Despite the Tories’ plan for a 2022 vote, cross-party concern remains over a snap poll
Labour and Conservative parliamentarians are anxious that the new breakaway group formed by Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna has increased the chances of Theresa May calling an early election.
On the Labour side, MPs and peers were worried that the prime minister would be tempted to exploit a split in the opposition if more of their number defected to the new political group.
Continue reading...PM heads to Brussels as Philip Hammond declares ‘Malthouse compromise’ unviable
Theresa May will present the EU with new legal proposals to solve the Irish backstop issue on Wednesday, which Downing Street hopes will be enough to convince Eurosceptics to back her Brexit deal.
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, confirmed late on Tuesday that the government no longer intended to pursue alternative arrangements for the backstop in the withdrawal agreement, which had been championed by cross-factional MPs including Eurosceptic Steve Baker and soft Brexiter Nicky Morgan.
Continue reading...Eurosceptics react angrily to culture secretary’s suggestion backstop may not be removed
Theresa May is facing a fresh showdown with Eurosceptic Conservative MPs after a cabinet minister suggested she may put her Brexit deal to parliament again without having secured a change to the withdrawal text.
Before talks between May and EU leaders, the culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, said the prime minister’s aim was to solve the Northern Ireland backstop issue but the “mechanism” of the change did not matter.
Continue reading...PM makes appeal in letter for unity and announces further talks with EU president
Theresa May has issued a fresh plea to Conservative MPs to unite and deliver on Brexit, urging her party to “move beyond what divides us” and sacrifice “personal preferences”.
The prime minister’s rallying cry follows another tumultuous week in Westminster that saw tensions in the Tory party reach boiling point, with one of her ministers accusing his Eurosceptic colleagues of “treachery”.
Continue reading...Discussions could lead to new party consisting of six or more Labour MPs plus some Tories
Intense discussions are taking place at Westminster that could lead to the emergence of a new centrist party consisting of six or more disaffected anti-Brexit Labour MPs along with the involvement of some Conservatives and the backing of the Liberal Democrats.
Labour MPs reported that some of those involved had lobbied backbench colleagues they thought were sympathetic as to how they could “make the shift” away from a tribal loyalty to the party.
Continue reading...PM defeated by 303 votes to 258, plunging hopes of uniting her party around renegotiated deal into chaos
Theresa May has suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of hardline Eurosceptics, plunging her hopes of uniting the Conservatives around a renegotiated Brexit deal into chaos.
The prime minister failed to win support for her EU strategy after the European Research Group (ERG), led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, abstained on a government motion because it appeared to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the latest Commons debate and votes on what should happen next with Brexit
Anna Soubry, the Conservative pro-European, described the result as a “body blow” to Theresa May. Soubry said:
The prime minister has been dealt yet another body blow. This is really serious stuff.
What is happening is a profound lack of leadership from the very top of government.
We have a Conservative party - the party of business, of economic competence and prosperity - gambling with the real lives of my constituents, their futures, their jobs, their children and grandchildren.
This is outrageous and, from the Conservative Party in particular, it is not acceptable any longer.
How MPs voted on the government motion.
For (258)
Continue reading...Government urged to make amends to ex-soldiers, who were underpaid and beaten
Pressure is mounting on the government to compensate and apologise to Britain’s last surviving African veterans of the second world war after three shadow secretaries of state called on their Conservative counterparts to acknowledge the systematic discrimination of colonial-era troops.
Labour’s Emily Thornberry, Nia Griffith and Dan Carden – the shadow foreign, defence and international development secretaries – demanded in a letter that Theresa May’s administration acknowledge the unfair treatment, launch an investigation into the matter, issue a formal apology and pay veterans compensation.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May’s statement to MPs about Brexit
This amendment would stop the government from running down the clock on the Brexit negotiations, hoping members of parliament can be blackmailed into supporting a botched deal.
The Labour MP Yvette Cooper has published details of her latest plan to ensure that MPs get the chance to vote to rule out a no-deal Brexit. Here are the key points.
This bill would require the prime minister and parliament to take crucial decisions by the middle of March at the very latest on whether the UK is leaving with a deal, without a deal or seeking an extension to article 50.
It forces the prime minister to tell us whether she wants to leave with no deal or to extend article 50 if she still hasn’t got a deal in place by the middle of March. This bill creates a parliamentary safeguard to prevent us drifting into no deal by accident, and to prevent those crucial decisions being left until the final fortnight. The risks to jobs, the NHS and security from no deal are too great for us to stand back and let the government drift.
Continue reading...But Rory Stewart says PM’s letter showed ‘a lot of common ground’ between parties
One of Theresa May’s ministers has said the prime minister has rejected Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit plan of a customs union but insisted her letter to the Labour leader showed there was “a lot of common ground” between the parties.
“What’s happening here is not a shifting of red lines,” Rory Stewart, the prisons minister, told BBC Breakfast.
Continue reading...Tory strategist’s pitch detailed how CTF Partners would spread negative stories and press Fifa to ‘restart bidding process’
Sir Lynton Crosby offered to work on a campaign to cancel the 2022 Qatar World Cup and get it awarded to another country in return for £5.5m, according to a leaked plan that gives a rare insight into the activities of one of the world’s best-known political operatives.
The detailed pitch document – “a proposal for a campaign to expose the truth of the Qatar regime and bring about the termination of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar” – was written in April last year and personally signed by Crosby.
Continue reading...James Brokenshire says Commons will have chance to block no-deal departure
The government has sought to buy Theresa May more time to put together a workable Brexit deal by promising MPs another say by the end of the month, as business leaders said the process was now in the “emergency zone”.
The communities secretary, James Brokenshire, said that if no finalised deal were put to the Commons by 27 February, MPs would again be given an amendable motion to consider. This would give them the chance to block a no-deal departure or make other interventions.
Continue reading...No 10 and EU announce new negotiations on the ‘speed’ of post-Brexit trade talks
Theresa May clashed with Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk during Brexit talks in Brussels but has secured agreement for a fresh round of formal negotiations to break the impasse.
A meeting with the European commission president was described as “robust”, with Juncker resolutely rebuffing May’s demand for a renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement.
Continue reading...Donald Tusk should be criticised not for his malice, but his moderation. The European council president triggered a tsunami of confected outrage from leavers today when he observed, with some justice, that there should be a special place in hell for those who promoted Brexit without a plan. But he should have said far more. He should have added that, within that special place, there should be an executive suite of sleepless torment for those politicians who promoted Brexit without ever giving a stuff about Ireland.
Related: Dear Theresa May, your Brexit plan is doomed. Here’s a deal that will work | Gina Miller
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen
Turning back to Marin Selmayr for a moment, Mina Andreeva, the European commission’s deputy chief spokeswoman has posted a tweet that seems intended to mollify Brexiters upset by the tone of his intervention earlier. She was responding to Fraser Nelson, editor of the pro-Brexit Spectator.
For the sake of completeness:
1/ @MartinSelmayr made clear that @MichelBarnier is @EU_Commission’s chief negotiator. https://t.co/AILUEJwCit
2/ @EU_Commission always open to listen - in full respect of national parliaments. Our position is expressed here: https://t.co/GKRKYR7pfM
Lord Trimble, the former Ulster Unionist party leader who won a Nobel peace prize for his role in the Good Friday agreement, has announced that he and others “are planning to take the government to court over the protocol on Northern Ireland - which includes the so-called “backstop” - as it breaches the terms of the Good Friday agreement.”
The announcement came in a three sentence press statement from Global Britain, a pro-Brexit thinktank. It said:
The Nobel peace prize winner and architect of the Good Friday agreement plans to initiate judicial review proceedings to ensure that the protocol is removed from the withdrawal agreement.
Lord Trimble says that alternative arrangements - as outlined in A Better Deal And A Better Future - should be put in place instead.
Continue reading...Tory unity already evaporating as Barnier reiterates Brexit deal cannot be reopened
Theresa May is under mounting pressure to spell out what changes to the Irish backstop she hopes to negotiate with Brussels, after the fragile Brexit truce in her own party appeared to fray on Wednesday.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, became the latest senior figure to reject the idea of revisiting the withdrawal agreement on Wednesday, insisting: “Calmly, I will say, right here and now, we need this backstop as it is.”
Continue reading...As Theresa May girds herself for renewed talks with the EU about changing the Irish backstop, follow all the news and reaction with our live blog
And Nathalie Loiseau, the French Europe minister, has said much the same thing. She said:
Brexit will take place in two months. Time is running out.
We are ready to talk about the future but now is the time to agree on the conditions of the separation.
This is from the Express’s Joe Barnes.
German foreign minister Heiko Maas on prospect of renegotiating Theresa May's #Brexit deal: 'The withdrawal agreement is the best and only solution for an orderly withdrawal.
'Germany and the entire Union are firmly on Ireland's side.'
Commons also backs non-binding amendment to reject no-deal Brexit, as EU says withdrawal agreement is ‘not open for renegotiation’
Business groups have been reacting to tonight’s votes. While they view the non-binding vote against a no-deal Brexit as a bonus, and are moderately relieved that there is now at least a Commons majority for something, overall they are still fairly gloomy.
Here are the key quotes.
This is another deeply frustrating day for British business. The never-ending parliamentary process limps on while the economic impact of no deal planning accelerates.
The Brady amendment feels like a throw-of-the-dice. It won’t be worth the paper it is written on if it cannot be negotiated with the EU. Any renegotiation must happen quickly – succeed or fail fast.
Another day lost while the clock is ticking. Government and parliament are still going round in circles when businesses and the public urgently need answers.
The real-world result of Westminster’s interminable wrangling is market uncertainty, stockpiling, and the diversion of staff, money and investment. For every big-ticket business announcing high-profile Brexit-related decisions, there are many more quietly making the changes they need in order to safeguard their operations in the event of a disorderly Brexit. The net result of this displacement activity and uncertainty is slow but very real damage to the UK economy.
While it is something that MPs have managed to form a majority in any vote, the path ahead is still far from clear. The prime minister clearly faces a difficult task in winning a compromise on the backstop. However, if the choice is between trying to change the deal and leaving without one, business will have to hope the EU can be flexible and consider whether any legal changes at all could further clarify that the backstop is not a permanent fixture.
By passing the Spelman-Dromey amendment, parliament has formally echoed the voice of small businesses that a no deal exit in 59 days’ time is not an option. The amendment does not have any force in law, so a no deal Brexit on 29th March isn’t off the table yet. This vote cannot simply be a symbolic one, we need government and parliament redouble efforts to prevent it.
Small businesses are not ready, and the country is not ready for this scenario. Tonight has seen a small but significant step that shows parliament falling into line with the UK small business community, which is a small relief. However, we cannot lose sight of the reality that we are still no closer to securing a pro-business deal before 29th March.
While further delay does nothing to relieve the uncertainty hanging over the country, it is at least encouraging to see parliament saying it won’t support a no-deal outcome. It is vital that we not only have an orderly withdrawal but that we are set up to succeed in agreeing a mutually beneficial future relationship with our EU partners.
The EU27 are very good at message discipline. Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, has just issued a statement through his office that reads very like the one from Donald Tusk. (See 8.55am. A spokesperson for Varadkar said:
The EU position on the withdrawal agreement, including the backstop, is set out in the conclusions of the December meeting of the European council. It has not changed.
The withdrawal agreement is not open for re-negotiation.
Continue reading...Survey shows Britons becoming more intolerant, politically disillusioned and disunited
Britons have become angrier since the referendum to leave the EU, according to a survey which suggests there is widespread unhappiness about the direction in which the country is heading.
Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said they felt their fellow citizens had become “angrier about politics and society” since the Brexit vote in 2016, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, a long-established, annual survey of trust carried out across the globe.
Continue reading...Heidi Allen joins former Labour MP Frank Field on mission to highlight the poverty caused by her party’s policies
Heidi Allen and Frank Field make an odd partnership at first glance. Allen, 44, the Conservative MP for one of Britain’s richest constituencies, and Field, 76, a Labour MP for 39 years until he resigned over antisemitism in the party, have bonded across the Commons over a shared outrage at poverty. Now they have embarked on a nationwide tour in search of the “other England” shaped by the austerity policies pioneered by Allen’s party. It is proving emotional.
Visits to the poorest corners of Newcastle, Glasgow, Morecambe and Cornwall beckon, but they have started in London and Leicester, where on Thursday they heard stories of an illiterate man sanctioned so often under universal credit that he lives on £5 a week; a man so poor he sold all but the clothes he was wearing; and someone being told to walk 44 miles to attend a job interview, despite having had a stroke, to save the state the cost of a £15 bus ticket.
Continue reading...