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EU referendum live: Nigel Fararge to lead Thames flotilla in Brexit call EU referendum live: Nigel Farage to lead Thames flotilla in Brexit call
(35 minutes later)
11.53am BST
11:53
JP Morgan says it could cut 4,000 UK jobs if Brexit happens
Jamie Dimon, the JP Morgan chief executive, has been more explicit in his Brexit warnings, saying the banking giant could cut lots of jobs in the event of this happening. My colleague Sean Farrell has more:
The chief executive of JP Morgan has warned that the biggest US bank could cut as many as 4,000 UK jobs if Britain votes to leave the EU.
Speaking to employees in Bournemouth, Jamie Dimon said Brexit would be a terrible deal for the UK economy and jobs and that Britain could find itself in a trade war with the EU.
With the chancellor, George Osborne next to him, Dimon said JP Morgan would have to act quickly after a vote to leave because it would not be able to service its clients around Europe from the UK as it does now.
“I don’t know if it means 1,000 jobs, 2,000 jobs – it could be as many as 4,000. They will be jobs all round the UK... I don’t want you to worry about it but when you vote you should be thinking about something like that,” Dimon told employees.
JP Morgan employs about 19,000 people in the UK, with its main offices in Canary Wharf, Bournemouth and Glasgow. Dimon has hinted before that JP Morgan could quit or severely reduce its activities in the UK if there was a vote to leave the EU but he has not put a figure on potential job losses before.
11.48am BST
11:48
George Osborne has been in action, warning JP Morgan staff to “think carefully about the consequences of leaving the EU” before they vote. He was appearing at the investment bank’s centre in Bournemouth, Dorset, alongside JP Morgan’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon.
His words were largely intended for a wider audience, given pretty much all global financial services corporations are very strongly for Remain. I’ve not been sent Osborne’s speech, so I’ve borrowed some quotes from the BBC’s excellent politics live blog:
Weigh all these things up before you vote, but think carefully about the consequences of leaving the EU.... It is not all about numbers but people’s livelihoods and ability to support their families...
I love this country like all of you do, and the Britain that I love is an outward looking country that has probably done more to shape our world and influence our world, than any other country on our planet. And we’ve done that because we’ve engaged in the world, and never thought that we could pull up the drawbridge and retreat from our world.
Dimon was more explicit in his warnings about Brexit:
My observation of the facts is that a vote to Leave would be a terrible deal for the British economy. At a minimum, a Brexit will result in years of uncertainty and I believe that this uncertainty will hurt the economies of both Britain and the European Union.
11.23am BST
11:23
More flotilla news: my colleague Severin Carrell has the full story on Nigel Farage’s fishing boats on the Thames protest plan.
Related: Nigel Farage to lead pro-Brexit flotilla up Thames
11.19am BST11.19am BST
11:1911:19
IDS says PM has tried to "deceive the British public" on immigrationIDS says PM has tried to "deceive the British public" on immigration
In comments sent round just now by the Vote Leave campaign Iain Duncan Smith has accused David Cameron of “a clear attempt to deceive the British public” over immigration, something the former pensions secretary says has left him “astonished”.In comments sent round just now by the Vote Leave campaign Iain Duncan Smith has accused David Cameron of “a clear attempt to deceive the British public” over immigration, something the former pensions secretary says has left him “astonished”.
The specific complaint centres on Cameron’s appearance earlier on Good Morning Britain, when he argued of EU nationals, “if they don’t find a job they go home”, and that they must work four years to get “full access” to the welfare system.The specific complaint centres on Cameron’s appearance earlier on Good Morning Britain, when he argued of EU nationals, “if they don’t find a job they go home”, and that they must work four years to get “full access” to the welfare system.
Vote Leave says these are “two lies”, as under current rules EU nationals cannot be sent home and they can receive some benefits such as tax credits much earlier.Vote Leave says these are “two lies”, as under current rules EU nationals cannot be sent home and they can receive some benefits such as tax credits much earlier.
This might seem a bit pedantic. Cameron referred to “full access” to benefits, and could just as easily have been arguing that jobless EU nationals choose to go home, as otherwise they’re penniless.This might seem a bit pedantic. Cameron referred to “full access” to benefits, and could just as easily have been arguing that jobless EU nationals choose to go home, as otherwise they’re penniless.
But Duncan Smith’s comments are both very strong and hugely personal. It doesn’t bode well for party unity for even an ex-minister to accuse the leader of lying to the country for political gain. He said:But Duncan Smith’s comments are both very strong and hugely personal. It doesn’t bode well for party unity for even an ex-minister to accuse the leader of lying to the country for political gain. He said:
I’m astonished at these comments, which are deeply insincere, and a clear attempt to deceive the British public. The truth is that for as long as we are a member of the European Union we are powerless to control the number of people coming to this country.I’m astonished at these comments, which are deeply insincere, and a clear attempt to deceive the British public. The truth is that for as long as we are a member of the European Union we are powerless to control the number of people coming to this country.
Updated
at 11.25am BST
11.03am BST11.03am BST
11:0311:03
Miliband defends PM's #EU debate performance and sets out 'social justice case' for EU membership. https://t.co/z0iziJLMPSMiliband defends PM's #EU debate performance and sets out 'social justice case' for EU membership. https://t.co/z0iziJLMPS
David Miliband is campaigning for Remain with Alan Johnson later today. He’s spent the morning doing a few broadcast interviews, including one with BBC Breakfast (see the snippet above) in which he outlines the “distinctive, progressive, internationalist, social justice case” for remaining in the EU, one he says needs to be made.David Miliband is campaigning for Remain with Alan Johnson later today. He’s spent the morning doing a few broadcast interviews, including one with BBC Breakfast (see the snippet above) in which he outlines the “distinctive, progressive, internationalist, social justice case” for remaining in the EU, one he says needs to be made.
He also had a chat on LBC, saying immigration is not something to always be feared:He also had a chat on LBC, saying immigration is not something to always be feared:
I think it’s important to say, immigration isn’t a disease. Immigration is a reflection of the strengths of the country and a contributor to the country.I think it’s important to say, immigration isn’t a disease. Immigration is a reflection of the strengths of the country and a contributor to the country.
Immigration isn’t a disease and London is a great example of why immigration isn’t a disease. This is a city that has thrived because it has allowed people to come and make a contribution and I think we’ve got to get the balance right.Immigration isn’t a disease and London is a great example of why immigration isn’t a disease. This is a city that has thrived because it has allowed people to come and make a contribution and I think we’ve got to get the balance right.
10.35am BST10.35am BST
10:3510:35
I’ve been listening to what Nigel Farage had to say just now on LBC. The idea of a flotilla of boats coming up the Thames (see 9.37am) is to protest at EU fisheries policies, it seems. This is what he had to say to Nick Ferrari:I’ve been listening to what Nigel Farage had to say just now on LBC. The idea of a flotilla of boats coming up the Thames (see 9.37am) is to protest at EU fisheries policies, it seems. This is what he had to say to Nick Ferrari:
One thing I can promise you is you are about to hear a lot about the fishing industry. I will tell you now… that on 15 June I will be boarding a small trawler in Southend-on-Sea at 5am and we will catch the flood tide.One thing I can promise you is you are about to hear a lot about the fishing industry. I will tell you now… that on 15 June I will be boarding a small trawler in Southend-on-Sea at 5am and we will catch the flood tide.
There will be 60 boats in a flotilla coming up the Thames and we will arrive outside the Palace of Westminster at midday. It will be big, visual and dramatic, The demand will be clear: we want our waters back.There will be 60 boats in a flotilla coming up the Thames and we will arrive outside the Palace of Westminster at midday. It will be big, visual and dramatic, The demand will be clear: we want our waters back.
Farage said he had “mentioned” the idea to Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. I wouldn’t hold your breath for them to join him. He also jokes about his duties being to cook breakfast on the trawlers, and that he will have “the key to the ship’s bar”, which perhaps indicates it was a while since he was on a commerical shipping boat.Farage said he had “mentioned” the idea to Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. I wouldn’t hold your breath for them to join him. He also jokes about his duties being to cook breakfast on the trawlers, and that he will have “the key to the ship’s bar”, which perhaps indicates it was a while since he was on a commerical shipping boat.
Farage also said that he would like Britain to send back any migrants who arrive in the country via sea, whether or not they might have a genuine claim for asylum:Farage also said that he would like Britain to send back any migrants who arrive in the country via sea, whether or not they might have a genuine claim for asylum:
We must, must, must, we must do what the Aussies did a few years ago and say, anyone that comes via this route will not be allowed to stay. If they have a valid case for asylum they should have claimed asylum in the first safe country they got to.We must, must, must, we must do what the Aussies did a few years ago and say, anyone that comes via this route will not be allowed to stay. If they have a valid case for asylum they should have claimed asylum in the first safe country they got to.
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.42am BSTat 10.42am BST
9.56am BST9.56am BST
09:5609:56
My colleagues Lisa O’Carroll and Rachel Obordo have put together this fascinating series of chats with EU nationals around Britain who currently do jobs ranging from a lorry driver to neuropsychologist to a university researcher, and are wondering what the future might hold in the event of EU exit.My colleagues Lisa O’Carroll and Rachel Obordo have put together this fascinating series of chats with EU nationals around Britain who currently do jobs ranging from a lorry driver to neuropsychologist to a university researcher, and are wondering what the future might hold in the event of EU exit.
Here’s some quotes from Sebastian Kalwij, 50, a Dutch GP in London:Here’s some quotes from Sebastian Kalwij, 50, a Dutch GP in London:
When I came here first it was like the Eurovision. The hospital I worked in in Dartford was full of staff from all over Europe and it was a great atmosphere.When I came here first it was like the Eurovision. The hospital I worked in in Dartford was full of staff from all over Europe and it was a great atmosphere.
It doesn’t matter if you are Dutch, Irish or Romanian. But now there is a lot of uncertainty and I’m a bit miffed. I would seriously consider going back to Holland, where there is a shortage of doctors and I could easily get work. Spain or Portugal would also be an option. Canada has also been advertising for doctors.It doesn’t matter if you are Dutch, Irish or Romanian. But now there is a lot of uncertainty and I’m a bit miffed. I would seriously consider going back to Holland, where there is a shortage of doctors and I could easily get work. Spain or Portugal would also be an option. Canada has also been advertising for doctors.
Would I feel comfortable in a country that had racial overtones? I find Britain is very friendly and open, but I don’t like the anti-European sentiment.Would I feel comfortable in a country that had racial overtones? I find Britain is very friendly and open, but I don’t like the anti-European sentiment.
Note: Kalwij said the prospect of having to move country made him feel “a bit miffed”. This is someone who has truly integrated to British life.Note: Kalwij said the prospect of having to move country made him feel “a bit miffed”. This is someone who has truly integrated to British life.
Related: Meet Britain's EU workers: 'It would be difficult to replace us'Related: Meet Britain's EU workers: 'It would be difficult to replace us'
9.44am BST9.44am BST
09:4409:44
The Electoral Reform Society has commissioned a poll which shows big differences between younger and older voters over engagement with the EU referendum. It said 47% of 18-24 year olds will definitely vote, against 80% of those aged 65 or older. An earlier poll had the figures at 41% and 76%.The Electoral Reform Society has commissioned a poll which shows big differences between younger and older voters over engagement with the EU referendum. It said 47% of 18-24 year olds will definitely vote, against 80% of those aged 65 or older. An earlier poll had the figures at 41% and 76%.
Of the younger voters, just 16% said they felt well informed or very well informed, half the figure for the 65-plus group. Darren Hughes from the Electoral Reform Society said:Of the younger voters, just 16% said they felt well informed or very well informed, half the figure for the 65-plus group. Darren Hughes from the Electoral Reform Society said:
Young people simply haven’t been mobilised by either of the campaigns. The fact that interest hasn’t picked up since the end of March suggests that this problem is entrenching itself or even getting worse. And the huge 33 percentage point chasm between young and old when it comes to whether they will ‘definitely’ vote bodes badly for our democracy when it comes to ensuring we have as representative a vote as possible.Young people simply haven’t been mobilised by either of the campaigns. The fact that interest hasn’t picked up since the end of March suggests that this problem is entrenching itself or even getting worse. And the huge 33 percentage point chasm between young and old when it comes to whether they will ‘definitely’ vote bodes badly for our democracy when it comes to ensuring we have as representative a vote as possible.
The online poll of 1,638 people was carried out by BMG Research.The online poll of 1,638 people was carried out by BMG Research.
9.37am BST9.37am BST
09:3709:37
Farage to 'lead flotilla of boats' up Thames to call for BrexitFarage to 'lead flotilla of boats' up Thames to call for Brexit
I’d not spotted amid all the morning interviews that Nigel Farage was on LBC, but he seems to be continuing with his own fairly particular Brexit message.I’d not spotted amid all the morning interviews that Nigel Farage was on LBC, but he seems to be continuing with his own fairly particular Brexit message.
It can be easy to dismiss Farage, but his view does seem to resonate with a fair few people. I spent Tuesday on his bright purple battlebus in the Midlands. During a fairly long and chaotic walkabout of Birmingham’s Bull Ring market he got a lot of support and experienced only one (admittedly persistent) heckler. Fertile ground, maybe, given Ukip have three of the seven regional MEPs, but worth noting.It can be easy to dismiss Farage, but his view does seem to resonate with a fair few people. I spent Tuesday on his bright purple battlebus in the Midlands. During a fairly long and chaotic walkabout of Birmingham’s Bull Ring market he got a lot of support and experienced only one (admittedly persistent) heckler. Fertile ground, maybe, given Ukip have three of the seven regional MEPs, but worth noting.
Nigel Farage has told LBC he'll lead a flotilla of boats up the Thames to Westminster later this month to call for a Brexit.Nigel Farage has told LBC he'll lead a flotilla of boats up the Thames to Westminster later this month to call for a Brexit.
https://twitter.com/lbcbreaking/status/738648081030361088https://twitter.com/lbcbreaking/status/738648081030361088
Nigel Farage says people who illegally cross the English Channel should automatically have any asylum claim turned down.Nigel Farage says people who illegally cross the English Channel should automatically have any asylum claim turned down.
UpdatedUpdated
at 9.45am BSTat 9.45am BST
9.21am BST9.21am BST
09:2109:21
Today’s overseas politician trying to gently nudge Britain towards remaining in the EU is Radek Sikorski, who spent seven years as Poland’s foreign minister under Donald Tusk.Today’s overseas politician trying to gently nudge Britain towards remaining in the EU is Radek Sikorski, who spent seven years as Poland’s foreign minister under Donald Tusk.
Speaking to the Today programme, Sikorski defended the decision of himself and more prominent overseas figures like Barack Obama and Angela Merkel to discuss the issue:Speaking to the Today programme, Sikorski defended the decision of himself and more prominent overseas figures like Barack Obama and Angela Merkel to discuss the issue:
It’s feelings of friendliness towards Britain. Everybody respects the British people’s decision to go either way. But when the president of the United States tells you that you are more important as an ally as a member – and then important politicians on the continent say they same – whereas the president of Russia cheers you on your way towards Brexit, you are free to draw your own conclusions.It’s feelings of friendliness towards Britain. Everybody respects the British people’s decision to go either way. But when the president of the United States tells you that you are more important as an ally as a member – and then important politicians on the continent say they same – whereas the president of Russia cheers you on your way towards Brexit, you are free to draw your own conclusions.
The tone is respectful, the tone of concerned friendship. You are free to make a mistake but we would prefer you not to.The tone is respectful, the tone of concerned friendship. You are free to make a mistake but we would prefer you not to.
Sikorski arguably has more of a stake than some overseas politicians – while studying in the UK in the early 1980s he was given political asylum when martial law was declared in his home country. He later studied at Oxford and was even a member of the Bullingdon Club, and remains friends with Boris Johnson. He told Today:Sikorski arguably has more of a stake than some overseas politicians – while studying in the UK in the early 1980s he was given political asylum when martial law was declared in his home country. He later studied at Oxford and was even a member of the Bullingdon Club, and remains friends with Boris Johnson. He told Today:
I am very fond of Boris but I don’t agree with him on this one.I am very fond of Boris but I don’t agree with him on this one.
9.09am BST
09:09
I would bring you some Twitter-based political punditry views on David Cameron’s Good Morning Britain appearance, but everyone was up too late watching him being grilled on Sky News that there’s virtually none about. In fairness it wasn’t the most noteworthy of interviews.
David Cameron reveals he didn't get his wife a present for their 20th wedding anniversary. They just went out for dinner instead. Brave.
Sorry we missed each other this morning @David_Cameron - please come back before June 23.@GMB
8.38am BST
08:38
My colleague Damien Gayle was watching David Cameron on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, and has these quotes from the appearance. The prime minister spent a fair bit of the time playing down divisions over the issue:
Of course, it is a very vigorous debate and I’m not surprised by that for a moment, it raises very high passions. But I think we’re a grown up enough democracy that we can have this passionate debate where the public, the people will decide - not the politicians.
And then we accept the result, we accept the instructions of the public and we come back together again and form what I want to be radical reforming government with a growing economy and all that that can lead to. And I think that can happen.
He also insisted his own position remained tenable, whatever the result:
It’s my judgement and my manifesto that said we going to hold this renegotiation, we’re going to have a referendum and then we accept the instructions of the British people. I think it’s important people know the government is not impartial – we’re not saying on the one hand, on the other hand – we had a cabinet discussion and the government is saying very clearly we think it is in Britain’s interest, we’ll be safer, we’ll be stronger, crucially we’ll be better off as these figures out today showing that we could lose 400,000 jobs in the service sector. So the government’s got a very clear position.
As one example of what benefits remaining in the UK could bring, Cameron mentioned negotiating on behalf of Japanese car firms with factories in the UK:
Think of electric cars, lets take an example for the future, right? I want us to be a leader in electric cars. We should be round the table, in the European Union, writing the rules so they are good for Toyota, good for Nissan, good for Jaguar Land Rover.
If we’re not there the rules will be written, but they’ll be written by the Germans and the French so they’re good for Peugeot, good for Citroen, good for BMW and good for Mercedes.
Updated
at 8.40am BST
8.29am BST
08:29
Peter Walker
This is Peter Walker taking over from Claire. Hello everyone. I’m minding the shop for Andrew Sparrow today, but fear not, he’s back this evening, watching Michael Gove present the Leave case. I’m on @peterwalker99 for comments, complaints and thoughts.
Nick Clegg was back in action, going head to head on Radio 4’s Today programme with Theresa Villiers, the Tory MP who is Northern Ireland secretary and a leading pro-Brexit campaigner. In truth it was fairly unilluminating stuff, barring Clegg’s initial claim that Remain had now “pretty comprehensively won” the economic case, a quote which will endear him even more to the quitters.
Much of the chat was over immigration, with Clegg making the point that leaving the EU will not make much difference, in part due to the number of arrivals from non-EU nations, and due what he called to a “back door” of people who could arrive from Ireland.
Villiers argued that the UK nonetheless needed to “take back control” of immigration, saying:
There are many things about out immigration system that just can’t be changed. I don’t think that’s healthy.
Clegg meanwhile stands by a claim he will make in a speech later that leaving the EU would cause “mass economic hardship”. He explains:
I think it is inconceivable that you could quit the world’s largest marketplace of 500m people, of which you are a leading members, and get better terms by not being a member of it.
Updated
at 8.32am BST
8.16am BST
08:16
Cameron: leaving EU would be 'terrible way' to deal with migration
Rowena Mason
David Cameron, on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, has been repeating his insistence that he will not have to stand down if there is a vote to leave:
I think it’s perfectly possible to hold a referendum, have a result and get on with the job.
He said leaving the EU would be a “terrible way” to deal with the problem of reducing immigration and repeated his claim from last night that exiting the single market would wreck the economy.
The prime minister confirmed he was more than happy to meet Donald Trump during the campaign period. But he would not withdraw his condemnation of the Republican’s proposal for a ban on Muslims going to the US and claimed Trump had dropped this idea.
Cameron also revealed that he celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary a few days ago by going to an Italian restaurant – but did not exchange presents with his wife, Samantha.
Updated
at 9.43am BST
8.13am BST
08:13
Labour’s Chuka Umunna and Tory MP James Berry, both members of the home affairs select committee, have written in response to today’s committee report on the deportation of offenders.
Umunna tweeted a link to the article, on Politics Home, saying:
Brexiters are playing desperate games with our committee’s immigration report.
(As my colleague Alan Travis reports, the claim in the report that the government’s record on deporting foreign national criminals would lead the public “to question the point of Britain remaining a member of the EU” split the Commons home affairs committee down the middle, with a 4-4 deadlock broken by Keith Vaz’s casting vote.)
The Umunna-Berry article reads:
The truth is we are a secure country that is more secure as a member of the European Union. When a European national commits a crime, it is easier for us to deport them to their home country to face justice and prison if we are in the EU because of our membership of the European arrest warrant system and the European prisoner transfer agreement …
The system is not perfect and the government could be better. No one is denying that. But claims that our membership of the EU is a hindrance to the removal of foreign national offenders simply do not stack up.
8.03am BST
08:03
Former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who has been on LBC radio this morning to talk Remain, says he didn’t watch David Cameron’s Sky News appearance yesterday.
In surely unconnected comments, Clegg says he left government after last year’s general election feeling “pretty peed off with Whitehall” and says the experience has left him more “anti-establishment”.
He bets a whopping £50 with LBC host Nick Ferrari that Britain will vote to stay in the EU.
7.52am BST
07:52
Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson had a busy evening on Twitter after he criticised Labour supporters who hissed at BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg as she attempted to ask a question at Jeremy Corbyn’s speech in London yesterday.
I feel embarrassed that @bbclaurak was hissed in the course of doing her job today. It was rude and inappropriate.
Watson dealt with the predictably large volume of replies with pretty good humour:
@Sam_Lewis Oh yes I can see it now, the hissing revolution. I think you might be onto something there. Please write it all up in a pamphlet.
@edujdw You mean those hissers were just copiers? It's a theory no matter how implausible, I'll give you that.
@Kalista63 Sorry, I just had to rush to the mirror to practice hissing whilst smiling. Like rubbing your tummy and tapping your head.
7.37am BST
07:37
Trump to visit UK before referendum
Here’s US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggesting he might actually make it to the UK before referendum day – previous reports said he’d be at his Turnberry golf resort in south-west Scotland on 24 June, the day of the result:
On June 22- I will be going to Scotland to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated @TrumpTurnberry Resort, the worlds best.
Aberdeen will also get a visit:
After @TrumpTurnberry I will be visiting Aberdeen, the oil capital of Europe, to see my great club, @TrumpScotland.
As will Doonbeg in County Clare:
After @TrumpScotland, I will visit @TrumpDoonbeg in Ireland, the magnificent resort fronting on the Atlantic Ocean.
Then, on June 25th- back to the USA to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Updated
at 9.42am BST
7.20am BST
07:20
Keith Vaz, who chairs the committee of MPs that has today produced a report blaming Britain’s membership of the EU for the government’s failure to deport 13,000 foreign offenders, is speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme.
The “process of removing them should start almost immediately” upon leaving prison, Vaz says. Currently, he says, there are more than 5,700 foreign nationals living in the community post-sentence, amid uncertainty whether they will be deported or allowed to stay.
This issue has become
something of an Achilles heel for the Home Office … They need to get a grip.
Home secretary Theresa May and David Cameron have “no lack of passion” for deportations, Vaz says, but there is a “lack of action”.
Vaz says he is pro-Remain. But he says the first priority after the referendum should be for the government to tell Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, that there needs to be an EU directive compelling countries such as Poland to take back citizens convicted of criminal offences.
He points out that four Commonwealth countries – Jamaica, Pakistan, Nigeria and India – also make the top 10 list of foreign prisoners in the UK.
6.49am BST
06:49
Morning briefing
Claire Phipps
Good morning, at the end of the first week of our daily EU referendum live blogs.
A change in the usual line-up today: I’m bringing you the morning briefing and steering the live blog until Peter Walker takes the chair. Andrew Sparrow – recuperating from Thursday night’s live blog on David Cameron’s Sky News outing – will be back this evening to watch Michael Gove face questions on behalf of the Leave campaign.
Do come and chat in the comments below or find me on Twitter @Claire_Phipps.
The big picture
Last night’s Sky News appearance by the prime minister in support of staying in the EU will be picked apart this morning by those wondering: did he help? Did he hinder? Did he mean it?
Read the excellent round-up from my Westminster colleagues here, with the verdict of Guardian columnists here and John Crace’s sketch here. And I’ve picked out the choicest nuggets below:
What we learned
Cameron thinks voting for Brexit would be an act of “economic self-harm”:
I think if we’ve learnt anything over the last six years, if you don’t have a strong economy you can’t have the health service that you want, you can’t have the schools that you need, you can’t have the public services you want, and this would be an act of economic self-harm of the United Kingdom doing it to ourselves.
He still believes reducing net migration to the tens of thousands – it rose to 333,000 in 2015 – is “the right ambition”, but argued “it would be madness to try to do that by trashing our economy”:
When I made that ambition for Britain, that we should be seeing net migration come down to under 100,000, at that time the net migration between people leaving the UK to go and live and work in Europe and people coming from Europe to live and work here was broadly in balance … But we have obviously been living in quite extraordinary times when the British economy has been growing very strongly, we have created two million jobs in our country.
The EU drives Cameron “crazy” – but better the devil you know:
If you are saying to me, are there regulations in Europe that annoy you? Yes! Are there things about Europe that frustrate you? Yes! … Sometimes this organisation drives me crazy but do I sit there and think Britain would be better off if we left, are we quitters, do we think we quit the European Union, we quit the single market and somehow we would be better off? Absolutely not. I’ll tell you what it would be like, we would be outside the room. The European Union doesn’t stop existing just because we’ve left.
Calling the referendum was definitely a good idea:
I’m delighted we are holding this referendum. It was a promise I made; it’s a promise I’m proud to keep.
And so was sharing a platform with Sadiq Khan, despite previously accusing the London mayor of having links to extremists:
Now Sadiq and I disagree about many things … but on this issue of Europe we agree. We think London will be better off, the country will be better off if we stay in and so we buried our differences, put aside the arguments we’d been having and appeared on a platform. I don’t think that’s double standards.
The Remain campaign is not Project Fear:
I think there is a very positive case for staying in a reformed European Union – it’s about jobs, it’s about Britain’s strength and place in the world, it’s about keeping us safe – but I do think there are real risks from leaving and … I don’t accept it is scaremongering.
What we didn’t
Cameron resisted efforts by Sky News political editor Faisal Islam to say when he would meet his pledge to cut net migration to under 100,000:
Islam: You seriously think it can be fulfilled whilst we stay in the European Union? How can it be fulfilled?
Cameron: Because there have been years and there will be again where people from Britain choose to go and work overseas and …
Islam: Can you see it happening in any period whilst you are still prime minister, in the next four years?
Cameron: I’m not going to put a date on it.
And he didn’t commit to withdrawing the Treasury claim that each household would be £4,300 worse off out of the EU, which MPs on the Treasury committee called “misleading” and “deeply problematic”.
The key exchange
Quizzed by the studio audience, Cameron was criticised by recent graduate Soraya Bouazzaoui, who said she was a Remain voter but thought the “in” campaign had been “nothing but scaremongering”.
The prime minister began his “positive case for staying” but was interrupted by Bouazzaoui:
I know waffling when I see it, OK? I’m sorry, but you have not answered my question.
The zinger
Courtesy of Sky News’ Faisal Islam, on the subject of scaremongering:
But it doesn’t stop at the economy does it? What comes first, world war three or the global Brexit recession?
The Leave campaign verdict
Iain Duncan Smith didn’t think much of his party leader’s performance:
They’ve thrown the kitchen sink at it, probably the kitchen, and it was probably made in Germany. They would be 20 points ahead if this was working, but instead they hear tonight that the public think they are scaremongering.
You should also know:
There are still over 13,000 foreign-national offenders in the country, who could fill towns the size of Louth in Lincolnshire, Beccles in Suffolk or Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, and almost 6,000 of these are living within communities.
Poll position
A happy day for those who love to hear what pollsters and journalists – rather than the people they’re surveying – think. Who doesn’t love an expert view from a member of the media, right?
The Political Studies Association has rather wittily faced this head-on in its new study, released today, including among a “selection of comments from our experts” the expectation-dampening verdict that: “This study is going to be comprised of completely arbitrary figures, and is probably worthless.”
Anyway, here’s what it says – with only a fraction of journalists and academics, and zero pollsters predicting a win for Leave:
Diary
Read these
Christopher Hope in the Telegraph has been hanging out with Farage at Headingley cricket ground:
He produces his EU British passport, and waves it. A few Yorkshire cricket club members crane their necks to see what the fuss is about.
‘We are going to have a mass bonfire of these things – flames licking high into the air,’ he says. ‘We will all stand around, drinking beer, playing music – it will be wonderful.’
Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, writing in the Times with former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer and former Greek PM George Papandreou, says the US needs to weigh in on the EU’s most pressing issue – refugees:
For the past year, Europe has been divided and paralysed by the humanitarian crisis on its shores. Confidence in the EU has fallen, while the appeal of populism has grown.
At a time when the continent faces a host of serious challenges — including Russia’s aggressive policies in the east, a debt crisis and the prospect of Brexit — Europe cannot continue on this path without jeopardising its future. It is time for the EU to show the world it can act, compassionately but decisively, to bring this crisis under control. And it is time for the United States to step up and assist.
And John Harris in the Guardian says we are “witnessing the tragic decline of David Cameron”:
If the UK votes to leave the EU, Cameron is obviously toast; if remain wins, for the remainder of his time he’ll be serially tormented by many of his MPs yelling about betrayal, and making the most of the Tories’ small majority.
Baffling claim of the day
Michael Gove has told Sky News ahead of his appearance this evening that he will be wearing a tie, although he doesn’t expect it to be of much help to him:
Most of my ties are very unlucky.
Celebrity endorsement of the day
More of a non-endorsement, really, from the Dalai Lama, who has distanced himself from a Leave.EU poster that suggested he backed Brexit.
The Dalai Lama favours a more balanced approach to migration. Let's reclaim democratic control on June 23rd! pic.twitter.com/S7Ws8bnoJa
Tenzin Taklha, secretary to the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, said:
We are not aware of any campaign using His Holiness’ image in regard to the issue of the UK leaving the European Union and would certainly not have given permission.
The day in a tweet
As good a way as any to decide this thing:
Let's try a totally unscientific Twitter poll... Did David Cameron have a good night or a bad night? #InOrOut #EUref
If today were a European delicacy ...
It would be a (Belgian) waffle. Or for Brexiteers, a Birds Eye potato waffle, made from British spuds.
And another thing
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