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"News from the Brexit Cliff Edge" 1st May 2019

News Highlights

Welcome to the Brexit Cliff Edge

Jaguar to move Land Rover Defender production to Slovakia

  • British carmaker JLR will move the assembly of its Land Rover Defender to its plant in Slovakia. JLR said the decision runs in parallel with plans to invest in its Solihul plant to support the production of next generation flagship Range Rover and Land Rover models

UK's Brexit obsession will diminish the country, warns UN poverty expert

  • UN global poverty expert, Philip Alston, warned that the UK's preoccupation with Brexit will leave the country severely diminshed whether it leaves the EU or not, because too little is being done to alter policies driving people deeper into poverty

Clark backs British Steel with £100m rescue funding

  • The government has agreed to provide £100m in funding to the UK's second biggest steel producer after it requested emergency support to make a repayment to an EU run environment scheme. The government funding has been sought to secure carbon credits on behalf of British Steel before surrendering them to regulators

Brexit - Labour's NEC agrees a position on a second referendum after a 5 hour meeting

  • The NEC decided the European Election manifesto should include the 'option' of a fresh public vote on the UK's membership of the EU, but rejected stronger proposals put forward by deputy leader Tom Watson and the TSSA union, for a tougher anti-Brexit stance, which would commit the party to a referendum on any deal, not just Theresa May's.

Campaigners for a Brexit vote reacted disappointedly

  • Bridget Phillipson MP said 'Labour had done the bare minimum needed and I can only hope it will be enough to secure the support of all those millions of our voters demanding a final say on Brexit.'
  • In The Guardian Phillipson is saying 'The manifesto's mealy-mouthed wording still maintains the fiction that there is a deal out there that can satisfy all the promises made three years ago, avoid real cuts to jobs and maintain living standards and bring a halt to the endless crisis surrounding Brexit'
  • Jess Phillips predicted Labour will get a drubbing if the party does not offer a second referendum in its European Election manifesto. Asked what will happen if Labour goes into the Euros without a clear second referendum promise she said 'I think people who voted remain and voted Labour will not vote Labour again'
  • Jeremy Corbyn was said to have been warned that demoralised Labour voters will boycott crucial elections, after he crushed an attempt to commit the party to a second referendum in all Brexit circumstances
  • Owen Smith MP said Labour has more to lose from being vague on Brexit, than it has to gain from pandering to Brexiteers. He added that polling data shows Remainers deserting the party and that he wished the leadership recognised the risk to the vote

Pro-Brexit Labour Party campaigner attacked a second referendum as having no credibility

SNP slams the Labour Party for 'supreme cowardice' over its failure to endorse a People's Vote without any form of equivocation

UKIP releases a video of Farage making anti-Muslim statements to discredit him

Brexit Party candidate Claire Fox is told to disavow her IRA bombing comments

  • Claire Fox is now the Brexit Party's candidate for the North West ahead of May's European elections. She was a leading RCP member in the 1980s and 1990s and the Revolutionary Communist Party defended an IRA bombing in Warrington as justified. A bombing in 1993 which killed 12 year old Tim Parry, and Jonathan Bell, aged 3, who was shopping for a Mother's Day card with his babysitter at the time

Paypal Man - why won't Nigel Farage reveal who is funding the Brexit Party?

Theresa May preparing to 'cave in' to Labour demands on brexit - Tory Eurosceptics fear

Theresa May threatens Labour she will abandon talks if a deal is not reached by next week

  • The Independent's tone was not one of Theresa May about to nail down a Brexit proposal just yet. In this article, UK government spokespeople said that if Labour agrees not to block Theresa May's withdrawal agreement bill, it would then be put forward to a vote in the House of Commons. If Labour does not, the government will 'move in another direction'

Hunt on the leadership shunt

  • Jeremy Hunt is on a 'picture-rich' tour of Africa which will burnish his credentials as a possible successor to Theresa May. As part of this drive, Hunt as been warning Theresa May against agreeing a deal with Labour involving a customs union. Adding that he thinks the Tories may have to embrace a  No Deal Brexit once more as an option

The Financial Times markedly said 'the UK government is grinding to a halt.'

  • The FT said chancellor Phillip Hammond cannot be sure of his numbers in a government spending review because of Brexit uncertainty. Now the government is not prepared to bring forward a new Queen's Speech full of legislative proposals - until it has managed to pass a Brexit withdrawal agreement. There has only been five years since 1900 when a Queen's Speech to Parliament has not taken place

Theresa May is the most evasive Tory PM in history, research shows

  • A study by the University of York shows that Mrs May is the worst offender, when it comes to avoiding difficult questions, compared to the last four Conservative PMs. Academics looked at her performances in a series of broadcast interviews and during PMQs and found she employs covert evasion or equivocation more than her predecessors
Jobs at Risk
Jaguar to move Land Rover Defender production to Slovakia
British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will move the assembly of its Land Rover Defender to its plant in Slovakia to make room for newer models at its factory in Britain, the company said on Tuesday. The Defender 4X4, which is designed and engineered in Britain, will be unveiled later this year, JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, said. “This decision is in parallel with plans for significant investment at the company’s Solihull plant in the UK to support the production of the next generation of flagship Range Rover and Land Rover models,” JLR said.
Economic Impact
Brexit News: British Pound Sterling Exchange Rates Boosted As Cross-Party Brexit Talks Near Final Stages
According to sources close to the talks, PM May could be willing to accept the possibility of a post-Brexit customs union, much to the chagrin of the more eurosceptic elements of her own party. Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday morning, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said Conservative Party MPs would not accept a cross-party Brexit compromise involving a customs union. "If we were proposing, which I very much hope we don’t, to sign up to the customs union, then I think there is a risk that you would lose more Conservative MPs than you would gain Labour MPs," said Hunt.
Administrative Fall Out
UK's Brexit obsession will diminish country, says UN poverty expert
The United Nations global poverty expert, Philip Alston, has warned that Britain’s preoccupation with Brexit will leave the country severely diminished whether or not it leaves the EU because too little is being done to alter policies driving people deeper into poverty.
@NaomiOhReally A graphic of Ireland's ATM machine robbery spree by @NewstalkFM. The gangs steal diggers and use them to rip the whole machine out of the wall.
A graphic of Ireland's ATM machine robbery spree by @NewstalkFM. The gangs steal diggers and use them to rip the whole machine out of the wall.
Political Shenanigans
Ukip releases video to discredit Farage | News
Ukip has released a video of its former leader Nigel Farage making alleged anti-Muslim statements. Ukip ridiculed the claim that Mr Farage’s new Brexit Party will be “deeply intolerant of intolerance”. The video showed Mr Farage, who recently accused Ukip of a “lurch towards extremism”, talking about a “fifth column” of Muslim jihadists living in Britain. “They carry our passports. They speak our language and they hate us . . . they want to kill us . . . they want to overthrow our culture, our constitution, our whole way of life,” Mr Farage is recorded as saying at the Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe. It is not clear when the comments were made.
Scottish Labour activists pile pressure on Corbyn and Leonard over People's Vote
Ten members of the party's Scottish Executive Committee have called on the Labour leaders to recognise the need for a second Brexit referendum.
Theresa May preparing to cave in to Labour demands on Brexit, Eurosceptics fear
Theresa May is preparing to cave in to Labour demands on Brexit, Eurosceptic ministers fear, after they were told an “unpalatable” outcome would be better than a “disastrous” one. The Prime Minister has made it clear that she wants cross-party talks wrapped up by the middle of next week, adding to suspicions that she is waiting until after tomorrow’s local elections before announcing a climbdown. A Cabinet meeting yesterday was dominated by discussion of how the Government can get a Brexit deal through Parliament so that Britain can leave the EU before the current deadline of October. Brexiteers still believe Mrs May can win round Tory rebels by making changes to the Northern Irish backstop
SNP hit out at Labour over 'cowardice' of People's Vote manifesto move
Key SNP figures have slammed Labour for failing to properly back a second EU referendum in its European manifesto, with Ian Blackford calling the move “supreme cowardice”. The new policy only commits Labour to backing a new vote if no agreement is reached with the Tories on an alternative Brexit deal including a customs union membership, or if there is no General Election. "@jeremycorbyn has failed to recognise there is no such thing as a good Brexit. A People’s Vote allows for folk to have a say on the Brexit consequence. A failure to lead is supreme cowardice. Scotland has a choice #It’s time for indy”.
Brexit: Labour NEC agrees position on second referendum after 5 hour meeting
Labour's ruling body has come to an agreement on a second Brexit referendum after a marathon five-hour meeting. In a victory for Jeremy Corbyn's allies on the ruling National Executive Committee, the party will support a new public vote - but only in certain circumstances.
Jeremy Hunt: Tories may have to embrace no deal
Jeremy Hunt's picture rich tour of Africa shows he will be a formidable candidate in the Conservative leadership contest. Snapped taking the wheel of a Royal Marines rigid inflatable boat, he strikes the pose of a clear frontrunner among the cabinet contenders. From thousands of miles away, Hunt has also been showcasing his Brexit credentials by warning Theresa May against agreeing a deal with Labour involving a customs union. But Hunt has one fundamental weakness, that could undermine his chances when he comes up against Brexiteer candidates such as Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab. The foreign secretary is, in the eyes of many Tories, a nouveau Brexiteer.
Alyn Smith: Unhappy Labour voters – join a party which supports Europe!
Much as Labour are not looking at a great result, the Tories are guaranteed an awful time. So I do think the elections are happening, and as to the second question, of what comes next, I think it will be largely decided by the result of the election itself. If there is a huge Remain vote for clearly pro-Remain parties, then I think that tends towards a second EU referendum; if there is a huge Leave vote then I think that tends towards them sitting down and quietly agreeing the Withdrawal Agreement. So this really matters – this is our chance to stop Brexit.
Labour agrees to put current Brexit policy in European manifesto
In an emergency meeting this afternoon, Labour’s ruling body agreed to include current party policy on Brexit in the European manifesto. The result means MEP candidates will be officially standing on a commitment to back Labour’s alternative Brexit plan and only support another public vote if the opposition cannot secure either changes to the current deal or a general election. It is a victory for Jeremy Corbyn and the party leadership, which faced attempts – led by deputy leader and national executive committee (NEC) member Tom Watson – to shift policy towards a clear public vote pledge that would apply to any deal.
Jeremy Hunt Warns Backing Customs Union Would Cost More Tory Votes Than It Would Gain Labour
Jeremy Hunt has warned Theresa May she would lose the support of more Tory MPs than she would gain Labour MPs if she backed a customs union in an attempt to strike a Brexit deal with Jeremy Corbyn. The foreign secretary said on Tuesday he believed a deal would “definitely” be done and insisted there was still a “great sense of urgency” despite Brexit reportedly not even being on the agenda of today’s cabinet meeting. “The reality of Brexit is that it is the most controversial issue, certainly in my political lifetime, but we have a hung parliament so we cannot get it through without talking to other parties,” Hunt told BBC Radio 4′s today programme. “If we were proposing, which I very much hope we don’t, to sign up to the customs union, then I think there is a risk that you would lose more Conservative MPs than you would gain Labour MPs.
Labour's European election manifesto to restate referendum position
MPs campaigning for the party to back another poll declare victory, after the five-hour meeting of Labour's ruling body breaks up.
Judging by the Home Office, it’s now Tory policy to ruin Britain
Since Windrush, all we have seen is pathetic attempts at compensating victims, and more scandals. Presiding over it all is the new benevolent dictator Sajid Javid, who speaks in the language of a man who knows how to pay lip service to the forces that removed his predecessor, while doubling down on policies that have not changed, but are merely fronted by a new, more media-friendly face. One that does not hesitate to point out – as often as possible – that it is a brown one.
Labour Fudges Brexit Referendum Pledge For European Parliament Elections
Labour will fight the European parliament elections without a firm pledge to hold a fresh referendum on Brexit, its ruling body has decided. In a bid to unite the party’s warring factions, the National Executive Committee (NEC) decided the manifesto for its MEP candidates should include a reference to the “option” of a fresh public vote on the UK’s membership of the EU. But the NEC rejected more radical proposals, pushed by deputy leader Tom Watson and the TSSA union, for a tougher anti-Brexit stance that would have committed the party to a referendum on any deal, not just Theresa May’s. HuffPost UK understands that the party’s Euro campaign leaflets will now be amended to reflect the new position, following a huge backlash from MPs and MEPs over a draft version that omitted any mention of a new public vote.
Campaigners react as Labour continues to push for Brexit with new manifesto
Bridget Phillipson, the Labour MP for Houghton & Sunderland South and a leading supporter of the People's Vote campaign, said: “Labour has done the bare minimum needed and I can only hope it will be enough to secure the support of all those millions of our voters demanding the final say on Brexit. “There is no deal on the table other than the one negotiated by the government and there is no majority for it in parliament without a confirmatory referendum to show there is a majority for it the country too. “The decision of the NEC today reaffirms conference policy and means Labour will have little choice except to back a new public vote on the most likely outcome of this vexed process.
UK government is grinding to a halt
Brexit is bringing government and policymaking in Whitehall and Westminster to a juddering halt. Since the June 2017 election, it has been increasingly clear that Theresa May and her ministers don’t have the capacity to contemplate much policy that isn’t connected with Britain’s departure from the EU. But the past few days have brought home how the business of government has slowed to a snail’s pace thanks in large part to the impasse over Mrs May’s Brexit deal. On April 12, chancellor Philip Hammond revealed that he can’t be sure of finalising the three-year spending review for government departments and local authorities over the summer. A new spending review is vital if Mr Hammond is to begin ending austerity. But he told reporters: “If we don’t have a [Brexit] deal done, the level of uncertainty that will remain probably makes it inappropriate to do a long-term spending review.” Yesterday, Downing Street admitted that another major setpiece parliamentary event for later this year could also be postponed: the Queen’s Speech setting out the government’s domestic legislation programme for the next year. There have been only five years since 1900 when a Queen’s Speech hasn’t taken place. The annual address is an important sign that a government has both a robust policy programme and a Commons majority to boot.
Labour ‘must commit to People’s Vote’ before EU elections
Labour needs to confirm its commitment to a public vote on Brexit, according to nearly 90 of its elected politicians. Jeremy Corbyn is facing growing calls from key members of his team to confirm whether the party backs a referendum on a Brexit deal or not. More than 90 MPs and MEPs have said the issue needs to be urgently clarified in its manifesto for the European elections next month. Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) will meet on Tuesday and there are calls for a decision to be made by then.
European elections: Which parties back a second Brexit referendum in your constituency?
Campaigners for a second Brexit referendum have launched a website allowing voters in next month’s European elections to find out which parties in their constituency are backing a fresh vote. The People’s Vote campaign, which set up the site, says it will increase pressure on Labour to match pledges by other parties to back a new say on EU membership. Voters can enter their constituency on the site to see who matches their views. The Liberal Democrats, Change UK, the Green Party, the SNP and Plaid Cymru are all backing a second referendum.
Labour's Jess Phillips says party will get a 'drubbing' at European elections if they don't offer second referendum
Labour's Jess Phillips predicts the party will get a "drubbing" if the party doesn't offer a second referendum in their European elections manifesto. The MP spoke to ITV News Political Correspondent Paul Brand on the ITV News podcast Acting Prime Minister as Labour's National Executive Committee meets on Tuesday to finalise the party's position on Brexit for the elections in May. Asked what will happen if Labour goes into European elections without a clear promise on a second referendum, Ms Phillips said: "I think people who voted remain and voted Labour will not vote Labour again."
Corbyn sees off calls to back second Brexit referendum
Jeremy Corbyn has seen off a challenge from Labour’s Europhile wing, defeating a bid to commit the party to holding a second EU referendum in all circumstances. After a lengthy meeting of the party’s ruling National Executive Committee to decide the manifesto for European elections, the Labour leader’s position on Brexit was opposed by a minority of delegates, including his deputy Tom Watson, who had argued that the party should give unequivocal backing to a second vote. The Labour leader announced afterwards that the party would maintain its existing policy of backing a soft Brexit with a customs union. He added that Labour would support the “option” of a public vote only if it was unable to secure the changes to the government’s existing withdrawal deal — and could not force a general election.
Brexit: Theresa May threatens Labour she will abandon talks if deal not reached by next week
Theresa May will abandon attempts to strike a Brexit deal with Labour if no cross-party agreement can be struck within one week. The prime minister has bowed to pressure to finally set a deadline for ending the talks with Jeremy Corbyn if necessary – deciding the Labour leader must be on board with seven days, a government source said. If Labour agrees not to block the withdrawal agreement bill, it would then be put to the Commons – but the government will “move in another direction” if no guarantee is given, The Independent was told.
Exclusive: Theresa May Blocks Cabinet Demands To Speed Up Deadlocked Brexit Process
Theresa May blocked cabinet demands to speed up the stalled Brexit process this week, HuffPost UK has learned. Brexiteer ministers had expected the withdrawal agreement bill (WAB) to be brought before the Commons, but were overruled by Downing Street. The prime minister is concerned that MPs could simply vote down the laws at the first attempt, potentially triggering a general election. She is willing to give talks with Labour another week to reach either a cross-party deal or agreement on backing whatever solution comes out of a fresh round of parliamentary votes on alternatives.
@BBCPolitics "A second referendum would have no credibility," says Leave-supporting Labour MP Graham Stringer, "the first referendum should be implemented in full, it was unambiguous and unconditional"
"A second referendum would have no credibility," says Leave-supporting Labour MP Graham Stringer, "the first referendum should be implemented in full, it was unambiguous and unconditional"
The Labour party agrees to reject calls to fully back new Brexit referendum
Labour party rejects calls to explicitly back a second referendum in all circumstances, in defeat for party's pro-Europeans. Jeremy Corbyn's party is heavily split over the question of a second referendum. The ruling NEC agreed to maintain Labour's existing policy of maintaining the "option" of a second referendum.
Labour needn’t worry: in its northern heartlands, Brexiters are not the only voices
You can cherrypick your vox pops to suit, but Mary Creagh, the local Labour MP, and the local People’s Vote campaigners, say they’ve found a marked change in the past two months. And this isn’t just wishful thinking from remainers. YouGov this month polled 5,000 Labour heartland voters in the north-east, north-west, Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside. Did these Labour voters back “a new public vote on whether Britain should leave on the deal negotiated or stay in the EU”? Three-quarters supported the idea, and 43% said that if Labour backed a vote they would feel greater affinity for the party. Only 8% said it would make them feel less keen on Labour; only 11% backed Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Labour never was the party of Brexit and it’s become even less so now. Don’t mythologise “northern working-class Labour man” when Brexit is overwhelmingly a Tory disease
The Guardian view on May’s elections: resolve Brexit, defend democracy
Politicians need to come clean about the costs of pursuing Brexit – about how it is likely to render poorer many of those places that voted leave; about how it risks peace in Ireland; about the awkward task of redefining the national interest, and trying to give it new meaning while preserving the integrity of the UK. Instead, amid indifference and confusion, politicians have dodged the problem of Brexit. They ought to instead re-engage in these polls, by first organising the millions of EU citizens who have most to lose from Brexit and need to be registered to vote in a week’s time for European elections. Brexit is not going away just because it seems more convenient to ignore it. Politicians have not found a way out; they will only do so by reconnecting with the public.
Political Setbacks
Anger as Corbyn faces down calls for Labour to back new Brexit vote
In a move that sparked an immediate backlash among remain-supporters, Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC), announced that its manifesto for the election would be “fully in line” with its longstanding policy. That means continuing to support “Labour’s alternative plan” for Brexit – “and if we can’t get the necessary changes to the government’s deal, or a general election, to back the option of a public vote”, a Labour source said. The wording falls well short of the position set out recently by Watson, and by the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, who told the House of Commons in April: “At this late stage it is clear that any Brexit deal agreed in this parliament will need further democratic approval.” Some Labour MPs reacted with fury to the NEC’s decision. Bridget Phillipson, who represents Houghton & Sunderland South, speaking for the People’s Vote campaign, said: “The manifesto’s mealy-mouthed wording still maintains the fiction that there is a deal out there that can satisfy all the promises made three years ago, avoid real costs to jobs and living standards, or end the endless crisis around Brexit.
Theresa May most evasive Tory Prime Minister, research shows
Theresa May has built a political career by being non-committal and now new research has revealed the Prime Minister is the most evasive Tory leader to hold office in recent memory. A study by the University of York has shown Mrs May is the worst offender when it comes to avoiding difficult questions compared to the last four Conservative Prime Ministers. Academics studied her performances in a series of broadcast interviews and during Prime Minister’s Questions to find she is employs “covert” evasion or equivocation more often than her predecessors.
Brexit Party candidate Claire Fox told to disavow IRA bombing comments
A leading Brexit Party candidate has been urged to "disavow" comments about an IRA bombing that killed two children. Tim Parry, 12, died in the arms of his father Colin five days after the IRA attack in Warrington on 10 March 1993. Johnathan Bell, three, was also killed in the attack as he was shopping for a Mother's Day card with his babysitter. The Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) defended the IRA's actions by writing in a newsletter published on 2 April, 1993: "We defend the right of the Irish people to take whatever measures are necessary in their struggle for freedom." Claire Fox, who is now the Brexit Party's candidate in the North West ahead of next month's European Parliament elections, was a leading RCP member at the time.
Striking Brexit deal with Labour could alienate Tory MPs, Jeremy Hunt warns
The Foreign Secretary said talks aimed at thrashing out a joint-approach with the opposition could see the Prime Minister "lose more Conservative MPs" than she gains in Labour votes. Speaking to The Telegraph on a trip to Africa, Mr Hunt said that weeks of discussions between the two sides had been "more detailed and productive than we thought and expected". But he said it would still be "very difficult to imagine a rose garden moment" between the two leaders - a reference to the friendly 2010 press conference held by David Cameron and Nick Clegg after a coalition deal was struck. And he added: "There is always a danger of doing a deal with Labour that [means] you lose more Conservative MPs than you gain Labour MPs, but I think the essential question is whether Labour are serious about delivering Brexit."
Corbynista left splits over Brexit referendum
Brexit is fomenting a significant split in the alliance of Labour left-wing activists that keeps Jeremy Corbyn in power, because of his and the party leadership’s reluctance to commit to hold a referendum on any Brexit deal. A senior and influential activist told me: “Discussions are under way between leading Momentum activists, anti-Brexit MPs and campaign groups about a new process for drawing up a left slate for this year's NEC election”. What this means, he said, is that there would no longer be a joint slate of candidates put forward by Momentum and the much older hard-left campaigning group, the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, or CPLD, which was Corbyn’s ideological and spiritual home for decades.
Dan Price and Wendy Parry hits out at Claire Fox of Brexit Party over IRA
A Warrington councillor says the top Brexit Party candidate for the north west is 'totally unfit for office' over her views on the IRA bombing of Warrington. And the father of Tim Parry, killed in the 1993 attacks, says the views are 'highly inappropriate'. Claire Fox is on top of the list for the Brexit Party candidates for the Euro Elections next month. As it stands, if polling is to be believed, she is likely to be elected as an MEP representing Warrington. She is a former core activist and organiser for the Revolutionary Communist Party.
Labour launches investigation into councillor who 'compared Gaza to Auschwitz'
Labour has launched an investigation into one of the party's councillors after he posted comments on social media in which he appeared to compare Gaza to Auschwitz.. Sandwell Councillor John Edwards is facing the formal party probe after he was accused of making anti-semitic remarks by a Labour campaign group. On Friday, Labour Against Antisemitism activist Saul Freeman flagged a series of tweets in which Mr Edwards railed against the party's adoption of the International Holocaust Rememberance Alliance definition of anti-semitism, as well as dismissing criticism of former Labour MP Chris Williamson as a "smear".
Playtime is over: I can't keep on supporting Brexit if this is how the govt behaves
During the campaign, I was happy to accept a Norway-type arrangement, as were many other Leavers. But once it was over, two things quickly became clear. Firstly, that a well-organised and well-funded section of Leave support with strong media connections would treat anything less than full severance from the EU as treachery. And secondly, that the prime minister would place ending free movement and the views of her most hardline backbenchers above all other considerations. The no-surrender Brexiters have a dream of a free trade wonderland across the world, but it is just that: a dream. It relied on the idea of a stable international trading system based on increasingly global regulatory standards.
Labour's Leadership And NEC Need To Understand That For Members Like Me, All Roads Lead To A People's Vote
On Tuesday morning, new polling for YouGov showed a serious problem for the Labour Party. My party – of which I’ve proudly been a member for six years – has spent the last three years sitting on the Brexit fence. And it shows. A massive one in four voters ‘don’t know’ whether the Labour Party is pro or anti-Brexit. A further 20% say it is neither, whilst 61% of Leave voters think the party is anti-Brexit and only 28% of Remain voters think the same. Political triangulation can work, or it can annoy all parts of your constituency equally. Unfortunately, at Tuesday’s National Executive Committee at Labour HQ, we did little to bring further clarity to our members, voters and supporters.
Watch the moment anti-Brexit campaigners confront Jeremy Corbyn after manifesto meeting
Jeremy Corbyn’s car was stopped by anti-Brexit campaigners as he tried to leave the meeting which confirmed his pro-Brexit manifesto for the European elections. One of the campaigners was Steve Bray, a prominent anti-Brexit protester, who was holding a sign with the Labour leader's face on it. It included the message “where were EU?”, while another sign said “revoke, remain, resist.” Security guards outside the building where the National Executive Committee (NEC) tried to move on the protesters, but Bray politely continued to protest until the Labour leader acknowledged him in his car.
Guy Verhofstadt: ‘The biggest waste of EU resources is Nigel Farage’s salary’
European Parliament liberal group leader Guy Verhofstadt had a pop at his longtime rival Nigel Farage on Monday, saying the Brit's MEP salary is "the biggest waste of EU resources." Verhofstadt, a former prime minister of Belgium, said on Twitter: "Nigel Farage has been an elected MEP since 1999, but now says he comes out of 'semi–retirement'. As I already warned in 2012, the biggest waste of EU resources is Nigel Farage's salary. Why would anyone re-elect him to this role?"
Labour Party rejects calls to fully back new Brexit referendum
Labour party rejects calls to explicitly back a second referendum in all circumstances, in defeat for party's pro-Europeans. Jeremy Corbyn's party is heavily split over the question of a second referendum. The ruling NEC agreed to maintain Labour's existing policy of maintaining the "option" of a second referendum.
Brexit news: Attempt to get Labour to commit to second referendum shot down at party meeting
Labour supporters of a second Brexit referendum have failed to force Jeremy Corbyn to commit to a public vote in all circumstances, after a marathon five-hour meeting. The party’s ruling national executive committee agreed a manifesto for the European elections “fully in line with Labour’s existing policy”, a source said. It means Labour is only pledged to support a fresh referendum if it cannot secure “the necessary changes to the government’s deal or a general election”.
Brexit: Jeremy Corbyn warned ‘demoralised’ Labour voters will boycott elections after second referendum fudge
Jeremy Corbyn has been warned that “demoralised” Labour voters will boycott crucial elections after he crushed an attempt to commit the party to a second Brexit referendum in all circumstances. The Labour leader demonstrated his iron grip by defeating a bid – led by his deputy Tom Watson – to end the “fudge” that would mean no public vote if the party’s “alternative plan” wins support at parliament. After a marathon five-hour meeting, the ruling national executive committee agreed a manifesto for the European elections “fully in line with Labour’s existing policy”. Some anti-referendum Labour MPs were delighted, Gloria De Piero tweeting: “Labour’s manifesto for the European parliament will not contain a pledge to hold a second Brexit referendum.
@PaulBrandITV @OwenSmith_MP tells me Labour has more to lose from being vague on Brexit than it has to gain from "pandering to Brexit." He argues that polling shows Remainers deserting the party, and he wishes "the leadership recognised the risk to our vote."
@OwenSmith_MP tells me Labour has more to lose from being vague on Brexit than it has to gain from "pandering to Brexit." He argues that polling shows Remainers deserting the party, and he wishes "the leadership recognised the risk to our vote."
@LBC Labour MP and Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner joins Iain Dale to take your calls.
Labour MP and Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner joins Iain Dale to take your calls.
Clark backs British Steel with £100m rescue funding
Greg Clark, the business secretary, has agreed to provide £100m in funding to the UK’s second-biggest steel producer after it requested emergency support to make a repayment to an EU-run environment scheme. Sky News has learnt that Mr Clark will announce on Wednesday that the government has stepped in to meet a financial shortfall faced by British Steel ahead of a deadline for the company to pay its latest carbon emissions bill. Sources said that the government funding had been used to acquire carbon credits on behalf of British Steel before surrendering them to regulators, with the company signing a deal with Mr Clark's department to repay the money on commercial terms over the coming months.
This craven Cabinet must move now to stop the Brexit betrayal, or they will never be forgiven
What exactly is the point of this Cabinet? Getting into bed with a Marxist catastrophist like Jeremy Corbyn? Presiding over the abandonment of Ministerial collective responsibility? Repudiating solemn manifesto pledges? Ignoring the defeat – thrice – of your flagship political project in the Commons? Reducing Her Majesty’s Government – a Conservative Government no less – into a virtue signalling Blair tribute act bereft of ideas, principles or basic competence?
UKIP candidate exposed as ex-football hooligan jailed over violent clash
A UKIP candidate standing in this week’s local elections is a convicted football hooligan. Paul Martin got six months’ jail for affray and an eight-year match ban over his role in a 2008 clash between 100 Coventry and Leicester fans ahead of a game. Mr Martin is standing for UKIP in Snibston South to join North West Leicestershire District Council and said he admitted his conviction to the party. He said: “I made one mistake in my life. I went through the process and was approved.” "I declared that on my application to be a potential UKIP candidate and I passed, so what can I do? "I made an error in my life, mate, one error. I hold my hand up. What do you want me to say, that I regret what happened... wrong place wrong time."
UKIP leader Gerard Batten on candidate's rape comments
UKIP's leader says a candidate who tweeted that he "wouldn't even rape" a female Labour MP is suing people who "misrepresented him in the media". Gerard Batten said Carl Benjamin, who is standing for the party in the South West England seat in the European elections, was not making a joke about rape, but was making "a remark of non-intent" aimed at Jess Phillips. Her Labour colleague Lisa Nandy criticised Mr Batten's defence of the "disgraceful" comments, when they were part of the panel on Politics Live.
The tragedy of Brexit is we will still be divided afterwards
Amidst the anger, frustration, and division of Brexit a different and more profound emotion lurks. This is a moment of national sadness. This sadness comes from a national event (the referendum), designed to resolve a question that has instead revealed how fundamentally divided we are. It has revealed that as nation we have little if any common understanding of who we are, what expectations flow from such an understanding, and what binds us beyond having ended up on these islands.
@tnewtondunn Furthermore; the PM has not made any public comment on a national stage (speech, press conference or Commons) about anything now for 20 days. PMQs and Liaison Committee tomorrow will stop the run of silence just before it hits 3 weeks.
Furthermore; the PM has not made any public comment on a national stage (speech, press conference or Commons) about anything now for 20 days. PMQs and Liaison Committee tomorrow will stop the run of silence just before it hits 3 weeks.
@Channel4News Shadow Trade Minister Barry Gardiner: ‘We will respect the referendum result, we should leave the European Union’
Shadow Trade Minister Barry Gardiner: ‘We will respect the referendum result, we should leave the European Union’
PAYPAL MAN Why won't Farage Reveal Who is Funding his BREXIT PARTY?
Populist, anti-elitist, libertarian? Nigel Farage’s new party doesn’t have any ‘members’ and is secretive, authoritarian and looks like a one man dictatorship. So the people who have logged on to the Brexit party website and paid their £25 are currently ‘registered supporters’. As such the Brexit party is more akin to the Dennis the Menace fan club than an actual political entity; although sadly you don’t as yet get a badge and a sheet of free stickers. Ironic isn’t it that a man who has spent thirty years railing against the unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats at the EU should now be heading up the least democratic political party in Britain. But not unsurprising. Farage’s Brexit party goes from strength to strength. A remarkable achievement given that it still has no policies or members. “No members?” You say “but I thought they had tens of thousands of people signing up.” Well yes – and no. Nigel might be bragging but the Brexit party currently has no actual membership, and the reason for that is simple. Nigel doesn’t like members. The trouble with giving people membership is that it starts giving them ideas. They begin wanting to have a say in how things are run. They want to get involved and vote on policy and elect national executives and that way lies another Gerard Batten.
Revealed: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn endorsed ‘brilliant’ book with anti-Semitic tones
Jeremy Corbyn wrote the foreword to a deeply anti-Semitic book written by an author with a record of “vocal antisemitism” who argued that banks and the press were controlled by Jews. In 2011, four years before Mr Corbyn rapidly rose through Labour’s ranks, he endorsed a new edition of John A. Hobson’s 1902 book Imperialism: A Study, The Times reports. In his foreword, the Labour Leader said the work was a “great tome” and praised Mr Hobson’s “brilliant, and very controversial at the time,” analysis of the “pressures” behind western, and in particular British, imperialism at the turn of the 20th century. But in the book, considered deeply anti-Semitic, Hobson claimed Europe was controlled by a “peculiar race” - Jews - and blatantly acknowledged the anti-Semitic Rothschild conspiracy theory.
Watson stages 'polite' walkout over Labour's EU election manifesto
Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, has walked out of a shadow cabinet meeting after demanding to see the text of the party’s draft manifesto for the European parliamentary elections. The shadow cabinet met before Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) gathered to sign off the manifesto for the elections next month. Watson said he had asked whether the shadow cabinet would be shown a draft of the manifesto, but when none materialised, he “politely” walked out. The manifesto for the elections, which has been drafted by the party’s policy chief, Andrew Fisher, is expected to reiterate the policy announced in February.