Afternoon summary
- Downing Street and Labour have been blaming each other of the lack of progress in the cross-party talks aimed at finding a Brexit compromise. Number 10 accused Labour of dragging its feet. (See 4.33pm.) But Jeremy Corbyn accused the government of “just regurgitating what has already been emphatically rejected three times by parliament” and he said there would only be progress if Theresa May shifted her red lines.
Labour's Jeremy Corbyn calls on government to change its approach to cross-party #Brexit talks: "They cannot keep on just regurgitating what has already been emphatically rejected three times by Parliament"https://t.co/rSOx2TsKyN pic.twitter.com/EqV388R8Xw
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) April 23, 2019
- Members of the executive of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee are tonight debating calls for the 1922 to change the party leadership rules to allow a new vote of no confidence in May. Under the current rules, a further challenge has to wait until December because only one is allowed in any 12-month period. Speaking ahead of the meeting, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the 1922 treasurer, told the World at One:
[The executive] have to decide whether they wish to change the rules or not.
I suspect quite a robust discussion will take place, because the executive represents all wings of the party. Eventually a motion will be put and that will be voted on.
I think it will be done by first-past-the-post, and if it succeeds then of course the vote which would otherwise have taken place on December 12 will be brought forward to whatever is agreed in the motion.
This is from Sky’s Beth Rigby.
Meeting now. Different views about how to proceed. Options a) force May to name a date b) change rules to allow a new ballot (90+ MPs threshold) c) do neither and let her stand down on own terms. One Brexiteer ‘22 officer told me remainers trying to protect May... https://t.co/vgwYZTmVR2
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) April 23, 2019
- Portsmouth council has objected to the government’s decision to invite Donald Trump to attend D-Day memorial events in the city as part of his state visit. As the Press Association reports, Portsmouth city council and the Ministry of Defence announced on Monday a series of events to mark the anniversary of the Normandy landings which were masterminded on the outskirts of the Hampshire city, with many of the vessels setting sail from the port. Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the Liberal Democrat leader of the council, said Trump had not been invited by the city and should not attend because he would take the attention away from the veterans. He said:
I am disappointed because it will change the nature of the event a great deal, for us the centre of the events was meant to be the veterans.
It’s the 75th anniversary, this is probably the last time they will get together like this, the last time when they will meet the Queen, the last time the people of the city will be in a big event with them.
With Donald Trump coming, I think the chances are that it will move from being around commemoration and instead it will be a day of controversy. There will be protests and that is not what we want.
Vernon-Jackson said he did not fee Trump had “learnt the lessons” of the second world war, particularly those of isolationism, the importance of joint defence as shown by the creation of Nato and respecting human rights to prevent a future holocaust.
- A Conservative MP has tabled a Commons motion of no confidence in the Speaker John Bercow. As the Press Association reports, former minister Crispin Blunt’s early-day motion (EDM) was tabled in his name only after he failed to find 100 MPs willing to sign it. Blunt wrote to all MPs asking for support, but said he would not publish the names of backers unless they hit three figures in order not to expose them to “retribution” by the Speaker.
- The UK government’s active support for fossil fuels and airport expansion is “beyond absurd”, Greta Thunberg has told MPs. Here is the full text of her speech.
- The home secretary, Sajid Javid, is under mounting pressure to head off an immigration scandal that MPs have warned could be “bigger than Windrush”. As Amelia Gentleman reports, about 34,000 foreign students have had their visas cancelled or curtailed and more than 1,000 people were forcibly removed from the UK as a result of the English language testing scandal, which involved the government accusing tens of thousands of students who sat a Home Office-approved test of cheating. The Guardian understands that students who took the test of English for international communication (Toeic) five or more years ago are still being targeted by immigration enforcement officers and being taken to immigration detention centres ahead of enforced removal from the UK.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
International development minister Lord Bates has resigned from the government, forcing Theresa May into the latest of a long series of changes to her administration. As the Press Association reports, the Tory peer offered his resignation last year after turning up late for a parliamentary appearance, but it was refused by the Prime Minister. There was no immediate explanation for his decision to go now.
A former Downing Street aide to David Cameron, Lady Sugg, has been appointed junior minister in the Department for International Development, moving from the Department for Transport. Her place at the DFT is taken by Lady Vere of Norbiton. Both continue to serve as whips in the House of Lords.
Meanwhile Dumfries and Galloway MP Alister Jack has been promoted within the whip’s office and Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman has been appointed an assistant government whip, the Press Association reports.
The Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg has been in the public gallery of the Commons watching an urgent question on Extinction Rebellion, which saw the former Labour leader, Ed Miliband, demand that the government declare a climate emergency and introduce a green new deal, among other measures.
Miliband, who was the energy and climate change secretary under Gordon Brown, said the protesters were correct.
The truth is the planet is warming far faster than we are acting. Climate change is not some theoretical future prospect, but is with us here and now.
Responding for the government, energy minister Claire Perry rejected the idea of a climate emergency – “I don’t know what that would entail” – and said she had reservations about the Extinction Rebellion protests.
While she was glad such arguments were being heard, Perry said, “they have caused disruption for many hundreds and thousands of hard-working Londoners and they have required a heavy policing presence”. She added:
I worry that many of the messages we are hearing ignore the progress that is being made, and as such make people fearful for the future rather than hopeful.
But speaking for Labour the shadow energy minister Barry Gardiner, who also holds the international trade role, likened the protesters to the Chartists, suffragettes, and anti-apartheid movement.
All of those victories were won by citizens uniting against injustice, making their voice heard. And Extinction Rebellion and the school climate strikers are doing just that.
No 10 accuses Labour of holding up Brexit talks
At the Downing Street lobby briefing Number 10 criticised Labour for holding up the Brexit talks. In a read-out of what happened at today’s cabinet, the prime minister’s spokesman said:
The PM said the discussions with Labour had been serious, but had also been difficult in some areas, such as in relation to the timetable for the negotiations.
The PM said that the government’s position was that progress needed to be made urgently as it was vital to deliver on the result of the referendum and for the UK to leave the European Union as soon as possible.
[David Lidington] outlined the nature of the discussions which had taken place so far and said talks with the opposition would be resuming this afternoon.
Cabinet agreed on the need to secure safe passage of the withdrawal agreement bill, WAB, through parliament as soon as possible in order to allow the UK to complete the ratification of its orderly departure from the EU. At the same time, it was agreed to continue with sensible preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
When a reporter asked if the reference to difficulties in the talks relating to the “timetable” referred to Labour not wanting them to conclude as quickly as the government wanted, the spokesman said that interpretation seemed “reasonable”.
But the spokesman would not go as far as accusing Labour of negotiating in bad faith. Asked if the PM thought Labour was not sincere about wanting to find a compromise, he said:
The word the prime minister used was the discussions are “serious” and the talks are ongoing. It is clear that Labour has approached [the talks] in a serious manner and has been engaging constructively, and has been holding very serious and thorough discussions in the negotiation meetings.
In the Commons John Bercow, the Speaker, has just given a formal welcome to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental campaigner, who is in the gallery watching. She received a smattering of applause.
I’m just off to the post-cabinet lobby briefing. I will post again after 4.15pm.
Adam Price, the Plaid Cymru leader, has also put out a statement condemning the planned state visit by Donald Trump. Price said:
Wales and the United States share an important link, and I want to see the relationship between our peoples continue to develop.
However, many of President Trump’s policies are simply abhorrent. Indeed, some of his policies are globally damaging.
His actions are empowering the far right. We will not normalise the actions of a politician who systematically undermines women, Muslims, and anyone who doesn’t fit his narrow world view.
It is not appropriate to honour Donald Trump with a State Visit, and I deeply regret the overtures the prime minister has made to him.
As Matt Foster reports at PoliticsHome, more than 50 opposition MPs have also signed a Commons early day motion saying the invitation to Trump should be withdrawn.
These are from Mujtaba Rahman, the former European commission official who now writes well-regarded regular Brexit analysis for the Eurasia consultancy. He is commenting on this news about a possible Brexit vote next week.
On #Brexit Commons vote next week, we're sceptical. Think Govt wary about risking a vote until they have a chance of winning. Right now don't: in fact, numbers getting even worse for @theresa_may. Suspect diversionary tactic because her position is so fragile in her own party 1/
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) April 23, 2019
But, WA Bill has been an option for some time - gets round problem of Bercow denying a vote - so May could do it as her last shot & say this is the way to avoid EP elections (which are making Tory's agonise & anti-May feeling even worse, & giving @Nigel_Farage a platform) 2/
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) April 23, 2019
However, some May aides advising her to wait until after 2 May local elections as another Commons defeat would make bad results even worse. So it's all in play. Latest #Brexit piece tomorrow/Fri with updated, comprehensive views
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) April 23, 2019
Conservatives should not be chasing hard Brexit vote, says Osborne
George Osborne, the Conservative former chancellor, has said his party should give up chasing the hard Brexit vote. He now edits the Evening Standard and this is what he says today in an editor’s reply letter.
The Conservatives’ mistake was to think “Let’s just get Brexit done, and then we can move on to other things.” There is no “moving on”. Even if the prime minister had managed to pass her Brexit deal, the hard Brexiteers (and their leadership contenders) would have immediately campaigned to withdraw from the withdrawal agreement — and the argument about the permanent EU relationship would go on for years.
Trying to upend 50 years of economic and security relationships with our neighbours was always going to shatter the existing political order. The part of the Brexit vote that was angry about markets, globalisation and modernity was never going to stick with mainstream Conservatism.
The Tories would be better advised to focus also on the 16m who voted to remain, many of whom were their natural supporters. For if the equivalent of the Brexit Party emerges on the remain side, or Labour manages to harvest their anger, then the Conservatives really are sunk.
Labour condemns decision to invite Trump to UK for state visit
Labour has opposed the decision to invite Donald Trump to the UK for a state visit in June. The party has put out this statement from Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary.
It beggars belief that on the very same day Donald Trump is threatening to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war, Theresa May is pressing ahead with her plans to honour him with a State Visit to the UK.
This is a president who has systematically assaulted all the shared values that unite our two countries, and unless Theresa May is finally going to stand up to him and object to that behaviour, she has no business wasting taxpayers’ money on all the pomp, ceremony and policing costs that will come with this visit.
Ian Jones from the Press Association has the latest European elections polling.
Still early days in the EU election campaign, but a rolling average of polls suggests upward trends for the Brexit Party, Greens and Change UK. pic.twitter.com/brpeekpU4C
— Ian Jones (@ian_a_jones) April 23, 2019
Lunchtime summary
- Nigel Farage’s Brexit party has unveiled a former revolutionary communist who once supported Irish republicanism and opposed the Good Friday peace deal as one of five new candidates for the European elections. As Peter Walker reports, Claire Fox, who now styles herself as a libertarian and is a panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze programme, told the launch event she most likely only agreed with Farage on one issue – Brexit.
- Farage claimed a Brexit party victory in the European elections could stop a second referendum. Speaking at the Brexit party news conference, he said:
It seems to me that the better the Brexit party does on May 23, the less chance there is of the people of this great country being insulted by being made to vote again. I think we can stop a second referendum.
- The anti-Brexit party Change UK – The Independent Group has announced its candidates for next month’s European elections after receiving more than 3,700 applications. As Steven Morris reports, Rachel Johnson, the sister of former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, and the broadcast journalist Gavin Esler – who said Brexit was based on “cheating and lies” and was sick of the likes of Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg selling “snake oil” – will both stand. Other candidates include former Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat politicians and activists, as well as people with no previous political affiliation or involvement.
This is from Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary. That exclamation mark at the end suggests Hunt has been reading too many tweets from Donald Trump himself.
Big news: @realDonaldTrump and @MELANIATRUMP will be hosted by Her Majesty The Queen for their first State Visit to the United Kingdom in June. The transatlantic relationship has been the foundation of global peace and prosperity for many years – and great things are yet to come!
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) April 23, 2019
Sturgeon to make statement to Scottish parliament on Wednesday about Brexit and independence
Nicola Sturgeon is to give a “detailed and substantive” statement on Brexit and her hopes for a second independence referendum to the Scottish parliament on Wednesday, even though a fog of confusion surrounds the UK’s future with the EU.
With that in mind, her spokesman again hinted Sturgeon will reject demands for greater urgency from pro-independence hardliners and insist a referendum can only take place when Scottish voters are ready for one.
That presumes Brexit takes place; Sturgeon has recently put heavy emphasis on the quest for a second EU referendum, giving that precedence. Speaking to reporters after she hosted a Scottish government cabinet on Tuesday morning, her spokesman implied stopping Brexit remains uppermost in the first minister’s mind:
The first minister will give a detailed and substantive statement setting out a path forward for Scotland amid the ongoing Brexit confusion at Westminster. The first minister will take time to set out her thoughts on that front and in doing so she will seek to strike an inclusive tone.
[It] will obviously touch on Scotland’s future and it will touch obviously on her thoughts on independence and how that relates to where the country currently finds itself.
The phrase “inclusive tone” is widely seen as code for appealing to middle ground Scottish voters unpersuaded of the case for independence or the need for an early poll.
In June 2016, fresh from the resounding rejection of Brexit by Scottish voters in the EU referendum, she promised draft legislation on a new independence vote. This time there will be no draft bills or supporting documentation, Sturgeon’s spokesman confirmed, implying she is far from readying the country and the civil service for another constitutional conflict.
The timing of Sturgeon’s statement is also a live issue. Although she has been promising to update Holyrood for two years on her plans for a second referendum, ever since the Scottish National party lost 21 Westminster seats in the snap 2017 election, the further postponement of the article 50 deadline lightens the pressure on her.
Her opponents think the statement is timed entirely to coincide with this weekend’s SNP spring conference in Edinburgh, where Sturgeon faces a very restless party membership. Party hardliners, including some SNP backbenchers, want her to call a second independence referendum quickly, in a bid to exploit the chaos around Brexit and Theresa May’s ailing premiership.
A further delay would be consistent with Sturgeon’s previous statements; earlier this year she stressed the need for “clarity” and “calm consideration” of the impacts of Brexit in an interview with the US broadcaster PBS.
Could parliament stop new Tory leader opting for no-deal?
Here is a question from BTL that is worth addressing because it is likely to become increasingly topical in the coming weeks.
Could parliament stop a new Conservative leader opting for a no-deal Brexit?
The Conservative party leadership contest has not officially started yet but, assuming that no Brexit deal has been passed by the time it does get underway, it is hard to imagine anyone winning on anything other than a platform saying they would embrace no-deal if the EU refused to offer better terms. According to one survey, 75% of members give no-deal as their preference.
But would a new leader be able to enact no-deal when MPs have repeatedly voted against this?
In the question DaveLester refers to a PM using Henry VIII powers, which I think is a reference to using secondary legislation to change the date of Brexit in the EU Withdrawal Act. An amendment to the Yvette Cooper bill changed the process required for this to happen (from an affirmative resolution procedure to a negative resolution procedure) and this would make it much easier for the government to change the date again. MPs could object, but there is no guarantee that they could force a vote.
But other avenues would be open to MPs determined to stop a new prime minister accelerating a no-deal Brexit, or planning for one at the end of October.
First, MPs could revive the Letwin/Cooper trick, and pass a motion setting aside time for an emergency bill to be passed making no-deal illegal. There is now a precedent for legislation of this kind, although it is worth remembering that the Cooper bill (requiring the PM to request an article 50 extension) only passed the Commons by one vote, and it only got through the Lords rapidly after amendments were passed significantly watering down its impact. There may also be a limit as to what practical effect a bill could have. It might be able to instruct the government to rule out no-deal as an objective, but it probably could not prevent a new PM acting towards the EU in such an antagonistic way as to make Brussels activate no-deal of its own accord in October.
Second, MPs could just pass a resolution ruling out no-deal, in the hope that the prime minister would have to comply for fear of being found in contempt of parliament. But ministers can ignore resolutions of this kind, and even the threat of being found in contempt of parliament isn’t much of a sanction. This would not block no-deal.
Third, MPs could pass a no-confidence motion in the government, triggering a general election after 14 days if no alternative PM could win a confidence vote. This may be the most reliable route to avoiding no-deal. But today’s declaration from Change UK that it would probably not vote for a general election (see 10.38am) makes this more problematic (there are still some Tory MPs who might be willing to vote against the party in a no confidence motion to avoid no-deal, but not many) and the timing could be awkward too. A new PM could set course for no-deal during the summer recess, giving parliament little or no time to thwart the plan via an election.
I’m sure I’ve missed some possibilities. If you can suggest others, please mention them BTL.
Updated
There are two urgent questions and three statements in the Commons later.
2 urgent questions:@Ed_Miliband - climate action and #ExtinctionRebellion
— UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) April 23, 2019
Sir Michael Fallon - delay to award of the new south-east rail franchise
Followed by 3 statements:@Jeremy_Hunt- Sri Lanka@NIOgov - Northern Ireland Update@claireperrymp - #ClimateChange policy pic.twitter.com/SjqomRuhMm
Theresa May has issued this statement on President Trump’s state visit.
The UK and United States have a deep and enduring partnership that is rooted in our common history and shared interests.
We do more together than any two nations in the world and we are both safer and more prosperous because of our cooperation.
The state visit is an opportunity to strengthen our already close relationship in areas such as trade, investment, security and defence, and to discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead.
And commenting on the planned D-Day commemorative event in Portsmouth on 5 June, May said:
D-Day was an unparalleled international military operation and a turning point in the second world war. The freedom we have today would not be possible without the incredible sacrifice of troops from across the world 75 years ago.
I am proud that the UK will host representatives and veterans from allied nations to pay tribute to that sacrifice and recognise the extraordinary cooperation that made the Normandy landings possible.
And today – as we face new and different challenges to our security – we must continue to stand together to uphold our shared values and way of life.
No 10 confirms Trump coming to UK for three-day state visit in June
Downing Street has confirmed Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK in June. Here is an extract from the news release.
In the first week of June the UK will host the state visit of President Trump as well as a major D-Day commemoration event.
The president and first lady will make a state visit to the UK on 3-5 June, as announced by Buckingham Palace this afternoon.
President Trump will be a guest of Her Majesty The Queen during the visit, and will also have discussions with the prime minister in Downing Street.
On 5 June the UK will host a major international event in Portsmouth to mark the 75 anniversary of D-Day and commemorate this critical moment in the Second World War.
Countries that fought alongside the United Kingdom in the historic military operation, as well as Germany, have been invited to attend.
The gathering on Southsea Common in Portsmouth will involve live performances, military displays and tributes to the allied troops who fought in Normandy in the Second World War.
The event will be one of the greatest British military spectacles in recent history, with a flypast of 26 iconic RAF aircraft and at least 11 Royal Navy vessels in the Solent.
The event will honour the bravery, commitment and sacrifice of D-Day veterans and those who gave their lives in the operation.
On 6 June the prime minister will travel to Normandy to attend a number of commemorative events including the inauguration of the British Normandy memorial in Ver-Sur-Mer.
Theresa May was “empty chaired” as Swedish environmental protester Greta Thunberg met Westminster party leaders for a round-table discussion in the House of Commons, the Press Association reports. Thunberg met Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Liberal Democrat Sir Vince Cable, Green MP Caroline Lucas and the Westminster leaders of the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru, Ian Blackford and Liz Saville Roberts. A place at the table was left free for May, with a sign bearing her name, but she did not attend. The Prime Minister was instead chairing Cabinet in 10 Downing Street.
Opening the talks, Thunberg - who earlier met Commons Speaker John Bercow - told the MPs: “We just want people to listen to the science.”
The Green party has dismissed Change UK as “a single-issue party with no coherent policy platform beyond opposing Brexit”. This is from Molly Scott Cato, who is standing for re-election as a Green MEP in the South West.
Change UK are a single-issue party with no coherent policy platform beyond opposing Brexit. This is a re-branding exercise for former Conservative and Labour politicians who presided over cuts to public services and the relentless growth in inequality. And we have no idea which group in the European parliament any elected MEPs would join.
Greens on the other hand are the most electorally successful pro-EU party standing in this election and Green votes are more likely to send pro-EU MEPs to Brussels than votes for any other party. We are standing candidates in all 28 EU nations and polls suggest Greens will increase their number of MEPs.
Gavin Esler, the former Newsnight presenter who is now a Change UK candidate for London, is speaking at the event now.
He says he has never been a member of a political party before. He has never been seriously worried about the future of our country, but he is now.
He says the UK has become a worldwide joke. Politics is broken. This country cannot be strong abroad when it is weak at home, he says.
I have never been a candidate in an election but I am now.
I have never been seriously worried about the future of our country but I am now.
Our political system is a joke. It is a worldwide joke.
They are laughing at us - not with us, at us.
He says he has joined this “remain alliance” for three reasons: to stop Brexit, to reform Britain, and to fix the EU.
The first step will be a people’s vote, he says.
He says he has in mind a working-class friend in London, who is in his 40s, who works six days a week and who normally does not vote. But he voted leave in the referendum, to send a message to the political class.
His friend is a British patriot, and an optimist. Esler says he is too. He says he is appalled when he sees pretend patriots like Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg pretending to speak for the people.
They stole our patriotism. And I want it back.
Updated
Heidi Allen, the Change UK interim leader, is speaking at her party’s campaign launch in Bristol. She says she feels like a “proud TIGer mum” introducing her candidates (from TIG, The Independent Group).
Change UK unveils Rachel Johnson as European elections candidate
And on the subject of the European elections, the Evening Standard is revealing that Rachel Johnson, Boris’s sister, will be a Change UK candidate at the elections in May.
This might be seen as a display of loyalty typical of the Johnson family. Two years ago Rachel joined the Lib Dems.
Writing about other Change UK candidates, Joe Murphy and Nicholas Cecil report:
Former Tory health secretary Stephen Dorrell will stand in the West Midlands, with ex-Tory MP Neil Carmichael running in the East of England.
In London, candidates include former Labour MEP Carole Tongue and Karen Newman, a member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, plus human rights barrister Jessica Simor QC, one of the lawyers who secured the parliamentary vote on Article 50.
Former Labour Wimbledon MP Roger Casale is standing in East of England.
Updated
Q: Have you spoken to President Trump about your new party? Will you meet him when he comes to London?
Farage says he has not spoken to Trump in the last five weeks. The Brexit party had not been formed then.
He says Trump will be visiting the UK on a state visit. He thinks the chance of his being invited to any of the state visit events is zero.
And that’s it. The press conference is over.
I will post a summary soon.
Q: Having been to a private school, and having a background in banking, what do you have in common with ordinary people?
Farage says he never worked in banking. Next question.
(Farage was a commodities trader in the City, not a banker.)
When pressed, Farage says he did not choose his parents, who sent him to a private school. He did not choose the name Nigel, he says.
He says he cares about democracy. That is something many people care about.
Farage says Brexit party victory at European elections would reduce chance of second referendum
Q: In the past you said you would not mind a second referendum because you thought leave would win. Is that still your view?
Farage says what he said was that leave voters had to get read for a second referendum.
But do they want that referendum? No. They want the first one enacted.
He says the better the Brexit party does in the European elections, the less chance there will be of a second referendum.
- Farage says the better the Brexit party does in the European elections, the less chance there will be of a second referendum.
Updated
Q: You talk about targeting Labour heartlands. How do you think you will be received there? And, if you try to become an MP again, will you stand in a Labour seat?
On the issue of standing as an MP, Farage says he is focused on this election.
As for Labour heartlands, he says it is a mistake to think Euroscepticism is centred on the right.
He says Labour has its roots in democracy. And for that party to be telling Labour leave voters they got it wrong is a mistake.
Claire Fox says Labour leave voters voted Labour in 2017 because they thought the party would deliver Brexit. But the party is now “sneering” at them. It deserves a “rhetorical bloody nose” for treating them with such contempt.
She says she would have more respect for Labour if it chose a firm position - either remain or leave. But they have not got the courage to do that, she says.
Q: Isn’t it the case that the best way to get the Brexit you want is to have a change of Tory leader? Voting Brexit party in the European elections won’t make much difference. Shouldn’t you focus on changing Tory leader?
Farage says, in previous European election campaigns, he was told those elections would not change a thing. But he thinks he proved that argument wrong.
As for the Conservative party, he says it is a leave party in the country.
But it is up to the Conservative party to decide their future.
He says he has not seen a Tory leadership candidate who has not signed up to the withdrawal agreement.
He says the two-party system is bust. The Brexit party is the catalyst for real change.
Q: What lessons have you learnt from the attack in Sri Lanka?
Farage says it is remarkable that, when warnings were given, the Sri Lankan authorities failed to do their job.
Farage says Brexit party not planning to discuss policy in detail until after European elections
Nigel Farage is now taking questions at the Brexit party event.
Q: Are you in talks with any senior Tories about defecting? And are you going to publish a manifesto? What does Brexit mean to you?
Farage says everyone at Westminster is interested in defectors. But he is more interested in people from “broad walks of life” representing the party.
He says he thinks his party will put forward a list of 70 candidates with more experience and more honesty than candidates for other parties.
As for a manifesto, he says his party is campaigning on trust and on competence. It is clear that Theresa May and the people around her have never done a deal in their lives.
Of course they will talk about change, he says. He says the two-party system is not fit for purpose. They will talk about things like how the UK is not training enough doctors. But they will do that after the elections on 23 May.
- Farage says the Brexit party is not planning to discuss policy in detail until after the European elections.
Updated
Farage says Brexit party going for Labour vote 'in very big way'
Speaking at the start of the Brexit party news conference, Nigel Farage said he would be going after the Labour vote in the European elections “in a very big way”. He said:
There are five million people that voted for Jeremy Corbyn and voted for Brexit as well and that’s going to be our task.
I think we will go on squeezing the Conservatives and squeezing Ukip down to virtually nothing.
We’re going to go after that Labour vote in a very big way.
Here are the final three candidates unveiled by the party today.
Candidate announcement! Charity leader and CEO @Math_Patten is standing for The Brexit Party in the upcoming EU elections to unlock Britain's potential. pic.twitter.com/HfXJn4ApL7
— The Brexit Party (@brexitparty_uk) April 23, 2019
Former nurse and community leader Christina Jordan is our latest candidate for The Brexit Party.
— The Brexit Party (@brexitparty_uk) April 23, 2019
Christina came to Britain in 1985, now she wants to stand up for the 17.4 million. pic.twitter.com/MoNO8LipRZ
Businessman and owner of H.Forman and Son @LanceForman is now standing as a candidate for The Brexit Party.
— The Brexit Party (@brexitparty_uk) April 23, 2019
We need people with real life experience taking leadership, not this current useless political class. pic.twitter.com/upw8j4tXDT
Forman used to be a special adviser to Peter Lilley when he was trade secretary in the 1990s.
The next new Brexit party candidate speaking at its news conference is James Glancy, a former soldier and a conservationist.
.@jaglancy, veteran and broadcaster is standing for The Brexit Party in the upcoming European elections because he believes in Britain.
— The Brexit Party (@brexitparty_uk) April 23, 2019
Let's change politics for good! pic.twitter.com/6O2A1C8RhA
The Brexit party press conference has started. The party has unveiled a new candidate - Claire Fox, the broadcaster and head of the Institute of Ideas thinktank.
The party is describing her as “someone from the left”.
.@Fox_Claire is standing for The Brexit Party as someone from the left.
— The Brexit Party (@brexitparty_uk) April 23, 2019
This isn't about left or right, this is about democracy. pic.twitter.com/8QJaIr9aHf
There is a live feed of the launch here.
Change UK unlikely to vote against May in no confidence debate, Heidi Allen reveals
Heidi Allen, the former Tory MP who is now interim leader of Change UK (the independent group), which was formed recently by eight Labour MPs and three Conservatives, was on the Today programme speaking ahead of its European election campaign launch later. Here are the key points.
- Allen suggested Change UK would not vote against Theresa May in a no confidence debate. Asked about how the group would vote on such a motion, Allen initially replied by saying she could not give a firm answer. But then she said: “We won’t precipitate a general election, no we won’t.” She explained:
Do I believe however that a general election is a smart thing right now for our country? Absolutely not. We need to find a way through. I don’t believe the talks between Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May will lead anywhere. I don’t believe some customs union deal will emerge that can unite parliament. So we are going round and round circles. A general election would fix nothing. It wouldn’t change the splintering in the two main parties. The only way out of this is to put the decision back to the people in a confirmatory vote.
This is not particularly surprising. Change UK has only just registered as a political party, and if there were to be an election now, it is quite likely that all of its MPs would lose their seats.
But this is a boon to Labour because it will enable them to argue that Change UK are effectively closet Tories. This is from Simon Fletcher, a former aide to Jeremy Corbyn.
Heidi Allen confirming that TIG won’t precipitate a gen election - and not saying say if they would ever be a partner in *any* coalition type government” (my emphasis).
— Simon Fletcher (@fletchersimon) April 23, 2019
Sounds a lot like they don’t rule out being in coalition with the Tories. So much for change. Via @danbloom1 pic.twitter.com/TBv4fSJtqb
- Allen rejected claims that Change UK, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens would split the pro-second referendum vote in the European elections by not having an electoral pact. (Arguably the SNP and Plaid Cymru should be included in such a pact too, because they also want a second referendum.) When this argument was put to Allen, she said:
I know a lot of people have concerns about this ... The way the election system works, we genuinely don’t believe that that vote would be split, not least because it relies heavily on polling. We have no idea which parties will do better or worse in a particular region.
Allen also claimed that people were calling Change UK “the remain alliance”, implying that she would like them to be seen as an alliance - even though there is no alliance with other parties in the European elections. She justified this on the grounds that the party was attracting support from “right across the political spectrum”.
Allen’s argument about the electoral system not punishing the pro-second referendum parties for not combining is hard to understand (to put it politely) because all the evidence points the other way. Ian Dunt has a good explanation in this politics.co.uk blog. Here is an extract.
Remain has motivation on its side, but it also has a very significant problem. Its own vote is split four ways. The Hanbury poll put the Liberal Democrats on 8.1%, Change UK on 4.1%, the SNP on 4.1% and the Greens on 4.0%.
This is a catastrophic divide. It means that outside of the SNP these parties might not even win a single seat.
The voting system used for the European elections is called a closed list proportional representation system. That means that parties select a list of candidates and put them down under their name. You go into the voting booth and put a cross by the party you want to support. The candidates are then selected to become MEPs in the order they appear on the ballot paper.
It’s a proportional representation system, so it’s better for small parties than first-past-the-post - the winner-takes-all system we use in general elections. But it isn’t that good, because the seats are so small. The North East, for instance, returns just three MEPs. A party would need to get over 25% of the vote to secure a candidate. Even the South East, which returns ten MEPS, requires a party to get over 9.1% of the vote before it secures a candidate.
As my colleague Matthew Weaver reports, we are expecting an announcement today confirming that Donald Trump will make a state visit to the UK in June.
The official statement has not even been issued yet, but already the Stand up to Trump campaign has sent out a news release saying it is planning a massive protest. Shaista Aziz, a campaign spokesperson, said:
This demonstration isn’t just about Trump as one man. He is a symbol of the new far right, a politics of Islamophobia and anti-semitism, of war and conflict, and walls and fences that are growing around the world. We are fighting against the British government’s own disgraceful “hostile environment” policies, as well as Trump’s border wall. It is time for everyone who opposes this politics of hate and bigotry to stand up and be counted.
Theresa May chairs cabinet as MPs return to Commons and Brexit deadlock continues
Good morning. I hope you all had a good Easter. And welcome back to the Brexit Groundhog Day vortex of doom.
If that seems a bit harsh, I’m afraid it’s just a reflection of what people seem to feel about Brexit, as this recent research (pdf) from the Britain Thinks public opinion consultancy confirms. (See two of the slides below.) If you voted remain in 2016, then the news over the last three years has been grim, and even though the recent decision to extend article 50 until the end of October must slightly increase the chances of a second referendum, the probability of Brexit being reversed remains small. And if you voted leave - well, events haven’t gone your way either. “I wasn’t trained to lose,” the arch-Brexiter Mark Francois famously declared last month. But even without the requisite training, he and his fellow Brexiters pulled it off quite easily, and their attempt to prevent the article 50 extension was defeated.
Given that this blog is mostly about Brexit at the moment, and that, according to Britain Thinks, 64% of people think “anxiety about Brexit is bad for people’s mental health”, some sort of disclaimer may be necessary. If you want something more cheerful, do feel free to stop reading for a while. You could try instead bookmarking Guardian stories about cats, or the Upside, a Guardian feature dedicated to stories about people finding solutions to the world’s problems (which I would recommend very strongly.) Or, instead of reading about a country that has inadvertently become an international laughing stock, you could read about Ukraine, where voters short-circuited the process by actually electing a comedian as leader.
But if you are ready for more weeks and months of Brexit crisis, stick with Politics Live. It probably won’t be uplifting, but at least it will never get dull.,
This morning MPs are returning to Westminster after the Easter recess and Theresa May is chairing cabinet. As my colleagues Jessica Elgot and Peter Walker report, May is facing renewed calls to quit now.
Nigel Evans, a member of the executive of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, told the Today programme that calls for May’s resignation were “growing into a clamour”. He said:
I hope she does accept the fact the call for her resignation now is growing into a clamour. It’s not now just within Westminster - we’ve heard the news that 70 chairs of Conservative associations throughout the country have now said that they reluctantly have no confidence in the prime minister ...
We need fresh leadership of the Conservative party as quickly as possible - it can’t start soon enough.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Downing Street lobby briefing.
10.30am: Nigel Farage unveils a new tranche of Brexit party candidates for the European elections.
11am: Theresa May chairs cabinet.
11.20am: Change UK launches its campaign for the European elections at an event in Bristol, and unveils candidates. This is from the BBC’s Norman Smith.
Am told @TheIndGroup will unveil some "household names" among their list of candidates for Euro elections
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) April 23, 2019
11.30am: Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate change activist, holds a meeting in the Commons.
2.30pm: Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner, gives evidence to the Commons culture committee’s sub-committee on disinformation. She is expected to be asked about pro-Brexit Facebook campaigns overseen by Sir Lynton Crosby’s company CTF Partners.
Afternoon: Talks between the government and Labour aimed at trying to find a Brexit compromise resume in the Cabinet Office.
After 3.30pm: Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, is due to make a statement to MPs about the Sri Lankan terrorist bombings.
Afternoon: The executive of the backbench Conservative 1922 Committee is due to meet to discuss calls for party rules to be changed to allow a fresh no confidence vote in Theresa May.
As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although I expect to be focusing mostly on Brexit. I plan to post a summary at lunchtime and another when I wrap up.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.
If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
I try to monitor the comments BTL but it is 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 questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply ATL, although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.
Updated
@AndrewSparrow
First a big welcome back!
I'm wondering if you can say anything about the options that will face a new Tory Leader?
As I understand it, a new leader would struggle to do a "No Deal" exit; but could they not use the Henry VIII powers instead of putting it through Parliament?