Summary
Here are the key parts of the PM’s statement to the House of Commons about the EU council meeting. We’re going to be closing this blog shortly and covering Amber Rudd’s statement on the closure of the Calais “jungle” camp over on our Calais live blog.
May said the UK would advocate for a free trade deal.
I am determined that as we leave the EU, Britain will be the most passionate, the most consistent and the most convincing advocate of free trade anywhere in the world.
I have been clear that the UK is already discussing our future trading relationships with third countries. As I made clear to the other Member States last week, this will not undermine the EU’s trade agenda.
She denied that the failure of the EU to agree a free trade deal with Canada was a setback for the UK.
To those who suggest that these difficulties have a bearing on our own future negotiations, I would remind them that we are not seeking to replicate any existing model that any other country has in relation to its trade with the European Union. We will be developing our own British model – a new relationship for the UK with the EU – to be there for when we’re outside the EU.
She said she had told the EU that Britain wanted a “mature, co-operative relationship that close friends and allies enjoy.”
A deal that will give British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the European market – and allow European businesses to do the same here.
A deal that will deliver the deepest possible co-operation to ensure our national security and the security of our allies.
A deal that is in Britain’s interests – and the interests of all our European partners.But it will also be a deal that means we are a fully independent, sovereign nation – able to do what sovereign nations do, which means we will, for example, be free to decide for ourselves how we control immigration.
That’s it for now, join us over on the Calais live blog where we’ll be covering the home secretary’s statement.
Updated
Here’s Burnham’s tweet after his question, suggesting the PM is backtracking.
That's interesting. In response to my question, PM backtracks on idea of "hard Brexit". Cold shoulder at EU summit must have had an effect.
— Andy Burnham (@andyburnhammp) October 24, 2016
Government is not seeking a hard Brexit, May says
Lots of Labour big hitters speaking from the backbenchers today. Next up is Andy Burnham, the former shadow home secretary who is campaigning to be mayor of Greater Manchester. He asks about research carried out to assess the impact of “the harder form of Brexit that she seeks” will have on the regions.
May says that is a false premise.
He talks of a hard Brexit this government is going to take the country into. There is no suggestion of that whatsoever.
The gentleman seems to think all of these decisions are binary, whether you can control immigration or you can get a free trade deal.
That is not the case. We are going to be ambitious in what we hope to get for the UK, a good trade deal as well as control on immigration.
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The DUP’s Sir Jeffrey Donaldson asks if the UK is considering further cuts to corporation tax, rumoured to be slashed to 10%.
The honourable gentleman “should not believe everything he reads in the newspapers”, May says.
Andrew Tyrie, the chair of the Treasury select committee, says the government’s policy of saying as little as possible will be unsustainable.
The vacuum is already being filled by leaks not from the commission but from her own Brexit colleagues.
Does the PM accept that without some clarity soon, financial services will respond and plan for the worst, at considerable cost to the UK, he asks.
May says she is well aware that business needs certainty - that was the reason behind the timetable for invoking Article 50, and the Great Repeal Bill which will transpose EU law into UK law.
He knows full well that if this government would set out every jot and tittle, that would be the best way to get the worst deal for the UK.
Updated
May agrees that UK is seeking free trade agreement
Hilary Benn, the new chair of the Brexit select committee, is up next. He says not revealing her negotiating hand is “very different from setting out her objectives”.
He says he wants an undertaking that the PM will “publish her objectives in time for the House and the new select committee to consider them, before she presents them to the other member states”.
May says she has set out those objectives already. There are already over 30 different reviews taking place in parliament, she says, giving ample opportunity for scrutiny.
Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP, says Benn may have a point. Should we not make it clear that we are seeking a free trade agreement?
“I agree,” says May.
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, said it is a “sad day” that security was being compromised to appease irrational fears. “Will she confirm now that we will remain an active member of Europol?” he asks.
The honourable gentlemen does not need to tell me about that, May says. “After we leave we will be a confident and outward-looking nation, co-operating on our shared security.” Farron throws up his hands in response.
Updated
Dame Rosie Winterton, the former Labour chief whip, rises to huge cheers in the House, asking about estimates of regional impact of Brexit.
May says this is an important point. While people often talk about the impact on Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, there will be an impact on different parts of the UK.
She said government departments are talking to administrations across the UK to make sure the negotiations are informed by every region.
May is now taking questions from the SNP’s Angus Robertson, after that tense meeting with Nicola Sturgeon and other devolved government leaders.
He asked which of the specific issues raised by Scotland were subsequently raised by May at the EU summit.
She cannot pretend to take the interests and concerns of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland seriously. Either she will, or she won’t. If she won’t, Scotland is right to hold another independence referendum.
May said she is taking it seriously, which was what the joint ministerial meeting was about this morning. “That is precisely what we discussed today.”
May is responding to Corbyn’s statement, saying that she was commended by EU leaders for her speech at the Conservative party conference, rather than condemned. One or two of the socialist leaders too, she adds.
We have a plan, she says, which not to set out the details step-by-step, because that is a way not to get what we want.
He couldn’t decide whether we should be in or out. He couldn’t decide when we should invoke article 50. The only certainty is that he would have unfettered immigration into this country. Unlike him, the Conservatives are listening to the British people.
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Corbyn is asking about Grant Shapps’ proposal for a “sunset clause” for the great repeal bill, which would potentially mean workers’ rights derived from the EU would expire after a certain period.
He says the lack of clarity on single market access, freedom of movement and other matters have meant that world leaders have concluded “Britain hasn’t got a clue”.
Day by day, confidence in this economy falls, and the British people become more worried about their future.
Spot on from @jeremycorbyn: It's not a soft Brexit or a hard Brexit, it's a chaotic Brexit.
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) October 24, 2016
After Corbyn boasts that EU Socialist leaders are listening to him, May tells him that it is good for him to know someone is listening 2 him
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) October 24, 2016
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Jeremy Corbyn is speaking now. He says he was in Brussels last Thursday and was given “rather longer” than the PM had at the dinner with EU leaders, reported to have been just a short speech after midnight.
Corbyn said EU leaders had sent a clear message that the tone of debate had damaged Britain’s reputation “not just in Europe but around the world.”
He says anger and resentment has spread across Europe. “Threats, hectoring or lecturing” will not succeed in getting the UK a good deal, he says.
Updated
May says the government “will make time available for general debates” in parliament. These will take place before and after the Christmas recess.
Members on all sides will understand the UK must not show its hand in detail in these negotiations, she said. There is huge noise in response in the chamber, both supportive and scornful.
It is important that members have these opportunities to speak on behalf of their constituencies, May continues.
May says negotiations will take time. “It will require patience and some give and take. But if we approach this in a constructive spirit, we can secure a smooth departure.”
Updated
May is now talking about trade post-Brexit. She said she had made clear to other EU countries that the UK is already starting preparatory trade talks with countries outside the EU.
This will not undermine the EU’s trade agenda, May said. As long as we remain a member of the EU, we will continue to back the EU’s free trade negotiations.
I share everyone’s disappointment in the stalled talks between the EU and Canada, she said.
But she said the difficulties would not have a bearing on the UK’s own negotiations. We are not seeking to replicate any existing model, but our own model, she said.
May is speaking now about the migration crisis, and said the UK would continue its assistance in the Aegean and Mediterranean.
The PM said she had reiterated the case she made at the UN, helping refugees claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and making better distinctions between refugees and economic migrants.
PM makes statement on European council summit
May is speaking in the House of Commons now about the European council summit last week.
She says it was agreed that the EU keep up the pressure on Russia over the indiscriminate bombing of Aleppo.
May said she spoke personally to German chancellor Angela Merkel and EU council president Donald Tusk about Russia, and it was agreed that nothing should be ruled out in response.
There are millions of innocent civilians trapped … in desperate need of food, shelter and healthcare. We stand ready to accelerate over £23m of aid for the EU to distribute on the ground.
Updated
Tracy Brabin, the new MP for Batley and Spen, has just been sworn in, accompanied by fellow Labour MPs Luciana Berger and Holly Lynch.
She’s followed by Robert Courts, the new Conservative MP for Witney. An MP shouts “hope he’s better than the last one”.
Updated
Perhaps inevitably, the responses from Scottish parties to the outcome of the JMC focus on how Brexit will impact on the constitutional question.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the reports of little progress being made would be met “with real frustration across Scotland”.
She continued: “Instead of advocating their own form of separatism with a hard brexit or independence, both governments need to focus on getting the best deal for Scotland.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson insisted that Scotland’s best interests would be served “by cooperation not confrontation between our two governments”.
Welcoming May’s announcement of a new Brexit forum, Davidson added: “Nicola Sturgeon now needs to engage in a constructive fashion. The SNP isn’t going to answer any of the issues thrown up by Brexit by dividing the United Kingdom.
“Using Brexit to crank up support for separation is the wrong way to go. If the first minister truly wants to act in the best interests of all of Scotland, she should take her plans for an unwanted independence referendum off the table.”
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'Imperative' that devolved administrations play part in Brexit, No 10 says
Downing Street has released a statement on the joint ministerial council this morning. May told the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that the UK would strike a “bespoke Brexit deal that works for the whole of the UK”. But the detail did not satisfy the first ministers.
Following the meeting, Theresa May said:
Working together, the nations of the United Kingdom will make a success of leaving the European Union – and we will further strengthen our own unique and enduring union as we do so.
The great union between us has been the cornerstone of our prosperity in the past and it is absolutely vital to our success in the future. The country is facing a negotiation of tremendous importance and it is imperative that the devolved administrations play their part in making it work.
The PM told Nicola Sturgeon, Carwyn Jones, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness repeatedly that how the UK leaves the EU should not be seen as a series of binary choices and will instead amount to a bespoke agreement for the UK
Business secretary Greg Clark also outlined the government’s new industrial strategy and called upon the devolved administrations to play a part in helping to shape it, Downing Street said.
Number 10 also said May wanted the JMC meetings to take place more regularly and would set up another session early next year.
Updated
For some light relief mid-afternoon, Twitter has been enjoying the polished leadership campaign video for Ukip’s Jonathan Rees-Evans, which involves a rather strenuous-looking hike, and a montage outside John Lewis.
John Rees-Evans about to drop the hottest Garage concept rap album of 2016 pic.twitter.com/C2amyLCNsg
— Ross McCafferty (@RossMcCaff) October 24, 2016
Updated
Here’s some more detail on the homelessness legislation that Javid has just announced. The homelessness reduction bill requires local authorities to:
- provide new homelessness services to all those affected, not just those who are protected under existing legislation.
- places a duty on local authorities to help eligible people at risk of homelessness to secure accommodation, 56 days before they are threatened with homelessness
- to provide those who find themselves homeless with support for a further period of 56 days to help to secure accommodation.
- ensure that other local services refer those either homeless or at risk of being homeless to local authority housing teams.
Blackman said he was delighted the bill would pass with government approval.
Throughout my 24 years in local government prior to becoming an MP, I saw the devastation that can be caused by homelessness first hand, with too many people simply slipping through the net under the current arrangements.
The bill was published last week, and will have its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday.
Updated
Sajid Javid announces government backing for homelessness bill
Javid, the communities secretary, has announced that the government will back a private members’ bill by Tory MP Bob Blackman intended to reduce homelessness in England.
The homelessness reduction bill is drawn from recommendations by Crisis and Shelter and requires councils to help people deemed likely to become homeless within 56 days.
Javid told the Commons that the government would back Blackman’s bill.
We will be supporting my honourable friend’s bill … I’d like to thank him for all the hard work he has done.
Updated
The Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, a supporter of the Open Britain campaign, said he was concerned by the mood coming out of the JMC meeting at Downing Street.
Kinnock, who has the Welsh seat of Aberavon, said it would be wrong for Wales and others to be “downgraded from the role of full participant to partial consultant” in the Brexit talks.
Labour’s Conor McGinn, who is from Northern Ireland, said a “more transparent and consensual approach is required if we are to finish these negotiations with a deal that works for every part of the UK”.
Updated
Carwyn Jones has released this statement on Twitter, also expressing frustration with the lack of clarity from the UK government.
My statement following today's Joint Ministerial Committee #JMC #Brexit pic.twitter.com/Wha6DxWMv6
— Carwyn Jones (@fmwales) October 24, 2016
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Tracy Brabin, the new MP for Batley and Spen, has been welcomed by MPs and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to the House of Commons. She will be formally sworn in at 3.30pm, alongside the new Conservative MP for Witney, Robert Courts.
Brabin, who won a byelection last Tuesday, is taking the seat of the late MP Jo Cox, who was killed in June as she walked to a constituency surgery. Courts took the seat of former prime minster David Cameron.
Fantastic to see @Tracy4MP being welcomed by @jeremycorbyn @UKLabour as the new member for Batley&Spen #Labour pic.twitter.com/Ji8skgoTih
— Angela Rayner MP (@AngelaRayner) October 24, 2016
Great reception for @UKLabour newest MP @Tracy4MP with @jeremycorbyn & fellow Westminster travellers! pic.twitter.com/xRKxkGmV3t
— Clive Lewis MP (@labourlewis) October 24, 2016
Great to greet new colleague @Tracy4MP with Welsh Labour colleagues @SKinnock @carolynharris24 and @NiaGriffithMP pic.twitter.com/PWcXxuX4WV
— Kevin Brennan (@KevinBrennanMP) October 24, 2016
Tory MP Harriett Baldwin also tweeted her welcome to Courts.
Great to meet @robertcourts in @UKParliament today to be sworn in as MP. A key ally for #Cotswold line improvements @transportgovuk
— Harriett Baldwin (@HBaldwinMP) October 24, 2016
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My colleague Peter Walker has been speaking to Sturgeon with other reporters in Downing Street, where she has been emphasising her frustration with the lack of clear Brexit objectives.
Sturgeon: meeting was "frustrating" and "I got a strong sense the UK govt doesn't yet know what its position is" on Brexit.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) October 24, 2016
Sturgeon: "we're hearing a lot of words but very little in the way of concrete action". Says she learned nothing new in No10 meeting.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) October 24, 2016
Sturgeon asked if she's "undermining" government's EU position. Answer; "You can't undermine something that doesn't exist."
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) October 24, 2016
Sturgeon sounding less than impressed with promise of 'hotline' to David Davis: "I don't want a lot of silent calls".
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) October 24, 2016
By that, I should note, she meant Davis has nothing to say, rather than him being a nuisance caller.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) October 24, 2016
Sturgeon denied claims from No 10 that her proposals could undermine the negotiations.
I’m not seeking to undermine anyone, I don’t know what the UK’s negotiating position is, so there’s nothing there that I can see to undermine. I’m the first minister of Scotland; 62% voted to remain.
I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t out there talking to people and doing my best to protect Scotland’s interests.
I can’t undermine something that doesn’t exist, and at the moment it doesn’t seem to me like there is a UK negotiating strategy, which is one of the sources of great frustration.
-
Sturgeon says the UK has no firm negotiating strategy for the EU exit.
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon: Brexit meeting 'deeply frustrating'
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, is speaking to reporters outside Downing Street. While other leaders said some progress had been made, Sturgeon is far more frank.
I don’t mind admitting that parts of the meeting were deeply frustrating. I don’t know anymore now about the UK government’s approach to the EU negotiations than I did before I went in.
Sturgeon said she was pleased at the establishment of the subcommittee on Brexit, which would see devolved administrations have regular meetings with David Davis, but said a work programme was needed if those meetings were going to meaningfully influence discussions.
She said she was prepared to listen to options, and I have said we will bring forward specific proposals over the next few weeks which would keep Scotland in the single market even if the rest of the UK leaves.
We are hearing the words that she will consider options but that is not being matched by substance or action.
Sturgeon said that she understood Wales and England had voted to leave, but said she was looking to “square that circle” with Scotland’s remain vote.
Updated
Here’s the photo from the joint ministerial council meeting inside Downing Street today.
Updated
Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, has been speaking to reporters outside Downing Street. He said people at the meeting were very keen to establish the objectives of the UK government in the Brexit negotiations.
McGuinness said it would be a “very tough and challenging negotiation ahead” and there was a joint responsibility to manage the situation now.
First Minister Arlene Foster said negotiations about access to the single market where only in their infancy.
What we need is a meaningful engagement... but the PM rightly said there were no binary issues. We’re in a negotiation and we will be in a negotiation and it will be complex. And what’s important is that we are in the heart of that process.
Belgium says it cannot approve EU-Canada trade deal
Belgian prime minister Charles Michel has said Belgium cannot agree to sign an EU-Canada trade deal because he had failed to secure the agreement of regional authorities.
The EU had given Belgium until today to overcome opposition to the CETA trade deal before it would probably have to cancel a Thursday summit with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to sign the pact. The southern region of Wallonia has refused to sign the deal, which many have seen as a a potential signal that the UK will also have trouble.
#BREAKING Belgian PM Michel says cannot sign EU-Canada trade deal
— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 24, 2016
Updated
Northern Ireland secretary James Brokenshire said the meeting had been very productive. He said the government understood there were particular areas of concern for Northern Ireland.
He said he would be an advocate for Northern Ireland because of those difficult factors. “We are unified in our approach with the Irish government to make sure we don’t see a return to the borders of the past.”
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Bespoke Brexit deal for regions will be 'difficult', says Welsh leader
The first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have now wrapped up their meeting in Downing Street, which lasted just over two hours.
Carwyn Jones, the Welsh first minister, told Sky News as he left No 10 that he though different Brexit deals for different regions or nations in the UK would be “difficult, if I’m honest”.
Jones said the scale of the challenge was gigantic and he still had no real idea about the general principles the government would have going into the negotiations.
He denied the meeting was a talking shop, and said the negotiating starting point needed to have devolved administrations on side rather than being publicly critical. “Wales voted to leave, but Wales didn’t vote to be done over,” he said.
He said access to the single market was more important than any other issue, but feared that might be possible.
That’s what they are talking about, being outside the customs’ union, outside even other arrangements that exists. It’s bad for Britain to make it more expensive to sell in one of the world’s largest markets.
Updated
Rees-Evans admitted on the BBC’s Daily Politics that he was not a well-known figure and said he had only become a member of Ukip recently.
He said the Vice News piece was embellished and said it was normal for him to have carried the handgun in Bulgaria.
I was trained by the British Army to operate weapons and it’s a waste of taxpayer money if I don’t maintain those skills. I did [have the gun in the store] but that was because it wasn’t safe to hand it over to the security.
They said to me the reason they don’t allow weapons [in IKEA] is in case of an attack, and I said ‘surely you want law-abiding people to be armed if there is an attack?’
Rees-Evans also said he believed other candidates were jostling to take the part down a path which he said would end up as a conventional political party.
He said he was proposing to transfer power from the leadership to the party members, via a system of direct democracy. The leadership, he said, would not have any power without it first being approved by members.
Rees-Evans got demonstrably annoyed when presenter Jo Coburn brought up the gay donkey story, accusing her of trivialising his leadership bid. “This was playful banter with a mischievous activist,” he said.
Ukip's John Rees-Evans declares he is standing for the leadership
The Welsh Ukip activist John Rees-Evans has been speaking to the Daily Politics, and has announced he is standing for the leadership, joining Suzanne Evans, Paul Nuttall and Raheem Kassam.
Rees-Evans does not have much of a public profile, but has come to fleeting prominence for two rather odd incidents, including one where he accused a “gay donkey” of raping his horse.
Rees-Evans was standing for the seat of Cardiff South and Penarth, when he told protesters outside his office that he had once had to protect his horse from a donkey’s advances.
I’ve got a horse and it was there in the field. And a donkey came up…which was male, and I’m afraid tried to rape my horse.
Rees-Evans has a home in rural Bulgaria, described in a Vice News article as a fortified compound which has a shooting range where the former soldier practices shooting paper portraits of terrorists. The interview also contains this fascinating tidbit.
When he last went to IKEA, Rees-Evans persuaded the sales assistant it would be safer to let him carry his handgun, in case terrorists laid siege to the building.
The SNP MP Stephen Gethins is speaking to the BBC’s Daily Politics about some of the demands from Nicola Sturgeon at the meeting today.
He says the UK government is prepared to look at a special arrangement on free movement for the financial services sector, and asks why that could not be the case for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This is something that has been done elsewhere in the European Union. We’re looking for a solution that protects Scottish jobs.
He says the demands are reasonable, and that he hopes that a second referendum would not be necessary.
If you get a deal that protects jobs, keeps membership of the single market, free movement then that is something we need to consider.
Gethins said a similar proposal about regional quotas for immigration was made by Michael Gove during the leave campaign.
Updated
Grant Shapps is under some pressure this morning over his Times article (see 10,03am) that suggested there should be an expiry date for the so-called great repeal bill so that workers’ rights derived from the EU could potentially be unpicked.
The actor Michael Sheen is among those calling for clarification from Shapps.
@grantshapps Could you expand a bit on why you think "ideas about placing workers on corporate boards..sounds like...red tape"? Thanks.
— michael sheen (@michaelsheen) October 24, 2016
Updated
Heathrow or Gatwick decision to be announced tomorrow morning
My colleague Rowena Mason has been at the lobby briefing from the PM’s spokeswoman.
- The decision on expansion at Heathrow or Gatwick will be taken by May and other senior ministers at the airport subcommittee before cabinet tomorrow morning, but there was no confirmation of the exact timing.
- No 10 did not rule out that it could be announced before the markets opened, because it is so financially sensitive. There will be a statement to the House of Commons at 12.30pm.
- No 10 ruled out different Brexit deals being pursued by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, saying the PM wanted a unified approach but was willing to listen to different proposals.
No10: PM cool on 'flexible Brexit': "Need to be clear we're not setting up barriers for trade within the UK". Er, so they'll exist with EU?
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) October 24, 2016
- No 10 also issued a warning to the SNP, saying the government “expect representatives to... in no way undermine UK negotiating.” Sturgeon has been meeting EU ministers since the referendum result gauging support for an independent Scottish membership of the EU, so far getting a lukewarm reception.
Updated
Here’s a bit more context to that Civitas report I mentioned earlier on the cost of tariffs to EU economies.
UK exporters face EU tariffs of £5.2bn, while the EU faces a combined tariff of £12.9bn. That will hardly give much comfort to UK trade negotiators, given the cost to the UK is far more than any single country in the EU. Germany would face around £3.3bn, France around £1.3bn, Ireland £1.3bn and the Netherlands £1.5bn.
More usefully though, the report points out that 22 out of the EU 27 have a trade deficit with the UK, though deficits vary considerably.
Here’s the full table of countries, and the full report is here.
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The Guardian’s Scotland correspondent Libby Brooks reports on the mood from the Scottish Greens conference:
While the rhetoric stiffened over the weekend between the SNP government in Holyrood and the Tories in Westminster, the Scottish Greens were holding their first party conference since they won 6 seats in the Scottish parliament last May.
It’s no great surprise that the pro-independence party backed a motion supporting ongoing campaigning work towards independence. But it’s worth noting, given that it confirms that any bill from the minority SNP government proposing a second referendum would definitely have a majority in the Scottish parliament – assuming that all SNP members support it too.
MSP Ross Greer, who moved the motion, said: “It’s becoming clear that Scotland may have to choose between the Brexit disaster zone Westminster is preparing for us or the fairer, more progressive society we could build with independence.
“Greens played a leading role in the 2014 referendum and we will continue to build the case for independence as a means of achieving a more just Scotland. It must remain an option on the table as the prospect of a damaging hard Brexit, driven by a bigoted Tory agenda, grows ever stronger.”
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Nicola Sturgeon arrives at Downing Street
Scotland’s has arrived at Downing Street, where she’ll be joined by the Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones, Northern Ireland’s first minister Arlene Foster and her deputy, Martin McGuinness.
Apart from a few waves on the way into Number 10, all the leaders so far have remained tight-lipped. Theresa May will give a statement to the Commons after the meeting, at 3.30pm, which we’ll cover here.
Updated
The Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, is giving a speech tonight at the Runnymede Trust on the rise in hate crime since the Brexit vote.
Farron will warn of a rising acceptance of xenophobia in political discourse, particularly from the Conservatives, linking it to Zac Goldsmith’s mayoral campaign against Sadiq Khan and Amber Rudd’s proposal for firms to list their numbers of foreign workers.
Here’s some extracts from his speech.
2016 has been a year that has seen the Conservative party’s attempts to detoxify their party go up in flames.
Spring saw the disgraceful, racist London mayoral campaign. The summer saw a European campaign based on fear and terror, pitching community against community. And this autumn has seen Theresa May propose moves that will make Britain a nastier, more divided and more resentful country, with attacks on foreign doctors and students as well as checks on taxi drivers.
I dread to think what’s in store this winter.
These are the actions of a nasty party, willing to play on prejudice for their own short-term gain. Theresa May used to criticise the Tory party for this approach, now she is leading it.
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One to watch for Wednesday: the former foreign secretary Jack Straw is giving evidence to the Northern Ireland affairs committee.
The committee is looking into the role of the UK government in seeking compensation for the victims of IRA attacks made possible by the provision of semtex and other weapons by the former Gaddafi regime.
Updated
Theresa Villiers, the former Northern Ireland secretary, has been speaking to Sky News about the potential issues for the Irish border, and a possible independence push from parties there.
Villiers, who voted for Brexit, said the government knew it had to “try and come up with a settlement with which the majority of both leave and remain voters can be comfortable”.
I think it is crucial we maintain a land border with Ireland which is as open and free-flowing as possible; the government is very clear that’s a top priority for the negotiations.
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Trade unions have already picked up the threats implicit in Shapps’ comments this morning.
This from Antonia Bance, the TUC’s head of campaigns.
This is how workers' rights come under threat - Shapps proposes a "sunset clause" in Great Repeal Bill https://t.co/N9to0urKEB
— Antonia Bance (@antoniabance) October 24, 2016
And from the Labour grouping of trade unions, Unions Together.
So Shapps wants a 5 yr time limit on all EU laws. We are going to have to fight for the rights we get from Europe. https://t.co/kEQqcMNryF
— Unions Together (@unionstogether) October 24, 2016
Sunset clause on rights like time off for antenatal care, parental leave, limits on the working week & so much more. https://t.co/kEQqcMNryF
— Unions Together (@unionstogether) October 24, 2016
May’s great repeal bill is set to be fraught with difficulties, the Times reports today, based on a revealing comment piece from former Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps.
The paper reports that Shapps is planning a “sunset clause” (£) to force ministers to pick and choose which laws to keep and which to repeal within five years, after which the laws would cease to be in force.
Shapps says that although he voted to remain he is “more than happy to support (hard) Brexit.”
He signals that rightwing Tories are prepared to revolt against May’s pledge to protect workers’ rights.
From ideas about placing workers on corporate boards to suggestions that companies will be forced to list the proportion of foreign workers, it sounds like the kind of red tape we spent most of the last parliament trying to shred.
That challenge helped to strip costs and overheads from business, yet whenever we hit EU legislation we had to retreat. Now there is a chance to fix this too.
The bill, which transposes *every* aspect of EU law into UK law, provides MPs of every stripe with the opportunity to push their own particular amendment on any pet project.
One MP told the Times the bill would be “completely, totally and utterly” hijacked.
People will say things like, ‘Hang on, we’re signing up to the working time directive. Why on earth are we putting all this stuff into our laws when we don’t have to?’.
You’ll get other people who say, ‘Hang on, I want more protections for bees’. It is going to be an enormous cock-up.
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Scottish Brexit minister Michael Russell has been speaking to Radio 4’s Today programme in the last hour, ahead of the Downing Street meeting today.
He said it would be strange if Brexit negotiations delivered special arrangements for sectors such as banking, but not for the nations of the UK.
We want to have a good, straightforward, honest and open conversation about what the options are, and that process needs to start now.
But of course independence has to be an option; it would be ridiculous to say that it shouldn’t be, because these are circumstances - and it’s absolutely important to remember this - we didn’t ask to be in.
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Two key reports on the impact of Brexit are published today that are worth looking at in detail: a Civitas report looking at the tariff bill for EU and British companies after a ‘hard’ Brexit; and an Institute of Government report on the effect of Brexit on the union.
Companies in the European Union would face annual tariffs two-and-a-half times higher than British companies, equalling almost £13bn, if Britain departs the bloc without a free trade deal, according to Civitas, a right-leaning thinktank.
- EU firms would have to pay £12.9bn a year in tariffs to the UK if Britain turned to World Trade Organisation terms after it left the bloc.
- The most affected sector would be car manufacturers, who would pay a theoretical £3.9bn.
- In return, British exporters to the EU would, under WTO terms, have to pay £5.2bn a year in tariffs.
The Eurosceptic thinktank’s report has been widely interpreted as showing how EU firms are far more dependent on free trade with the UK than we are.
However, that £5.2bn is still far the highest bill for any single nation, so the balance is not as tipped as some headlines might have you believe.
Here’s my colleague Peter Walker on the study:
A “full-blown constitutional crisis” could erupt unless agreement on the terms of Brexit can be reached between the government and the UK’s devolved administrations, the IoG has warned.
- Unless all four leaders agree on the “core planks” of the UK’s negotiating position before May triggers article 50, the result could be “a serious breakdown in relations between the four governments and nations of the UK”, the thinktank says.
The summit today, and the promise of a “direct line” to David Davis’ department is plainly May’s plan to avert this. Here’s the full background from our Scotland correspondent Libby Brooks.
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Good morning, it’s Jessica Elgot here as Andrew Sparrow is off for the week.
The main story today is the leaders of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments arriving at Downing Street for a Brexit summit this morning, the first meeting of the joint ministerial committee in two years.
With Nicola Sturgeon determined to press ahead with a new Scottish referendum consultation and dire warnings from Northern Ireland over the security risks of a hard border with the Republic of Ireland, May will offer the leaders a new official forum, to be chaired by David Davis, to air Brexit grievances.
If agreed, the ministers will have guaranteed meetings once a year, hosted on a revolving basis by the four governments.
Sturgeon, Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones, Northern Irish first minister Arlene Foster and her deputy Martin McGuinness will be at the meeting, which starts at 11am.
May said she wants today to be the start of “a new grown-up relationship” – and promised the government would listen to each of the devolved administrations.
The country is facing a negotiation of tremendous importance and it is imperative that the devolved administrations play their part in making it work.
The new forum I am offering will be the chance for them all to put forward their proposals on how to seize the opportunities presented by Brexit and deliver the democratic decision expressed by the people of the UK.
After the meeting, the leaders are expected to nominate representatives to attend negotiations with Davis, with the first by the end of November and at least one other by Christmas.
Number 10 says the PM is expected to tell the leaders that “no final decisions have been taken and that how the UK leaves the EU will not boil down to a binary choice.”
Scottish secretary David Mundell, Welsh secretary Alun Cairns and Northern Irish secretary James Brokenshire are also attending.
Here’s what else is coming up today:
2.30pm Oral questions in the Lords, including Labour peer Alf Dubs on the rights of EU migrants and Sarah Ludford on the Calais camp clearance.
3pm Karen Bradley, culture secretary, appears before the culture, media and sport select committee.
6.30pm: Lib Dem leader Tim Farron will give a speech at the Runnymede Trust on post-Brexit racism, which we will preview here.
As usual, there will also be breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web.
You can get in touch with me on twitter, @jessicaelgot
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