Afternoon summary
- Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative former work and pensions secretary, has urged ministers to abandon planned cuts to universal credit worth £3.4bn. Speaking in a Commons debate, he said that this was a subject “close to my heart” and that work allowances - the amount people can earn before losing universal credit - were crucial. He went on:
If we really want to see the right thing happen to people out there who try and get into work and stay in work, the allowances are critical.
And I would recommend and hope that my colleagues in government will think very carefully again about the decision to reduce those allowances.
I recognise the problem with the deficit and of course we want to reduce that, and I’m not asking for more money. I’m asking for wiser spending of the money ...
We have a very good opportunity now to do something that is really bold, and bold and right for those that we really want to improve the lives of, which the prime minister rightly said was her target group.
It is a very conservative thing to do to help people who are doing the right thing to improve their lives.
Duncan Smith said if the government cannot reverse the proposed cuts for everyone affected it should prioritise single parents and the disabled. He went on:
I urge my colleagues, my honourable friends, to do just this, it is the right thing to do, it will be the thing to do that changes lives and improves the quality of those lives.
He was speaking in a debate on a Labour motion saying the proposed £3.4bn work allowance cuts and a £1.4bn cut to employment and support allowance (a disability benefit) should be reversed. Labour’s motion has just been defeated.
- Pollsters underestimated the strength of the leave vote in the EU referendum because they failed to pick up the extent to which the less educated were prepared to back Brexit, a leading polling expert has said. Professor John Curtice - whose exit poll in the 2015 general election was the first to indicate an overall Conservative victory - said the way people voted in the referendum was different to the way they vote in general elections. As the Press Association reports, he told a briefing organised by NatCen Social Research:
There was a very substantial difference by education in people’s willingness to vote leave or remain. This was a referendum which was essentially between the social liberals and the social conservatives in our society, which is rather different division from the one the opinion polls are usually trying to estimate, which is between left and right. That is a division which is centred much more around class than around education.
- Exiled islanders will not be allowed to resettle on the British-controlled Chagos Islands, the government has announced. In a Commons written statement Sir Alan Duncan, a Foreign Office minister, said:
The manner in which the Chagossian community was removed from the Territory in the 1960s and 1970s, and the way they were treated, was wrong and we look back with deep regret. We have taken care in coming to our final decision on resettlement, noting the community’s emotional ties to BIOT [British Indian Ocean Territory] and their desire to go back to their former way of life.
This comprehensive programme of work included an independent feasibility study followed by a full public consultation in the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles.
I am today announcing that the government has decided against resettlement of the Chagossian people to the British Indian Ocean Territory on the grounds of feasibility, defence and security interests, and cost to the British taxpayer. In coming to this decision the Government has considered carefully the practicalities of setting up a small remote community on low-lying islands and the challenges that any community would face. These are significant, and include the challenge of effectively establishing modern public services, the limited healthcare and education that it would be possible to provide, and the lack of economic opportunities, particularly job prospects. The government has also considered the interaction of any potential community with the US Naval Support Facility – a vital part of our defence relationship.
The government will instead seek to support improvements to the livelihoods of Chagossians in the communities where they now live. I can today announce that we have agreed to fund a package of approximately £40m over the next ten years to achieve this goal.
- The Scottish Parliament is to seek expenses from independence campaigners who camped out on its grounds after spending more than £100,000 on legal action. As the Press Association report, the IndyCamp group were evicted from the site earlier this month after losing an appeal against their removal. The parliament spent £105,890 of public money on the legal action, including more than £67,000 on the petition for the campers’ removal and more than £38,000 fighting their unsuccessful appeal.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
Updated
Another Europe is Possible, which was set up as a progressive remain campaign during the EU referendum, and which was backed by Labour figures, has put out a statement this afternoon criticising the shadow chancellor John McDonnell for being too willing to accept Brexit in his speech yesterday.
Michael Chessum, the group’s national organiser (and a member of Momentum’s steering committee), said:
We would not support using parliament to directly block Brexit - but what is the point of our MPs having the right to vote on article 50 if they do not use it to extract concessions against hard Brexit? Labour must champion the progressive elements of EU membership: free movement, workers’ rights, the environment and human rights. Doing this is not about betraying the will of the people - it is about opening up the negotiating process to public scrutiny. And doing it effectively means retaining parliamentary leverage over article 50.
The group also criticises McDonnell for saying in his speech that opposing Brexit or even delaying article 50 would place Labour “against the majority will of the British people and on the side of certain corporate elites, who have always had the British people at the back of the queue”. Luke Cooper, Another Europe is Possible’s convenor, said:
We are at a loss to know what kind of political strategy involves condemning your own people as ‘certain corporate interests’ against ‘the will of the British people’. At a time of rising nationalism and right wing populism this choice of language is irresponsible and wrong. The overwhelming majority of Labour members backed remain. They were joined by two thirds of Labour voters and 48 per cent of the country.
Lunchtime summary
- Being in or out of the EU customs union was “not a binary decision”, Theresa May said during a sometimes noisy prime minister’s questions dominated by the strategy for Brexit – or what her critics say is the lack of one. As Peter Walker reports, May repeatedly insisted that she and her ministers were devising a coherent plan for exiting the EU but would not share details before negotiations began. After the SNP’s Angus Robertson asked about comments by the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, that the UK would probably leave the EU customs union but retain some access to the single market, May said: “The right honourable gentleman doesn’t seem to understand that the customs union is not just a binary decision.” Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, focused his questions almost entirely on Brexit and argued that the government was “making a total shambles” of it.
- May has expressed “absolute confidence” in Prof Alexis Jay, the chair of the child abuse inquiry. She was speaking at PMQs after the Labour MP Lisa Nandy asked about the inquiry, and today’s BBC report saying another lawyer working there has resigned.
- May has refused to say whether the government has discussed giving a peerage to the outgoing Ukip leader Nigel Farage. The SNP’s George Kerevan asked if there have been any official conversations on this topic and May replied:
All I can say to you, I’m afraid, is that such matters are normally never discussed in public.
Later a spokeswoman for May would not comment on whether Farage might get one but added:
You will have heard the prime minister talk in October about her views on the honours system and making sure that it recognises people who really contribute to society and their communities.
This was a slightly odd answer because peerages are no longer supposed to be given out as honours. They are given to people who will contribute to the Lords, and the argument for giving Farage a peerage is based on the fact that Ukip have only three peers in the Lords (all defectors, not people appointed as Ukip peers) despite coming third in terms of vote at the general election, whil the Lib Dems have 104 peers.
- May has refused to condemn Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering America. When the SNP MP Tommy Sheppard asked about this, May said that the UK would “ensure the dignity of our citizens” but that it was “up to the US what rules they put in place”. She also said she wanted the special relationship to continue.
- An overwhelming majority of voters - 90% - want Britain to continue to trade freely in goods and services with its European neighbours after quitting the EU, according to a survey. But seven out of 10 (70%) think the UK should be able to limit the number of EU citizens coming to live and work in the country - something leading European politicians say is not compatible with the single market membership required to permit untrammelled free trade. As the Press Association reports, forced to choose between the two priorities, voters questioned by NatCen Social Research opted by the narrowest of margins for immigration controls, with 49% thinking freedom of movement for EU citizens should be kept if it enables the UK to keep free trade, and 51% opposing it. NatCen senior research fellow Professor John Curtice said the findings suggested voters are not attracted by either the “hard Brexit” or “soft Brexit” scenarios which are often presented as the only options in Britain’s withdrawal negotiations.
- Britain’s statements around severing of aid to middle-income countries including China and India created the impression that it had stopped all funding to the countries, when in fact the government is still giving both nations millions of pounds. As Karen McVeigh reports, a review by the watchdog scrutinising taxpayer-funded UK aid said that the Department for International Development (DfID) had given the impression that “all aid was being phased out”. “The UK may no longer have a traditional aid relationship with these countries but it is spending [official development assistance] in Brazil, India and China – and it is rather diffident about admitting this” the review by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (Icai) found. Such “obfuscating” about “perfectly legitimate activities in these countries” had given opportunities for criticism, it said.
PMQs - Verdict from the Twitter commentariat
And this is what political journalists and commentators are saying about PMQs on Twitter.
It’s mixed, but more pro-Corbyn than pro-May.
From Reaction’s Iain Martin
Clear Corbyn win. #PMQs
— Iain Martin (@iainmartin1) November 16, 2016
Clear win for Corbyn. Bad PMQs for May. (My latest for Reaction @reactionlife) https://t.co/OFTOrHU6MB
— Iain Martin (@iainmartin1) November 16, 2016
From the Daily Mirror’s Jason Beattie
Snap verdict on #PMQs Heated Corbyn failed to dent May's armourhttps://t.co/Nag7MSxMhH
— Jason Beattie (@JBeattieMirror) November 16, 2016
From the Spectator’s James Forsyth
Corbyn lines could be quite effective if deployed by a more nimble debater... But May can just attack him for incompetence every time
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) November 16, 2016
From the i’s Nigel Morris
One of Corbyn's better outings in recent #PMQs - well-focused questions on government's Brexit agonies
— Nigel Morris (@NigelpMorris) November 16, 2016
From the BBC’s Iain Watson
Jeremy Corbyn so far on sharp form by sticking to the one topic - Brexit and reminds Boris He said it would be a 'titanic' success #pmqs
— iain watson (@iainjwatson) November 16, 2016
From the Guardian’s Peter Walker
Theresa May needs a new writer for her pre-planned PMQs jibes at Corbyn. Sounding a bit flat these days.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) November 16, 2016
From PoliticsHome’s Kevin Schofield
It's all relative of course, but no doubt that Jeremy Corbyn is getting better at #PMQs.
— Kevin Schofield (@PolhomeEditor) November 16, 2016
From the Financial Times’ Sebastian Payne
One of Jeremy Corbyn's better #PMQs: he asked thorny questions on current issues. But May effectively hit back on leadership competence
— Sebastian Payne (@SebastianEPayne) November 16, 2016
From the Times’ Tim Montgomerie
Don't watch #PMQs much anymore but who is this person who looks like @jeremycorbyn? He's pretty good at it.
— Tim Montgomerie ن (@montie) November 16, 2016
From the New Statesman’s George Eaton
Corbyn has travelled a long way from "people's questions". Punch and Judy back. #PMQs
— George Eaton (@georgeeaton) November 16, 2016
From 5 Live’s Emma Barnett
Amazing and rare view of #PMQs from @bbc5live commentary box. @jeremycorbyn going for it... pic.twitter.com/rVoV0voh7N
— Emma Barnett (@Emmabarnett) November 16, 2016
PMQs - Verdict
PMQs - Verdict: That was not an especially memorable PMQs but, as I argued earlier, it was one that saw Jeremy Corbyn expose some of the weaknesses in the government’s Brexit position (or non-position - the point is, there is no agreed strategy) reasonably effectively. Theresa May will not be losing any sleep about this yet, but today’s Ipsos MORI poll findings on how the government is handling Brexit (see 11.26am) ought to generate at least a little concern in Downing Street.
The main thrust of May’s response was that (and I paraphrase) the splits in her government are nothing compared to the divisions on Brexit in the shadow cabinet. In the chamber this attack line did not really work, but May is right to say there are tensions in Labour on this subject. In his economy speech yesterday John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, indicated that the party would oppose any move to demand a second referendum on the EU, even though some Labour MPs are in favour and the party conference (by mistake) passed a motion calling for a second referendum. The lawyer and Labour blogger Jolyon Maugham has written a strong blog today criticising McDonnell’s tactics. This has not erupted as a full-blown row yet, but at some point in the future it might.
As usual, I missed the question from Angus Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, because I was writing up a snap verdict. So here is a quick summary. He started by asking about the Institute for Government analysis saying the government’s Brexit plans are “chaotic and dysfunctional”. May replied:
The most important thing for this government to do is calmly and carefully get on with the job of preparing for complex negotiations and one of the most important things we can do is not give a running commentary.
Robertson then asked about Boris Johnson’s statement about how the UK would probably leave the customs union.
May said that the issue of whether to leave the customs union or remain in it was not a “binary choice”. And she said that only two years ago, in the independence referendum, the SNP wanted to take Britain out of the single market.
Labour’s Albert Owen says the port of Holyhead in his constituency benefits from free trade with Ireland.
May says the common travel area with Ireland started in 1923. She says the government recognises the importance of keeping it.
The SNP’s George Kerevan asks if there have been any official discussions about giving Nigel Farage a peerage.
May says such matters are normally never discussed in public.
Philip Shipley, a Conservative, asks if May will reverse the Labour rule saying prisoners could be released halfway through their sentences.
May says this is an issue that was of concern when she was home secretary. What is important is to rehabilitate ex-offenders, she says.
The SNP’s Stewart Malcolm McDonald asks what the government will do to ensure social media companies are held to account for facilitating online bullying.
May says the Home Office is aware of this issue. It is best addressed by the terms and conditions of the companies themselves.
Nigel Evans, a Conservative, asks what May will do to improve trade with Donald Trump’s America.
May says she wants to discuss this with Trump at “a very early stage”.
Labour’s Lisa Nandy says the child abuse inquiry has lost three chairs and eight senior lawyers. And there are senior allegations that have gone uninvestigated, she says.
May says it is important that the inquiry must continue. Having seen the work Prof Alexis Jay did in Rotherham, she has absolute confidence in her ability to run the inquiry.
Julian Lewis, the Conservative chair of the defence committee, says the BBC is planning to end its monitoring service. If it does that, that would be a disaster, he says. He says it only costs £20m.
May says the government recognises how important this service (monitoring foreign broadcasts) is for the government. The government is talking to the BBC about this, she says.
Labour’s Judith Cummins asks May to bring about parity for people with dementia for end-of-life care.
May says the government has set a target to increase the number of dementia friends, and investment is going up. But the government is committed to improving end-of-life care.
Alberto Costa, a Conservative, says his parents are Italian. They have been here 50 years, but have never naturalised. Can May assure him he will never be asked to vote for them to leave?
May says she wants EU nationals to be able to stay. But she must protect the rights of Britons living in EU countries. She says she hopes they can reach a deal “at an early stage”.
The SNP’s Martin Docherty-Hughes says Ruth Davidson said during the EU referendum campaign that leave would not say what they would replace the single market with. Can May answer that question?
May says people voted to leave the EU. She will deliver on it, she says.
Johnny Mercer, a Conserative, asks about the impact of the Iraq Historical Abuse Team on former servicemen.
May says she acknowledges the problem. IHAT should proceed quickly, and weed out weak cases. But proper allegations need to be invested, she says.
The SNP’s Stephen Gethins asks what guarantees will be given to universities over research funding and on free movement.
May says research funding has only been guaranteed. And the government wants the brightest and the best to be able to continue to come to the UK. She says the SNP was campaigning in 2014 for Scotland to leave the EU.
May praises the World Service, and says an extra £289m is being invested in it.
Labour’s Lucy Powell asks about the Social Mobility Commission’s report.
May says the commission says more working-class youngsters are in higher education than ever before. And the attainment gap has narrowed, she says. She says a Labour council in Knowsley said grammar schools could be transformative for working-class areas.
Richard Bacon, a Conservative, asks what message of reassurance May has for fat middle-aged white men who may feel they have been left behind, in the light of the progress made by women and ethnic minorities.
May says Bacon (who would not be mistake for a rake) should come and see him.
The SNP’s Neil Gray asks a closed question about employment and support allowance. After May responds, he asks how she will respond to the 70 organisations who want the ESA cuts to be halted.
May says ESA is being focused on those most in need. Extra support is being given to these in the work-support group who could get into the workplace. She says the Scottish government has new powers to increase benefits.
Chris Philp, the Conservative MP for Croydon South, asks if any recommendations from the investigation into the tram crash will be rapidly implemented.
May says we can never be complacent about safety. If there are lessons to be learnt, they will be learnt.
Ukip’s Douglas Carswell says Brexit does not mean rejecting free trade. Will any free trade deals be based on mutual recognition of standards, and not overly-prescriptive rules.
May welcomes Carswell’s support for free trade. She says the UK can become a global leader for free trade.
PMQs - Snap verdict
PMQs - Snap verdict: May was poor, not weak enough for this to register as a disaster, but deficient in authority and credibility, and Corbyn can head for lunch with a sense of “job done”. It wasn’t a classic victory - there weren’t any especially memorable put-downs and, although his final question contained a good soundbite, the pay-off line was flat - but Corbyn was asking all the right questions, and May ‘we won’t reveal our negotiating stance’ line is sounding increasingly more like an excuse than a strategy. You could tell that she was on the defensive because she ended up lashing out at Corbyn, without the nastiness that Cameron often deployed in these circumstances, but equally without fully explaining her case. So, as Labour-bashing goes, it was rather lame.
Corbyn says these are the most complex negotiations ever undertaken by this country. But the civil service has been cut down to its lowest level since the war. If the supreme court decides to reject the government’s appeal, will the lord chancellor defend the judiciary.
May says there have been two cases. The Northern Ireland court found in favour of the government, the high court found against. The government believes in the independence of the judiciary. But democracy is underpinned by a free press, she says.
Corbyn says the international development secretary is opposed to aid, the health secretary is running down the health service, a justice secretary who won’t defend the judiciary and a Brexit secretary without a plan. We need a better answer, he says.
May defends her ministers’ record. And we have got a leader of the opposition incapable of leading.
Corbyn quotes the Italian minister saying no one knows what the government’s position is.
May says revealing the government’s hand would lead to Britain getting the worst possible result.
Corbyn says Johnson said the government would make a Titanic success of Brexit. Taking back control will require extra administration. One department said it needed a 40% increase in staff. Overall it estimates an extra 10,000 to 30,000 civil servants will be required. If that is wrong, how many will be needed?
May says she is doing the preparations necessary. She says David Davis is doing an excellent job at the Brexit department. Labour is confused on Brexit, she says. They talk, we act, they posture, we deliver. Corbyn is not up to the job, she says.
Jeremy Corbyn starts by expressing his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the Croydon crash.
He asks about the Chagos Islanders and today’s report saying they will not be allowed to return. And he says Boris Johnson said the UK would probably leave the customs union. Is that right?
May says there will be a written statement on the Chagos Islanders. On Brexit, she says she wants the best possible deal.
Corbyn says Johnson is the on the front bench. Could he come forward and say what he said. A leaked memo said the government has no common plan for Brexit. If this memo is, as Number 10 says, written by ill-informed consultants, can she put the plan before parliament.
May says she does have a plan - to deliver the best possible deal for trading, to get control of immigration and to get free trade agreements. The government is united in its determination to deliver Brexit. The shadow cabinet cannot even decide if it supports Brexit.
Wendy Morton, a Conservative, asks about the fall in the unemployment figures.
May says the employment figures show the strength of the fundamentals of the economy. Unemployment is lower than it has been for a decade, and employment has never been higher, she says.
Theresa May starts by expressing condolences to the families of those killed in the Croydon tram crash.
There are six SNP MPs down to ask questions. This is from an Institute for Government fellow, Akash Paun.
6 SNP MPs out of 15 on the list for PMQs today. Seems unlikely unless Labour and Tory backbenchers aren't bothering to put their names down https://t.co/BmalQdk13U
— Akash Paun (@AkashPaun) November 16, 2016
PMQs
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question at PMQs.
Who's asking the Qs at #PMQs today? https://t.co/OhMExlQz0T pic.twitter.com/Enpl4Ab80e
— John Rentoul (@JohnRentoul) November 16, 2016
Damian Green says government should not be sole provider of welfare
In a speech this morning Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, announced that jobseekers who are homeless or suffer from a mental health condition will now be able to access hardship payments immediately if they receive a benefit sanction.
This came in a wide-ranging speech in which Green also set out some general thoughts on the future of welfare. The most interesting passage came when he said he wanted a “welfare system”, not just a “welfare state”, because the government should not be the sole provider of welfare. He told the Reform thinktank.
A welfare state is not enough—we need a welfare system, involving many players – health professionals, employers large and small, a whole range of voluntary organisations ...
A welfare state, is not enough for today’s world. What we need is an entire system of welfare.
The government is a necessary, but not sufficient provider of welfare. It can, and does, act as the guarantor of fairness within the welfare system to set the rules. It can also provide the backbone of the assistance system through more than 700 Jobcentre Plus Offices.
What it must not try to do is assume that it can provide all the help necessary. To achieve a successful welfare system in the 21st century you need to give more decision-making power to individuals, and give more trust to the voluntary sector and private organisations to deliver services.
Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, says the Social Mobility Commission’s findings are a damning indictment of the government’s record.
This damning report today from the government’s own Commission on Social Mobility should make for sobering reading for the Tories. Under their government, there’s a growing sense of two nations: the lucky few at the very top and the millions who make up ‘everyone else’.
Since they came to power in 2010 we have seen our country go backwards on the progress the Labour Government made on social mobility. The educational attainment gap between lower-income children and their wealthier classmates is getting bigger, and these children still have little chance of going into high-level professions. And under Theresa May we can expect more of the same: grammar schools for a select few, overcrowded classrooms for the many.
And Susan Kramer, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, says the report’s findings are “truly shocking”.
It is truly shocking that in the 21st century young people’s life chances are determined not by their ability but their parents wealth. Tackling this must start with government action. We cannot go on reducing spending on the things young people need without doing serious damage to our society.
Yet instead of supporting the next generation the government’s priority is bringing back the deeply divisive 11 plus, while failing to invest in the housing, education and sustainable jobs of the future.
Among those who think the UK government is doing a bad job on Brexit seems to be Guy Verhofstadt, head of the liberal group in the European parliament and the parliament’s lead negotiator on Brexit. This is what he tweeted yesterday after reading what Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, said about free movement not being a founding principle of the EU.
Can't wait to negotiate with @BorisJohnson, so that I can read him Article 3 of the Treaty of Rome https://t.co/UOUfVjMb3Z #Brexit pic.twitter.com/UlD42v0v9w
— Guy Verhofstadt (@GuyVerhofstadt) November 15, 2016
More people think that the government is doing a bad job of handling Brexit (48%) than a good job (37%), according to an Ipsos MORI poll for the Evening Standard.
The poll also found that the Tories have a nine-point lead over Labour. They are on 42%, Labour 33%, the Lib Dems 10% and Ukip 7%.
10 key findings from the Social Mobility Commission's annual report
Here are 10 of the key findings in the Social Mobility Commission’s report. The text has all been lifted from the commission’s news release, but I’ve selected and numbered 10 of the bullet points from the much longer list in the release.
1 - People born in the 1980s are the first post-war cohort not to start their working years with higher incomes than their immediate predecessors.
2 - Only one in eight children from low income backgrounds is likely to become a high income earner as an adult.
3 - In the last decade, 500,000 poorer children were not school-ready by age five.
4 - Children in deprived areas are twice as likely to be in childcare provision that is not good enough, compared with the most prosperous areas.
5 - Families where both parents are highly educated now spend on average around 110 minutes a day on educational activities with their young children compared to 71 minutes a day for those with low education. This compares with around 20 to 30 minutes a day in the 1970s when there was no significant difference between the groups of parents.
6 - Over the last five years 1.2 million 16-year-olds –disproportionately from low income homes – have left school without five good GCSEs. At present, just 5 per cent of children eligible for free school meals gain 5 A grades at GCSEs.
7- A child living in one of England’s most disadvantaged areas is 27 times more likely to go to an inadequate school than a child in the most advantaged.
8 - Young people are six times less likely to go to Oxbridge if they grow up in a poor household. In the North East, not one child on free school meals went to Oxbridge after leaving school in 2010.
9 - In London, the number of top-end occupational jobs has increased by 700,000 in the last ten years compared to just under 56,000 in the North East.
10 - Despite some efforts to change the social make-up of the professions, only 4 per cent of doctors, 6 per cent of barristers and 11 per cent of journalists are from working class backgrounds.
Social mobility 'getting worse for young people', says Social Mobility Commission
The Social Mobility Commission’s annual state of the nation report has just come out and its conclusions are withering. Social mobility is getting worse, it says.
Here is an extract from its news release.
Britain has a deep social mobility problem which is getting worse for an entire generation of young people, the Social Mobility Commission’s State of the Nation 2016 report warns today.
The impact is not just felt by the poorest in society but is also holding back whole tranches of middle, as well as low income, families - these treadmill families are running harder and harder, but are standing still.
The problem is not just social division, but a widening geographical divide between the big cities - London especially - and too many towns and counties across the country that are being left behind economically and hollowed out socially.
The State of the Nation 2016 report, which was laid before Parliament this morning, lays bare the scale of the social mobility challenge facing the Government. It finds fundamental barriers including an unfair education system, a two-tier labour market, a regionally imbalanced economy and an unaffordable housing market.
The Social Mobility Commission welcomes the high priority that the current, as well as successive, governments have given to social mobility and finds that some real progress has been made. But it concludes that the twentieth century expectation that each generation would be better off than the preceding one is no longer being met.
And this is from Alan Miliburn, the former Labour cabinet minister who chairs the commission.
The rungs on the social mobility ladder are growing further apart. It is becoming harder for this generation of struggling families to move up.
The social divisions we face in Britain today impact many more people and places than the very poorest in society or the few thousands youngsters who miss out on a top university. Whole sections of society and whole tracts of Britain feel left behind.
The growing sense that we have become an ‘us and them’ society – where a few unfairly entrench power and wealth to themselves – is deeply corrosive of our cohesion as a nation.
As the EU referendum result showed, the public mood is sour and decision-makers have been far too slow to respond.
We applaud the prime inister’s determination to heal social division and foster social progress. That is a big ambition. It will require big action. Fundamental reforms are needed in our country’s education system, labour market and local economies to address Britain’s social mobility problem. That should be the holy grail of public policy, the priority for government and the cause which unites the nation to action.
The full 212-page report is here (pdf).
Here is a seven-page summary (pdf), setting out the commission’s multiple recommendations. It amounts to a mini manifesto.
And here is the news release.
Updated
At the Brexit committee hearing Sir Simon Fraser said that it was “inevitable” that a post-Brexit deal with the EU would be a “mixed” agreement, meaning part of it would be concluded with the EU and part with member states. This is from my colleague Patrick Wintour.
"Inevitable" post-Brexit deal will be mixed agreement, so national & regional approval needed, ex-FCO PSec Simon Fraser to Brexit sel com.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) November 16, 2016
Italian minister says UK's Brexit stance is chaotic
Another senior EU politician has criticised the UK’s stance on Brexit. In an interview with Bloomberg, Carlo Calenda, the Italian economic development minister, said the UK government’s stance was chaotic. He told Bloomberg:
Somebody needs to tell us something, and it needs to be something that makes sense. You can’t say that it’s sensible to say we want access to the single market but no free circulation of people. It’s obvious that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever ...
There’s lots of chaos and we don’t understand what the position is. It’s all becoming an internal UK debate, which is not OK.
Calenda said the government had to “put its cards on the table and negotiate”.
He also said that he had recently met Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, and that Johnson had told him Italy would grant Britain access to the single market “because you don’t want to lose prosecco exports”. Calenda said he told Johnson that this argument was bogus.
[Johnson] basically said, ‘I don’t want free movement of people but I want the single market. I said, ‘no way.’ He said, ‘you’ll sell less prosecco.’ I said, ‘OK, you’ll sell less fish and chips, but I’ll sell less prosecco to one country and you’ll sell less to 27 countries.’ Putting things on this level is a bit insulting.
Calenda, like Jeroen Dijsselbloem (see 9.16am), was interviewed on Tuesday. So, on the same day we’ve got one EU minister criticising Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary for saying things that are “intellectually impossible” and another accusing him of using arguments that are “insulting”.
Barnard says trade deals are not just about tariffs. They are only the tip of the iceberg. Other issues, like standards, are key.
And there is an issue with services, says Barnard.
Gove says the EU cannot stop Europeans buying British services.
Yes, says Barnard, but if regulatory barriers are imposed, then buying EU services instead might be more attractive.
Fraser says it would be “unrealistic” to think trade deal with EU could be completed within 2 years
At the Brexit committee Michael Gove, the former justice secretary and lead Vote Leave campaigner, is asking the questions now.
He says there is a tendency for civil servants to think any problem requires more civil servants. But let’s apply Occam’s razor, he says. What do we need to do for a quickie divorce?
Prof Catherine Barnard, professor of EU law at Cambridge University, says there is no quick solution to the problem of what to do about EU nationals staying in the UK. The government does not have records showing how long everyone has been here, she says.
Sir Simon Fraser, the former Foreign Office permanent secretary, says you could leave the EU just by addressing institutional issues. But if the UK did that, and only started discussing a trade relationship once it had left, it would be starting the trade talks from a different place.
Gove says we have tariff-free arrangements with the EU. Why can’t we just carry on with those?
Fraser says the EU will want to negotiate tariffs in relation to a wider range of issues.
That would be their choice, says Gove.
Fraser says they will do what is in their interests.
He says we should avoid the “catastrophists’” assumptions about this. But it would be a mistake to over-simplify this too, he says. It will be complex.
Fraser says an ideal solution would be to have a trade deal ready to go when the UK leaves the EU. But it would be “unrealistic” to expect that trade deal to be completed within two years, he says.
- Fraser says it would be “unrealistic” to think a trade deal with the EU could be completed within two years.
Fraser says this is why the government must consider whether to go for an interim deal.
Unemployment falls to 10-year low
Unemployment has fallen to a 10-year low, the Press Association reports.
Unemployment has fallen to a 10-year low, but there are signs that the jobs market might be “cooling”, official figures showed.
The jobless total was cut by 37,000 in the quarter to September to 1.6m, the lowest since 2006, giving an unemployment rate of 4.8%.
The number of people in work has jumped by 461,000 over the past year to a near-record high of just under 32m.
The employment rate of 74.5% is the highest since records began in 1971.
But the claimant count increased by 9,800 in September to 803,300, the third consecutive monthly rise.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also reported that the EU referendum had so far had little impact on the number of EU workers in the UK labour force.
The number of non-UK nationals working in the UK increased by 241,000 over the past year to 3.4m.
The figure has risen by almost a million since 1997, with the proportion of non-UK nationals working in the UK increasing from 3.7% to 10.9%.
There were 2.3m EU nationals working in the UK in the latest quarter, up by 232,000 on a year ago, but lower than the increase on the previous year.
Other data from the ONS showed that average earnings increased by 2.3% in the year to October, unchanged from the previous month.
ONS statistician David Freeman said: “Unemployment is at its lowest for more than 10 years and the employment rate remains at a record high.
“Nonetheless, there are signs that the labour market might be cooling, with employment growth slowing.”
Here is the Office for National Statistics bulletin with the full details.
Government does not yet have a 'central plan' for Brexit, says former Foreign Office chief
The Brexit committee has started. Sir Simon Fraser, the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office (or permanent under-secretary, to give him is former title, although most people leave the “under” out) is giving evidence, alongside Dr Hannah White from the Institute for Government and Prof Catherine Barnard from Cambridge University.
Fraser, who left the Foreign Office last summer, told the MPs that he did not think the government yet had a “central plan” for Brexit.
My understanding is that it is indeed proving to be a very considerable challenge in Whitehall to do this [drawing up a Brexit plan], that the government has not yet reached the point where - it is still in information-gathering mode and is not yet at the point of integrating that into a central plan. And that, I assume, will have to happen before the triggering of article 50 next year.
And I agree that this is a huge burden, a huge additional load, for the civil service. This is an extraordinary complex range of activity across a wide range of domestic and international policies and it will definitely impose a great burden on the civil service.
During the EU referendum campaign Michael Gove, the leading Vote Leave campaigner, scored a good hit during a Sky News “debate” when he said that the EU was led by five presidents and that hardly anyone knew who they all are. He had a point. Most politically-aware people know that Jean-Claude Juncker is president of the European commission, and Donald Tusk is president of the European council, but the presidents of the European parliament (Martin Shulz) and the European Central Bank (Mario Draghi) are harder to name. And the one that flummoxed even the editor of the FT is the president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
Britons may not know much about Dijsselbloem, but he knows quite a lot about us and he was on Newsnight last night criticising the government’s stance on Brexit. In particular, he attacked Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, saying he was offering a vision of life outside the European Union that is “intellectually impossible” and “politically unavailable”.
Referring to Johnson’s claim that the UK will be able to have a “dynamic trade relationship” with the EU while “probably” leaving the customs union, Dijsselbloem said:
I think he is offering to the British people options that are really not available. To say ‘we could be inside the internal market, keep full access to the internal market, but be outside the customs union’ - this is just impossible, it doesn’t exist.
The opposite does exist. We have a customs union with Turkey but Turkey is not part of the internal market. So he is saying things that are intellectually impossible, politically unavailable, so I think he is not offering the fair approach that gives the British people a fair view of what is ahead.
Dijsselbloem who is Dutch finance minister as well as president of the eurozone’s Eurogroup, warned that whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, the economies of the UK and the EU would both suffer.
There is no win-win situation. It is going to be a lose-lose situation.
In the best case - if we set aside all emotions and try to work out an agreement which is least damaging to the both of us - we can minimise the damages for the UK economy and for the European economy.
Britain and British companies and international companies in the UK have full access to the European markets without any hindrance or customs duties, etc. So some of that will disappear.
It is going to be a step back. The UK will be outside the internal market and there will be some hindrances. The full free movement within the internal market can only be available if the UK also accepts the other freedoms of Europe, including migration within Europe.
But there is good news for the Brexiteers too. As the Telegraph reports in its splash, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, hinted yesterday that she might consider changes to the way freedom of movement rules work.
Wednesday's Telegraph front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) November 15, 2016
Merkel signals key concession on Brexit#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/MF9a5xaVdc
We may hear more on this because the Commons Brexit committee is having its first hearing today.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, gives a speech to the Reform thinktank on welfare refrom.
9.15am: The Commons Brexit committee holds its first public hearing. It is taking evidence from Sir Simon Fraser, the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office.
9.30am: Unemployment figures are published.
10.30am: The Social Mobility Commission publishes its annual report. Alan Milburn, its chairman, is holding a press conference.
12pm: Theresa May faces Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs.
1pm: Prof John Curtice publishes new research on what the public wants from Brexit.
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 after PMQs 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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