Brexit: European elections in UK definitely going ahead, says Lidington – live news

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments, as the government and Labour resume cross-party talks on a possible Brexit compromise

These are from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on today’s cabinet.

1. Cabinet sources say Brexit Sec Steve Barclay raised prospect of leaving EU in October without a deal at meeting this morning - big discussion on deal prep planned for next week - source suggests push back from Clark saying position was clear now that couldn't happen

2. No substantive discussion of cross party talks at Cabinet this morning - PM apparently also raised Williamson's sacking and said again there was compelling evidence - sources close to him say he still hasn't been told what it is

Almost all the MPs who have publicly backed a second referendum on Brexit are opposition MPs who would vote remain again if given the chance. Only a handful of Tories have backed the idea. But there are some signs now that that is starting to change.

On Friday Eric Pickles, a former Tory MP who now sits in the House of Lords, said that, much to his own surprise, he had now come round to the view that, if MPs cannot pass a deal, the public should be asked to decide.

If we cannot do this, if this is beyond us, and if we fail, then another referendum is inevitable.

If we fail, if there can be no compromise between the parties, I can actually see then the logic, and other people will be demanding another referendum. And those like me who have genuine concerns about what will happen to our society if we go through this process again, we will lose that debate over the referendum, because it will be the only option then left available to try to break the gridlock that we’ve entered into.

Talking to them, I think they are so obsessed with this issue, and they are so determined not to compromise in any way, they feel almost as if any form of compromise is some sort of betrayal. And certainly that narrative, one gets a great deal on Twitter: ‘This is a betrayal’, ‘This is a betrayal to the country’, ‘We are not fulfilling what the British people voted for’. I think that’s for the birds – it’s crazy …

I have to say, wouldn’t it be ironic if the ERG, the Eurosceptic caucus, through their intransigence, actually result in another referendum which will potentially overturn the previous result.

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Labour MPs say they won’t back a Brexit deal without a people’s vote

Corbyn faces opposition from at least 60 MPs to a customs pact with May without a second vote

Jeremy Corbyn will not be able to get enough of his MPs to back a Brexit deal without the promise of a second referendum, even if Theresa May makes a big offer on a customs union and workers’ rights this week, senior Labour figures believe.

Senior party sources said they believe two-thirds of Labour MPs, including several shadow cabinet ministers and many more frontbenchers, would refuse to back a deal without a people’s vote attached.

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The next PM? Time will come for talk of that, says Jeremy Hunt

UK foreign secretary refuses to be called on possible leadership bid during marathon African tour

Jeremy Hunt’s 12,500-mile odyssey through Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya has been a chance for the man who could be the UK’s next prime minister to learn more about Africa – and for us to learn more about him.

The visit by the foreign secretary was ambitious in mileage and scale, speckled with meetings with presidents, helicopter rides to Maiduguri – the Boko Haram haven in Nigeria’s north-east – keynote speeches at the African Union headquarters, seminars with civil society and photo-ops.

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Tories lose over 1,300 seats in local elections as major parties suffer

Lib Dems main beneficiaries as May and Corbyn vow to press ahead to break Brexit deadlock

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have vowed to press ahead with seeking a cross-party solution to the Brexit deadlock at Westminster, after voters punished both major parties in local elections.

The Conservatives’ net loss of more than 1,300 seats on their 2015 figures marked their biggest defeat since John Major was prime minister. Disillusioned voters deserted the party in droves, including in traditional Tory areas such as Chelmsford and Surrey Heath.

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Local elections 2019: May says results show voters want main parties to ‘deliver Brexit’ – live news

Lib Dems and Greens surge as Tories and Labour suffer large losses in council elections in England

This is from Tony Robinson, the former Black Adder actor and longstanding Labour activist. It speaks for itself ...

I’ve left the Labour Party after nearly 45 years of service at Branch, Constituency and NEC levels,partly because of it’s continued duplicity on Brexit, partly because of it’s antisemitism, but also because its leadership is complete shit.

Here is a picture of Stuart Davies, the Tory activist who heckled Theresa May as she started speaking at the Welsh Conservative conference. “Why don’t you resign,” he shouted.

As the man shouted “we don’t want you here”, a small group of delegates at the Welsh Conservative conference at Llangollen Pavilion clapped and chanted “out”, in an apparent call for the heckler to be removed. As the Press Association reports, the prime minister then drew laughter and applause from a majority of the hall as she told the conference: “It’s great to be back in North Wales again - I have to say my experience of North Wales is that everybody I meet here is friendly.”

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May faces Tory backlash over Williamson sacking as No 10 seeks to rule out police inquiry – live news

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

This is from Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt.

View in Whitehall: the leak from the National Security Council is not being referred to the police because a judgment was made that a crime was not committed

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Cabinet ministers split over customs union Brexit deal with Labour

Sceptics say it would not command majority among MPs or survive backbench changes

Cabinet ministers are bitterly divided over whether Brexit talks with Labour should broach the possibility of a customs union, with several sceptical that such a deal could even command a majority in parliament or survive hostile backbench amendments.

A senior cabinet minister suggested a deal involving a customs union could be backed by as few as 90 Tory MPs and would mean a slew of resignations from the government payroll.

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Gavin Williamson: ‘I was tried by kangaroo court – then sacked’

Defence secretary was fired by prime minister after investigation into Huawei leak

Gavin Williamson has claimed that he is the victim of a “kangaroo court” after being dramatically sacked by Theresa May over the leak from the National Security Council of Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s 5G network.

May was told of what she called “compelling” evidence of Williamson’s involvement before she was due to face a grilling from the backbench liaison committee. The defence secretary was later summoned to May’s House of Commons office, where she confronted him with the evidence, offered him the opportunity to resign – and when he refused, immediately fired him.

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Hunt: Brexit customs union deal could cost key Tory votes

Plan could lose support of more Tory MPs than it gains from Labour, says foreign secretary

A Brexit deal with Labour to enter a customs union could cost the Conservatives the support of as many of their own MPs as they would gain from Labour, Jeremy Hunt has said as pressure mounts on Theresa May’s leadership over the cross-party talks.

Related: Brexit: Tory MPs won't accept cross-party compromise involving customs union, says Hunt - live news

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MPs could vote again on Brexit options if talks break down

PM raises prospect of more indicative votes as Labour and Tories disagree on customs union

The government is unlikely to try to force through the Brexit deal using the withdrawal agreement bill and will instead try to devise a way to forge a compromise through new indicative votes if talks with Labour break down.

Theresa May’s spokesman said cross-party talks would continue as long as there was “still a prospect of reaching a single position to put to parliament”, but added that the prime minister would then look to bring forward “a small number of votes to try and find a way through parliament”.

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Jeremy Hunt hopes to burnish his and UK’s credentials in Africa

Trip gives foreign secretary chance to push Tory leadership claims and speak up for Brexit

Jeremy Hunt is to start a five-day, five-nation tour of Africa that will give the foreign secretary a chance both to push his personal agenda ahead of an expected Conservative leadership election and try to convince Africa that Brexit will bring trade benefits.

Hunt will begin his tour on Monday in Senegal before travelling to Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya, which have five of the fastest-growing economies on the continent.

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Tories should expect to lose 800 seats in local elections, says analyst

Voters are predicted to punish the party for its failure to pass a Brexit deal

The Conservatives can expect to lose 800 or more seats at the local elections this week, as voters punish Theresa May’s administration for failing to pass a Brexit deal, a leading Conservative analyst has said.

In his latest projection for Thursday’s polls, in which more than 8,000 council seats in England are being contested, the Tory peer Robert Hayward suggested his party could lose about 500 to the Liberal Democrats, and 300 to Labour.

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Tories and Labour accused of racial discrimination in Portsmouth

Conservatives have launched inquiry into alleged racist incidents in local party

Portsmouth’s major political parties are struggling to contain claims they have racially discriminated against local minority ethnic council candidates.

The Conservatives have launched an inquiry into alleged racist incidents in the local party. A leaked letter shows a former council candidate for the party has claimed he was marginalised, bullied and racially abused.

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Brexit: cross-party talks to restart as Tories step up efforts to oust May

Chair of 1922 Committee is reportedly planning to tell PM to leave by the end of June

Brexit talks between government ministers and Labour are due to resume on Tuesday amid distinctly limited expectations of a breakthrough, with the political focus likely instead to shift on to renewed Conservative efforts to oust Theresa May from Downing Street.

The executive of the 1922 Committee, which represents Conservative backbenchers, is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, with its chair, Graham Brady, reportedly planning to tell the prime minister she must depart before the end of June.

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Brexiters’ language worsens threats against MPs – Nicky Morgan

Former minister’s comments come as PM faces renewed plots to depose her

Nicky Morgan has blamed the language used by some vehement Conservative Brexiters of helping to inspire threats against MPs, as Theresa May prepares for the return of parliament against a backdrop of renewed plots to depose her.

Amid signs that Tory MPs will be no more united on Brexit when the Commons returns on Tuesday than before the Easter recess, Morgan, the former education secretary, criticised an article by her backbench colleague, William Cash.

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Tory deregulation agenda stalling Brexit talks, says Corbyn

Labour leader says there is no agreement yet on customs union or workers’ rights

Jeremy Corbyn has said Brexit talks with the government are stalling because of a Tory desire for post-withdrawal deregulation, including as part of a US trade deal.

Corbyn said Labour had been putting forward a robust case for a customs union during the talks over the past week but suggested he feared the two sides would not find common ground.

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Downing Street under pressure to close down Labour talks on Brexit

No 10 scrambles to explore options before possible heavy losses in EU elections

No 10 is feeling the pressure to pull the plug on Brexit talks with Labour and move to an alternative plan, amid warnings that the opposition is in no hurry for a deal before the European elections.

With talks deadlocked and no sign that the government moving on its red lines, neither the Conservatives or Labour want to appear responsible for the breakdown in discussions.

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Brexit talks ‘will stall unless May shifts on customs union’

Sources say prime minister’s red lines remain an obstacle in talks with Labour

Talks between Labour and the government are unlikely to advance much further in the coming week unless Theresa May moves on her red lines over a future customs union, sources close to the talks have suggested.

David Lidington, who is leading the government’s talks with Labour, said a compromise would have to be reached but played down suggestions that a government shift was imminent and added that Labour would also have to move.

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David Lammy says comparing ERG to Nazis ‘not strong enough’

Labour MP defends comments likening group to Nazi party and white supremacists

David Lammy has said comparing the hard-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs to Nazis and proponents of South African apartheid was “not strong enough”, and suggested that the Brexit debate had allowed proponents of hard right views to flourish.

The Labour MP, who is a vocal campaigner for a second EU referendum, was asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show whether a comparison he previously made to the election of Adolf Hitler’s party in Germany and to South African white supremacists was appropriate.

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