the government wants a results-based immigration strategy.
He says Labour backed the idea that the decision on Brexit should be taken by the British people. Now Labour are trying to undo that. That is something “up with which we will not put”, he says (part-quoting Churchill).
Emily Thornberry, the shadow Brexit secretary, is replying.
She says it is eight years since Davis was last at the despatch box. His last words from the front bench were ‘You’ll have to answer’. He will have to answer, he says.
She says Davis’s departmental website does not even have a phone number on it.
Theresa May has said what she will not do. But she has not said what she will do, she says.
She says Davis said two months ago (in his ConservativeHome article) that the negotiating strategy would have to be “properly designed”.
But there is no strategy, she says.
She says Davis has always spoken up for the rights of parliament.
So he cannot believe it is right for the government to invoke article 50, starting the EU withdrawal process, without consulting parliament, as the government says it intends to do.
She says that parliament must be given a vote on this. And she says Davis would say that himself if he were a backbencher.
Updated
He says parliament will be kept regularly informed.
Until the UK leaves, it must respect EU laws, he says.
He says the government will keep paying farmers the subsidies get from the EU until 2020.
And he says the government wants to ensure that EU citizens living in the UK can stay.
He says he wants us to come together as one nation so we can get the best deal for the UK.
We will leave the EU but we will not turn our back on Europe.
Davis says his officials are carrying out a sectoral analysis, looking at how Brexit could affect 50 different business sectors.
He says his department is fully engaged with the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
He says his first meeting was with the general secretary of the TUC. He has also met with universities, charities and business groups, and is meeting other bodies too.
Davis says his department has 180 staff in London.
And it has the support of 120 staff in Brussels.
Davis sets out 4 principles for Brexit negotiations
He says the government will be guided by four principles.
First, the government will try to establish a national consensus.
Second, it will put the national interest first.
Third, the government will try to minimise uncertainty.
Fourth, the government will leave the EU and put the supremacy of parliament beyond doubt.
Updated
Davis says negotiating with the EU must be got right.
So the government will take time to get it right, he says.
He says economic indicators are strong. And he pays tribute to the work of George Osborne.
Davis says Brexit is not about ending our relationship with the EU. It is about starting a new one.
The government wants free trade, he says.
David Davis's statement on Brexit
David Davis, the new Brexit secretary, is giving his Commons statement now.
He starts by stressing that the UK will leave the EU. There will be no second referendum, he says. The government will honour the decision of the people.
Brexit means leaving the EU, he says.
It means getting control of our borders, our laws and our money.
This is not about making the best a bad job, he says.
This is an historic and positive moment for our nation. Brexit isn’t about making the best of a bad job. It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world. There will be new freedoms, new opportunities, new horizons for this great country.
David Davis, the new Brexit secretary, will make his statement to the Commons shortly. It will be the first Commons statement from a member of the new government on Brexit strategy.
Davis actually wrote a long article for ConservativeHome on what he thought the government should do only days before his surprise appointment as Brexit secretary. You can read it in full here, and a summary here.
In the Commons the Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood has been responding to Labour’s urgent question about Yemen. These are from the Telegraph’s Laura Hughes.
Hilary Benn calls for suspension of arms to Saudi Arabia. Tobias Ellwood invites him to join him this wed when SA Foreign Minister visits
— Laura Hughes (@Laura_K_Hughes) September 5, 2016
Tobias Ellwood says our int partners (Saudi Arabia) need to "honour international humanitarian law"
— Laura Hughes (@Laura_K_Hughes) September 5, 2016
Hilary Benn says no arms should be sold until the government can guarantee no humanitarian laws have been breached in ongoing war in #Yemen
— Laura Hughes (@Laura_K_Hughes) September 5, 2016
Labour’s Keith Vaz has just asked Ellwood a question. This is from the i’s Nigel Morris.
And Keith Vaz asks another question in the Commons ... it's as if it's a normal day in the office for him ...
— Nigel Morris (@NigelpMorris) September 5, 2016
Theresa May’s meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, at the end of the G20 summit seems to have gone quite well.
This is from my colleague Rowena Mason.
China in conciliatory mode for May meeting- no specific mention of Hinkley, willing to be "patient" about decisions. May didn't raise steel
— Rowena Mason (@rowenamason) September 5, 2016
This is from the Financial Times’ George Parker.
G20 latest: Xi is going to "have a little patience" as May works out Hinkley stance. All very cordial..for now
— George Parker (@GeorgeWParker) September 5, 2016
G20: So cordial, in fact, that Xi congratulated Team GB showing. T May did not congratulate China on finishing third in medals table
— George Parker (@GeorgeWParker) September 5, 2016
And this is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.
British officials sound relieved the Chinese gave May a bit of space over Hinkley, promises of a visit next year and warm relations
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) September 5, 2016
In the Commons Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, asked the government to clarify its plan for immigration rules post-Brexit. His question was answered by Robert Goodwill, the immigration minister, who sidestepped the question and just focused on attacking Labour’s record.
Keith Vaz is asking a question now in Home Office questions. He starts by welcoming Amber Rudd to her post and asks if the government will change the law to ensure that suspects on bail have to hand over passports to police. Rudd says the government is looking at this, and may adopt this policy.
Vaz seemed a bit more subdued than usual, but for someone who has just been turned over by an embarrassing and potentially career-wrecking newspaper sting, he was looking remarkably resilient.
Keith Vaz is now in the chamber, the Spectator’s Isabel Hardman reports.
Keith Vaz now in the Chamber
— Isabel Hardman (@IsabelHardman) September 5, 2016
Amber Rudd, the home secretary, is taking questions in the Commons at the moment. According to Channel 4 News’ Michael Crick, Keith Vaz is planning to ask a question.
Keith Vaz back in Commons, going into chamber to ask question at Home Office questions
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) September 5, 2016
Owen Smith, the Labour leadership contender, has put out a press notice on immigration that manages to criticise both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. He said:
Theresa May has presented a totally confused vision of what Brexit means for Britain to the international community.
More than two months after the referendum we are still no closer to having any answers to the critical questions about immigration and access to the single market. As a result, we have had dire economic and jobs warnings from key trading partners - the USA and Japan - and a totally chaotic response when asked about what kind of migration arrangements Britain should have with the EU.
Labour should be offering a powerful opposition to this Tory shambles, demanding a seat at the negotiating table and providing an alternative vision for our future. Yet Jeremy Corbyn has failed at every stage, from the lacklustre campaign to stay in the EU to calling for Article 50 to be triggered immediately after the result.
Theresa May's press conference - Summary and analysis
At her first PMQs Theresa May looked remarkably confident and assured but this afternoon, at what was her first press conference in her new post, she looked rather more like the prime ministerial novice that she actually is. It was not that she was at all poor or incompetent; it was just that she sounded a bit nervous (she was speaking more quickly than necessary) and the reporters seemed to be getting frustrated by her reluctance to engage with the specifics of their questions about Brexit. There is nothing unusual about politicians refusing to answer questions. But getting away with it harder than it looks, and one was reminded that her predecessor used to do this stuff very well.
Here is my colleague Dan Sabbagh on her performance.
Fiddly, slightly irritable performance from Theresa May there. Is she really enjoying her trip to China?
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) September 5, 2016
And here is Bloomberg’s Robert Hutton.
"Brexit means Brexit."
— Robert Hutton (@RobDotHutton) September 5, 2016
"What Keith does is for Keith."
Theresa May's soundbites are Theresa May's soundbites.
We did not learn much new about the government’s Brexit plan. I will probably be writing that sentence again after David Davis’s Commons statement, and probably quite regularly for the rest of the decade. In truth May and her team may have little idea what the final Brexit settlement will look like and, as they try to craft a deal acceptable to both Nigel Farage, the CBI and the EU, the outcome is likely to emerge slowly and haphazardly. (That’s why David Cameron once said a Brexit vote would mean “three years of Euro-wank.)
But some of May’s comments were moderately revealing. Here are the key points.
- May said that leaving the EU would give the UK “some control” over EU migration - suggesting that the restrictions on EU migration might just be partial. She said that at present the UK could not restrict EU migration. She went on:
What we will now have an ability to do, which we haven’t had before, is when we come out of the EU, we will be able to have some control on movement of people coming from the EU into the UK, which of course was one element over which we weren’t able to have control before.
It is not entirely clear what May meant, but hardline anti-Europeans like Nigel Farage (see 9.33am) are likely to be worried by her tone. My colleague Alan Travis says this could be a hint that free movement could remain for EU citizens with job offers in the UK.
May says she wants to "gain an element of control" over immigration. Hinting at restricting free movement for those without a job offer?
— Alan Travis (@alantravis40) September 5, 2016
- May explained why she was ruling out a points-based immigration system. A points-based system did not give the government discretion over who came in, she said. She explained her point with a story about what she learnt when she visited Heathrow to speak to Border Force staff with David Cameron after they took office.
And we talked to Border Force officers there. And we said to them, ‘What’s the most important thing that we can focus on?’ And they said, ‘You need to look at the issue of students who come here, who appear to have met the criteria, they don’t speak English, they don’t know which institution they are going to and they don’t know what course it is they’re doing’. So the system is being abused. But because they met the criteria, they were automatically allowed in. And that’s the problem with the points-based system. I want a system when the government is able to decide who comes into the country. I think that’s what the British people want. A points-based system means that people come in automatically if they just meet the criteria.
Asked what alternative system the government would adopt post-Brexit, May said there were “various ways” for the government to assert control over migration into the UK. “We will be coming forward in due course with proposals,” she said.
- She hinted that she had lost confidence in Keith Vaz as chair of the Commons home affairs committee. Asked about his conduct she replied:
What Keith does is for Keith and any decisions he wishes to make are for him. But I think overall what people look for is confidence in their politicians.
- She reaffirmed her commitment to make the UK “the global leader in free trade” and she said she had been encouraged by how many world leaders were interested in striking trade deals with the UK. She said India, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore had all expressed an interest in removing barriers to trade. And she said Australian trade minister to visit UK this week to for “exploratory discussions” on UK/Australia trade deal.
- She said she would be chairing a meeting of the cabinet committee on Brexit and international trade later this week to discuss which markets to prioritise.
- She sidestepped a question about whether she had been able to reassure Japan on any of the Brexit demands it is making on behalf of Japanese firms based in the UK.
- She said the government would publish a consultation paper on tackling corporate irresponsibility in the autumn.
To restore greater fairness, we will bring forward a consultation this autumn on measures to tackle corporate irresponsibility: cracking down on excessive corporate pay and poor corporate governance and giving employees and customers representation on company boards.
Updated
Here are Theresa May’s comments on Keith Vaz.
PM twists the knife on Vaz - they have history don't forget. pic.twitter.com/JqglJUigHV
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) September 5, 2016
And here is the Mirror’s Kevin Maguire on what she said.
That was a text book knifing of Keith Vaz by Theresa May
— Kevin Maguire (@Kevin_Maguire) September 5, 2016
UPDATE: Here’s another tweet on this from Maguire.
Hard to see how Keith Vaz can survive as Home Affairs chair after Theresa May knifed him: 6 members Con, 4 Lab(incl Vaz) + 1 SNP
— Kevin Maguire (@Kevin_Maguire) September 5, 2016
Updated
Q: Will you be able to sort out Brexit in two years? Or will there have to be transitional arrangements?
May says she will not trigger article 50 before the end of the year.
Once it is triggered there will be a two-year deadline. The G20 talks have shown here there is a genuine willingness to engage with the UK on trade deals.
She wants the best deal for the UK, but she thinks the deal will be good for Europe.
And that’s it.
I will post a summary soon.
Q: The MPs’ code of conduct says MPs have to act with probity and integrity. Are you confident Keith Vaz has acted in this way?
May says what Vaz does is up to him. But people should be able to have confidence in their politicians, she says.
Q: The Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has talked about the need to “civilise capitalism”. Was that a theme of the conference?
May says she was pleased to hear echoes of what she has been saying in the UK around the table at the G20. Other leaders accept the need to ensure that globalisation works for everyone.
Other leaders, including Turnbull, were interested in what she had to say about corporate irresponsibility.
May says UK will have 'some control' over EU migration after Brexit
Q: What alternative to a points-based system would you have? And why should people trust you to cut immigration when you did not as home secretary?
May says the government will come forward with immigration plans in due course.
As home secretary she did start getting to get the migration numbers down, she says.
In the future the UK will be able to have “some control” over people coming into the UK from the EU.
Updated
May says a decision about the Hinkley Point power station will be taken next month.
But the UK’s relationship with China is not just about Hinkley. She want to continue Britain’s strategic relationship with China.
May turns to the points-based system proposal.
She says people voted to bring back control. But a points-based system does not meet that.
She says when she was home secretary, she and David Cameron went to Heathrow to meet border officials. They told them that people could meet the criteria for coming as students. But that when these foreign students arrived, it would turn out that they could not speak English and did not even know the name of the college where they were supposed to be studying.
So points-based systems are flawed, she says.
May's Q&A
May is now taking questions.
Q: Most G20 leaders think the UK should stay in the single market. Are you worried you might harm the economy by leaving the single market so that you can control migration?
May says she wants the best deal for the UK. Voters want immigration controlled, but they want to trade too. She intends to be “ambitious” and to get the best deal for the UK.
Q: Can you address any of the worries in the Japanese government’s 15-page memo?
May says she has been saying Brexit means Brexit because it does.
But she has found it encouraging that other world leaders are willing to talk about trade deals. She spoke to the Japanese prime minister, and they both want to build on their relationship. The best vote of confidence since Brexit came when the Japanese bank SoftBank bought ARM.
May says the G20 agreed that more must be done to tackle the causes of mass migration.
The summit has been successful, she says.
The UK continues to play a leading role in the world, she says.
She say this has been her first visit to China. She looks forward to her talks with the Chinese president shortly.
May says government to publish consultation soon on tackling corporate irresponsibility
May says the government will hold a consultation this autumn on tackling corporate irresponsibility.
- May says government to publish consultation in the autumn on tackling corporate irresponsibility.
She says moves like this are essential if the government is to retain public support for free trade.
May says she wants UK to be “the global leader in free trade”
On free trade May says Britain has been one of the longest advocates for free trade.
The right trade agreements can be the best anti-poverty measures of all time.
That is why the G20 has decided to resist a move towards protectionism, she says.
She says as the UK leaves the EU she wants the UK to become “the global leader in free trade”.
- May says she wants UK to be “the global leader in free trade”.
May lists various countries that have agreed at the G20 to pursue free trade deals with the UK.
And she says she will chair a cabinet committee on free trade later this week to decide what countries the UK should prioritise for trade deals.
Theresa May's press conference in China
Theresa May is giving a press conference in China.
She is making an opening statement, saying she is optimistic about the UK’s prospects after Brexit.
There is an urgent question on Yemen (see 11.23am) at 3.30pm. That means the David Davis statement on Brexit will not start until around 4pm. After that there will be a statement from Jeremy Hunt on the junior doctors’ strike.
1 UQ at 3.30pm @hilarybennmp to ask @BorisJohnson for statement on Govt assessments of breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen.
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) September 5, 2016
2 Statements from 3.30pm: 1. Re Brexit (@DavidDavisMP/@EmilyThornberry) 2. Junior doctors' industrial action (@Jeremy_Hunt/@HackneyAbbott)
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) September 5, 2016
In his BBC News interview the Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin also said that Britain would leave the EU free market after Brexit. He said he thought Britain would be able to continue trading tariff-free with the EU. But if the EU did impose tariffs, it would not matter, he said.
If they go for tariffs, so be it. Sterling has already depreciated by more than the average of the tariffs, so it won’t affect our exports to them. We will make a great deal of money out of the tariffs we collect on their goods coming to us. If they want that, I think it’s anti free trade, but I don’t think will do the economy any harm in this country.
Paddy Ashdown, the former Lib Dem leader, likened Tory Brexiteers to Nazis in a tweet this morning.
The Tory Brexit brownshirts are stirring. Betrayal is the word most likely to be heard in the run up to the Tory Conference.
— Paddy Ashdown (@paddyashdown) September 5, 2016
The Tory MP Bernard Jenkin, a prominent Brexiteer himself, told BBC News that Ashdown was being ridiculous.
We know he is one of those who is utterly grief stricken that we have abandoned the federalist project in Europe. But this is ridiculous.
He is trying to write a narrative that the pro-Brexit Conservatries are coming for the Conservative leader. Look - the war is over; you can come out now. Old grey bearded people are still on deserted pacific atolls who think the war is still carrying on - I think Paddy Ashdown is painting himself into that corner.
In a subsequent tweet Ashdown suggested he was not really calling Tories Nazis.
"Brownshirt-gate". Heavens! Even allowing for these over-heated times, do we really have to lose contact with the concept of the metaphor?
— Paddy Ashdown (@paddyashdown) September 5, 2016
Five minute warning to hear Theresa May speak at the G20. Live @SkyNews pic.twitter.com/u7qcVAM7bK
— Emily Purser (@EmilyPurser) September 5, 2016
The Theresa May press conference in China has been delayed, but it is due to start shortly.
I will be covering it in detail, and we will have a live feed at the top of this blog.
Earlier I quoted the ComRes poll for the BBC on attitudes to Brexit.
Polling Digest, a website that publishes polling analysis, has published a post looking at the figures in some detail.
@AndrewSparrow Andrew, here's our analysis of the ComRes Brexit poll:https://t.co/AOlgfOzPB3
— Polling Digest (@PollingDigest) September 5, 2016
Theresa May might not raise the issue of Chinese steel dumping blamed for crippling the UK industry at her first meeting with president Xi Jinping on Monday.
A UK official source said it may not come up in the half-hour of talks as May believes there has already been some progress in cutting overproduction after progress at a G20 level.
Overproduction of steel in China has been blamed for the crisis engulfing the UK industry, threatening Tata’s plants and others.
David Cameron was last year criticised for failing to raise the issue strongly enough with the Chinese during Xi’s state visit and not responding quickly enough to the threat to jobs in the industry.
However, the issue still does not appear to be a top priority for May during her initial talks with Xi, which are already likely to be tricky because the prime minister is considering whether to block China from investing in UK nuclear power.
The UK official source said it was being dealt with at G20 level and progress is being made.
The reason why every country has signed up to this approach is that there are countries including China which have excess production that they are dealing with.
If you look at the measures the Chinese have taken to reduce their capacity, they are dealing with hundreds of thousands of job losses in China because of their own excess capacity. It is a factor that flows out of the downturn in the global economy post the crash which now means it is an issue the G20 are having to deal with.
We have already made progress in a wider forum. It is their first bilateral... And from our perspective we have made important progress here in getting acknowledgement at the G20 level.
In contrast, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, used the G20 summit to call for tougher monitoring measures in China to deal with steel overcapacity that has plunged the industry into crisis in parts of Europe including the UK.
“This is a global problem, but with a specific Chinese dimension we have to address,” Juncker said at a press conference. “We are really insisting on the need to take this seriously.”
Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, has accused the government of generating confusion about its immigration policy.
The referendum was a major decision and what the country needed more than anything else was leadership from ministers.
But instead, we are getting confusion from the Tory government on its immigration policy. A number of members of the cabinet made this pledge and voters will be surprised to see the prime minister rip it up without any consultation. The government must clear this up without delay.
Burnham’s comment is not especially accurate. In one important respect what we’ve had today is not confusion but clarity; Number 10 has said categorically that it won’t introduce a points-based immigration system. And on the basis that what the PM says, goes - as good a rule as any, when it comes to understanding how the British government works - this is now the government’s position.
Burnham is right about about confusion in one respect, because no one knows what immigration rules will apply post-Brexit. But many other aspects of the post-Brexit settlement remain a mystery too.
In his interview with Nick Clegg published in the Guardian at the weekend Simon Hattenstone quoted Clegg complaining about newspaper columnists who become politicians. Clegg said:
You’ve got a generation of politicians very close to the media, people like Boris Johnson and [Michael] Gove, and the problem is, the skill of tossing off 800 words on one subject and then on another a week later is completely different to governing. With Cameron and Osborne, there was a seriousness about what they were doing – a deadly seriousness I often didn’t like. But with Gove it was just a series of throwaway poses about our kids’ futures. There’s this ersatz intellectual heft that Gove and his people have that I don’t think is merited. People such as Gove and Johnson have elevated striking poses into a political art form.
As if on cue, the Times as announced that Gove, who was sacked by Theresa May when she became prime minister, is joining the paper as a columnist.
News from the Times... #Gove pic.twitter.com/3xZoaWKSnx
— Michael Savage (@michaelsavage) September 5, 2016
As part of his leadership campaign Jeremy Corbyn has this morning announced plans to invest £300m in renewable energy research. He would channel the money through a new Advanced Research Agency, he said.
My pledge to establish a dedicated Advanced Research Agency will help tackle the global social challenge of climate change and make fundamental breakthroughs in energy science. It will put the UK in the best possible place to take advantage of the rapidly growing global renewable energy market, forecast to reach $630bn worldwide by 2030.
The Tory cuts to the UK renewables sector – including dramatically cutting feed-in tariffs and subsidies for domestic installation – are nonsensical and a damaging backwards step in our efforts to decarbonise our energy production. My pledge is about ensuring that the UK is at the forefront of world-leading technology development in a sector of growing demand.
In a Commons written statement this morning Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, says the government will continue selling arms to Saudi Arabia because there is no proof that they might be used to commit human rights abuses in the conflict in Yemen.
Here is my colleague Patrick Wintour on his statement.
Johnson in new statement backs UK arms sales to Saudi - no clear risk weapons might be used in a commission of a serious violation of IHL.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) September 5, 2016
Johnson remarks on Saudi in Yemen clarifies Uk position as arms export control sel comm members meet this week to look at UK arms export ban
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) September 5, 2016
Photograph: Abduljabbar Zeyad/Reuters
And here is my colleague Peter Walker’s story on the Owen Smith press conference.
At his news conference Owen Smith said he was not in favour of a universal basic income, the Independent reports.
Universal basic income 'not a credible' idea, says Labour leadership contender Owen Smith. https://t.co/GfyiLUJq06
— Ashley Cowburn (@ashcowburn) September 5, 2016
Smith said that Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell’s interest in the universal basic income idea was an example of their “not being credible on economic policies”.
The Institute of Directors has backed Number 10’s decision to rule out a points-based immigration system. This is from Seamus Nevin, head of employment and skills policy at the IoD.
The prime minister is correct to highlight problems with points-based immigration systems and to be wary of trying to copy the Australian model. The UK’s points system for non-EU migrants is already hopelessly bureaucratic, governed by 13 different Acts of Parliament and creating 1,400 categories of immigrant.
Nevin said the government should launch a comprehensive immigration review “that will enable it to design a British system that addresses public concerns, while still allowing businesses to access the skills they need to ensure economic success outside the EU”.
Smith publishes spoof 2020 Tory manifesto to highlight risk of Corbyn's re-election
At a news conference this morning Owen Smith, the Labour leadership challenger, has published a spoof Conservative manifesto for 2020. He said that if Jeremy Corbyn were re-elected leader, the Tories could win the next election with an increased majority and that it was important for people to know what they might do.
The Tories have already done serious damage to our country.
Now facing a weak, unpopular and incompetent Labour leader in Jeremy Corbyn, all indications are now that they will be able not just to hold on in 2020, but to win with an increased majority.
Jeremy’s unpopularity with the public is so strong that the Tories are emboldened. They no longer feel constrained by the risk of losing votes to Labour: they will be confident enough to argue for right-wing policies they have always believed in - and to win with them.
The consequences for Britain - and especially for the people Labour has always stood up for - could be disastrous.
The document runs to 12 pages and you can read it here (pdf). It may not be the most fair or accurate assessment of Theresa May’s policy agenda, but some of it is very plausible. Smith says all the proposals in the spoof manifesto are ideas that have been floated by Tories or Tory thinktanks in the past and there are almost 50 footnotes proving this.
Here is an excerpt from the spoof foreword to the manifesto, purporting to be what Theresa May would be writing in 2020.
We have also been a reforming government. We have liberalised our education system – I am proud that we have extended the Free Schools programme and begun the construction of new selective schools for the first time in two decades. I am pleased that we have begun a decade long task of spreading that same level of freedom throughout our health service. In the past the Conservatives have promised to cut the deficit, not the NHS – but we have delivered more than we promised and successfully managed to cut both. We have also continued our revolution in the welfare system, cutting back unnecessary programmes and getting welfare spending further under control.
This manifesto seeks to build on those achievements and do more:
- It is a manifesto that will ensure we eliminate the deficit within five years and reduce public spending to 30 per cent of GDP, the lowest level since the 1930s.
- It is a manifesto that ensures that we increase selection within our education system.
- It is a manifesto that ensures we have a reformed healthcare system through the introduction of a new private health insurance system of the future as opposed to the outdated nationalised health service of the past.
- It is a manifesto that will increase home ownership by selling off all remaining social housing.
- It is a manifesto that further reduces unnecessary burdens on businesses by abolishing corporation tax, making Britain a tax haven for global big business whilst also radically cutting red tape.
This manifesto is the right plan of action – our plan to take our country forward. Above all, it is the most radical plan to change our country in a generation.
With no opposition, it is a plan we will deliver in full.
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has issued a statement challenging the cabinet minister who campaigned for Vote Leave to explain what they will do now Number 10 has ruled out their proposed points-based immigration system. Farron said:
My question for the Brexiteers like [Liam] Fox, Boris [Johnson] and [David] Davis is this – what are you going to do now?
Are you going to fight for the points-based immigration system you so vigorously proposed? Or are you happy to sit round the cabinet table, with your red boxes and chauffeur driven cars, and look the other way?
Nicola Sturgeon is offering to form a coalition with members of the UK government who want Britain to remain in the European single market.
This follows the first minister’s directly challenge to Theresa May on Friday over her mandate to take Scotland out of the single market.
Sturgeon said her initial objective was to strengthen the hand of those ministers within the UK government who want a soft exit from the EU.
In an interview with BBC Scotland’s political editor Brian Taylor, Sturgeon said:
Can there be a coalition across the UK that gets the UK into a more sensible position? I think that’s worth a good try because Theresa May, she was on the Remain side, so presumably she knows the real risks of removal from the single market.
Sturgeon insisted that she wants full membership, not just access, of the single market.
Let’s have a try at getting the UK, not into the best position - because the best position in my view would be continued membership of the EU - but let’s try and get the UK as a whole into the least worst position and that means staying in the single market.
At a meeting of SNP MPs and MSPs last Friday, Sturgeon suggested that leaving the single market would be a potential red line in triggering a second independence referendum, stating: “My message to the prime minister is this: you may have a mandate in England and Wales to leave the EU but you do not have a clear mandate to take any part of the UK out of the single market.”
No 10 says points-based immigration system 'will not work and is not an option'
Speaking to reporters on her flight to China Theresa May appeared to rule out introducing a points-based immigration system. (See 9.33am.) Downing Street has now gone even further and ruled out the idea unequivocally. A Number 10 spokesman told reporters:
One of the opportunities of Brexit is that we will be able to control the number of people coming to Britain from the EU.
The precise way in which the Ggvernment will control the movement of EU nationals to Britain after Brexit is yet to be determined. However, as the PM has said many times in the past, a points-based system will not work and is not an option.
When Labour introduced a points-based system, the numbers went straight up. In Australia, they have a points-based system and they have higher immigration per capita than Britain. A points-based system would give foreign nationals the right to come to Britain if they meet certain criteria: an immigration system that works for Britain would ensure that the right to decide who comes to the country resides with the government.
The Japanese government has published a 15-page open letter setting out in considerable detail what it wants to the UK to achieve in its Brexit negotiations. You can read the full letter here (pdf), an analyis by the Guardian’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour here and a summary of the demands by the Guardian’s Phillip Inman here.
On the Today programme this morning Koji Tsuruoka, the Japanese ambassador to London, said Japanese firms could leave the UK if they did not get the right deal post-Brexit. Hundreds of Japanese companies were based in the UK, he said.
They are companies responsible to their stakeholders and their duty is to produce profit. If the way Brexit ends up does not provide companies with a prospect of making sufficient profit to continue operating in the UK, of course there is no option that they can’t choose. All options are open to them.
Tsuruoka’s tone was very moderate. He said that Japanese companies were in the UK because “they all agree that the UK is the best place to do business in Europe” and that they did not want to have to leave.
However, there is a negotiation that will have to be conducted and if these requests are not met, then it will be for industry to decide what to do.
It is very difficult to imagine that all Japanese companies - including the auto companies - will be pulling out in totality from UK, because the UK economy will be here and vibrant and it will be a good market for auto manufacturers to continue to sell their cars.
The problem we will have to confront is what is the market that could be accessed for production outside of the UK? If there are conditions that block Japanese auto makers’ cars being exported to continental Europe, such as customs duties, that of course will affect the competitive nature of the pricing of the cars.
Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
At the G20 summit in China Theresa May has held a meeting with her Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull. Turnbull told reporters afterwards that Australia would be “getting in to deal with the British early” and wanted a “very strong, very open free trade agreement”.
May also said that she wanted Britain to be even more outward-looking after Brexit. She told Turnbull:
I’m very clear that [Brexit] doesn’t mean that we are going to be inward-looking. In fact, we want to be even more outward-looking around the whole of the world. And obviously, Australia, with our long-standing ties and our close relationship, will be one of the first countries we will be looking to.
Farage says it would be 'totally unacceptable' to give EU citizens priority in post-Brexit migration rules
In her briefing with journalists on her flight to China Theresa May appeared to rule out introducing a points-based immigration system, despite this being one of the key proposals from the winning Vote Leave campaign. This is what May actually said:
You really don’t want to ask a former home secretary about the intricacies of a points-based system because it might take a very long time to answer your question. One of the issues is whether or not points-based systems do work.
May said what people wanted was “an ability to be able to control the movement of people from the European Union ... not free movement as it has been in the past.” She left reporters with the impression that EU citizens could still take priority over non-EU citizens under the immigration rules that will eventually be adopted post-Brexit.
Nigel Farage, the outgoing Ukip leader, has responded this morning by issuing a statement criticising May’s stance. He said:
Theresa May’s track record on immigration as Home Secretary was appalling and her comments rejecting an Australian-style points system really worry me. There is already huge anxiety out there in the country regarding Theresa May’s reluctance to trigger article 50. Her rejection of the type of migration system so many went out there and voted Leave to see implemented indicates serious backsliding.
The people were clear in wanting a points-based immigration system which is why so many went out and voted to Leave the European Union. Any watering down from that will lead to real anger.
Farage also said it would be “totally unacceptable” to give EU citizens priority under the post-Brexit immigration rules.
Given that myself and others also campaigned for a migration system that would treat all who wanted to come equally, any preference for EU nationals would be totally unacceptable. If the establishment think they can stitch-up Brexit then they better be ready for the huge electoral consequences from a British public who on June 23rd voted for radical political change and now expect it to be delivered without failure.
MPs return to the Commons today after their summer recess and the highlight will be a statement from David Davis, the new Brexit secretary, about the government’s plans for leaving the EU. We’ve been told that Brexit means Brexit, but beyond that relatively little has been said about what Brexit will entail and Davis’s statement may enlighten us (but probably only marginally - don’t expect the full negotiating prospectus). In a statement released overnight Davis stressed that Britain’s future outside the EU would be marvellous.
Brexit isn’t about making the best of a bad job. It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world. There will be new freedoms, new opportunities, new horizons for this great country.
But hang on. On her flight to the G20 summit in China, in a briefing with journalists, Theresa May gave a rather more sober assessment of Britain’s prospects. She told the hacks:
Now I’m not going to pretend it will be plain sailing. There’ll be some difficult times ahead.
Like the cabinet, the public at large also seems uncertain about the implications of Brexit. The BBC is focusing on Brexit today and it has released a poll showing that, while 62% of people are positive about Britain’s future after the EU referendum, 35% are negative. Some of the other poll findings are more awkward for the Brexiteers.
- A quarter of Britons have considered leaving the country since the Brexit vote, the poll reveals.
- Almost twice as many Britons think the UK’s reputation abroad has been damaged by the Brexit vote (46%) as think it has been improved by the vote (27%).
The ComRes summary of the poll is here, and the full tables are here (pdf).
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: Owen Smith, the Labour leadership challenger, holds a press conference to publish a document setting out the implications if the Tories win the election in 2020.
11.30am: Theresa May is due to hold a press conference at the G20 summit in China.
2.30pm: Amber Rudd, the new home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
3.30pm: David Davis, the Brexit secretary, makes a statement to the Commons about the government’s plans for leaving the EU.
4.30pm: MPs will hold a debate in Westminster Hall on the e-petition signed by more than 4m people calling for a second EU referendum.
As usual, I will be covering the 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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