First minister and SNP leader to address pro-independence rally in Glasgow on Saturday
An independent Scotland is “within touching distance”, Nicola Sturgeon will tell a pro-independence rally in Glasgow on Saturday afternoon.
Her promise comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insisted that a new independence referendum is “not necessary or desirable”.
Continue reading...The day’s political developments as they happen, including the Queen’s speech, and Johnson and Corbyn speaking in the subsequent debate
Johnson says Labour’s plan to scrap Ofsted is “insane”.
He says that one nation Conservatives like himself support Ofsted because they believe in standards.
Back in the debate Labour’s Angela Eagle says Merseyside has lost 1,120 police officers. Why is it only being allowed to recruit 200 more.
Johnson says this is just the first wave of recruitment.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including events from the Labour conference in Brighton
In her speech to the conference Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said Tory policies were to blame for rising crime. She said:
There is no question that the cuts in police numbers have contributed to the rise in crime. But other contributors are the cuts to education, the increase in school exclusions, all the zero-hours contracts, all the homelessness and inequality. All the cuts in mental health services have also played their part.
And these are all Tory policies. When they say they will lead the fight against crime – do not believe a word of it. They are the ones who have created the conditions for rising serious and violent crime. Senior police officers are increasingly going on record and saying that cuts to public services have created an environment where crime flourishes. Cuts have consequences. You cannot keep people safe on the cheap.
We will welcome refugees, including child refugees.
We will proudly uphold the torture ban and treat the victims of torture with humanity, not detentions and deportations.
Speaking at a fringe meeting about how Labour can win back support in its heartlands, Jon Trickett – shadow Cabinet Office minister and MP for Hemsworth – said he was fed up with the argument that the people who voted for Brexit were from “backwards” communities in the north of England. He said:
Here’s the point I want to make. Those held-back communities – the heartland communities – can be found in Hastings, they can be found in Hackney and they can be found in Hartlepool.
A very senior member of the Labour party, she said to me: ‘Well, no wonder they’re all coming down south, the young people, because you can’t be gay up north.’ That was said by somebody whose name you will have mentioned several times in the past few weeks.
Those people who are suggesting that the people who voted for Brexit did not know what they were voting for infantilises 17 million people.
Continue reading...Court backs MPs who said prorogation breached constitution
Scottish appeal court judges have declared Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful.
The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the power to interfere in the prime minister’s political decision to prorogue parliament.
Continue reading...Labour leader opposes UK breakup but says not parliament’s place to bar independence vote
Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he believes Westminster should not block a second referendum on Scottish independence, but said he opposed the breakup of the UK.
Corbyn implicitly endorsed remarks by his close ally John McDonnell last week where he said a Labour government would not obstruct a fresh independence vote if there was sufficient support for one in the Scottish parliament.
Continue reading...Scotland’s first minister criticises Boris Johnson’s ‘hardline position’ on Brexit
Boris Johnson has been accused by Nicola Sturgeon of intentionally pushing the UK towards a no-deal Brexit, despite his “bluff and bluster” about wanting an agreement with EU leaders.
After meeting Johnson face-to-face in Edinburgh, the Scottish first minister said she believed he was pursuing a “dangerous” hardline strategy with EU leaders, with the likely outcome of no-deal Brexit.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson’s first visit to Scotland as prime minister
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon says that she will press Boris Johnson on the damage that a no deal Brexit will do to the Scottish economy, when she meets the prime minister later this afternoon.
Speaking ahead of the first face-to-face meeting between the first minister and the new prime minister, Sturgeon said:
The people of Scotland did not vote for this Tory government, they didn’t vote for this new prime minister, they didn’t vote for Brexit and they certainly didn’t vote for a catastrophic no-deal Brexit which Boris Johnson is now planning for.
Boris Johnson has formed a hard-line Tory government with one aim – to take Scotland and the UK out of the EU without a deal.
I’m just back from the Number 10 lobby briefing. Mostly it was a routine affair, that did not shed a lot of new light on what the administration is up to, but the prime minister’s spokeswoman did have at least one mini story for the hacks.
Continue reading...Second round of voting in the Tory leadership contest, plus Boris Johnson and other candidates take part in BBC hustings
Here is more on Nicola Sturgeon from my colleague Severin Carrell.
@NicolaSturgeon says @BorisJohnson asked her recently (paraphrasing) “So Nicola: full fiscal autonomy. Does that buy you guys off?” “I’m going to make that the starting point of our negotiations should he become prime minister” @reformscotland #devo20
Nicola Sturgeon has said that Boris Johnson’s “almost certain” election as the next Conservative leader has proven how sharply Scotland is now diverging from the rest of the UK, increasing the case for independence.
In a speech to mark 20 years since devolution, the first minister said Johnson’s apparent relish for a no-deal Brexit, and his “gratuitously offensive” opinions about women and minorities are in stark contrast to Scotland’s open, diverse and tolerant politics.
It is surely deeply concerning that the Conservative party is even contemplating putting into the office of prime minister someone whose tenure as foreign secretary was risible, lacking in any seriousness of purpose or basic competence and who, over the years, has gratuitously offended so many, from gay people, to Africans, Muslim women and many others.
But while that, for now, is a matter for the Tories it does further illustrate the different political trajectories of Scotland and other parts of the UK. And it raises the more fundamental question of whether the UK and therefore devolution, in its current form is capable of accommodating those differences.
Next up in the @reformscotland Devolution at 20 conversations is First Minister @NicolaSturgeon pic.twitter.com/SulPJWrabM
Continue reading...Report highlights ‘massive gap between scale of ambition and scale of resources allocated’
The Scottish government will miss its own child poverty targets unless it substantially increases investment, according to a report on last December’s budget published by the independent Poverty and Inequality Commission.
The report highlights “a massive gap between the scale of Scotland’s ambition to tackle child poverty and the scale of resources allocated to delivering that commitment”, according to the Scottish branch of the charity Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG).
Continue reading...Ex-minister hits out at campaigners pushing for a fresh vote
Boris Johnson has accused supporters of a second Brexit referendum of “doing the work of the Scottish National party” by making a second Scottish independence vote more likely and threatening the union.
In a speech in Aberdeen on Friday, the former foreign secretary and perennial Conservative leadership hopeful sought to turn the tables on remainers who argue that Brexit would increase the risk of a second independence referendum.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Jeremy Corbyn launching Labour’s Euro elections campaign
Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scottish voters to treat both Labour and the Conservatives as pro-Brexit parties in the European elections, claiming only the Scottish National party has the weight to fight to remain in the EU.
Describing the vote on 23 May as the most important European election in Scotland’s history, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister also reiterated her call for a fresh referendum on Scottish independence before 2021, regardless of whether Brexit happens.
It is striking, I would say depressingly, just how close together Labour and the Tories are on Brexit. On this defining issue of our time, Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May have so much more in common than they like to pretend. They oth want to take Scotland and the UK out of the European Union.
There is no escaping the fact that Labour is a pro-Brexit party, just as the Tories are a pro-Brexit party.
Continue reading...Rally comes as polls indicate SNP likely to make gains in European elections
Thousands of people have marched in Glasgow in the largest show of support for Scottish independence since Nicola Sturgeon said she would introduce legislation to hold a second referendum on the issue.
The All Under One Banner event, led by a single flag-bearer and a pipe band, left Kelvingrove Park at 1.30pm and was following a route west to east through the city centre to a rally at Glasgow Green.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including PMQs
Here is the key quote from Sturgeon’s opening statement.
There are some who would like to see a very early referendum, others want that choice to be later.
My job as first minister is to reach a judgment, not simply in my party’s interest but in the national interest.
Asked if she is willing to drop her demand for an independence referendum, Sturgeon says she is genuinely open-minded. If other parties can come forward with another mechanism that will protect Scotland’s interests in the event of Brexit, she will consider that, she says. She stresses that she is “open-minded”.
Continue reading...Up to 25 government members could vote for delay rather than allow UK to crash out
Theresa May is facing the most serious cabinet revolt of her premiership next week, with as many as 25 members of the government ready to vote for a Brexit delay unless she rules out “no deal” – in a move that will challenge her to sack them.
Rebel Conservatives believe there are now enough MPs across the House of Commons to pass an amendment that would require May to extend article 50 rather than allow the UK to leave without a deal.
Continue reading...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.
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