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Version 6 Version 7
EU referendum live: poll gives six-point lead for Brexit EU referendum live: poll gives six-point lead for Brexit
(35 minutes later)
11.19am BST
11:19
Corbyn says local authorities should be able to run local energy companies.
Many of you from this part of South Yorkshire will remember that miners used to get free coal. In Denmark, Portugal and Germany today communities are setting up energy companies which sell electricity back to them at discounted rates. But ridiculously, it’s illegal to do that here.
We need to learn from the best in Europe.
11.18am BST
11:18
Corbyn turns to immigration, and he says he challenged David Cameron in the Commons yesterday to explain why he was not taking action to stop firms advertising jobs abroad but not in the UK.
And if we want to stop insecurity at work and the exploitation of zero hours contracts that are being used to drive down pay and conditions, why don’t we do what other European countries have done and simply ban them?
Zero hours contracts are not allowed in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Spain. It seems we’re the odd one out. Our politicians now in power are choosing not to tackle exploitation, but we will.
11.16am BST
11:16
Corbyn condemns the Tory record on tax avoidance and excessive pay.
Does anyone here own an offshore trust? Do any of your family or friends own an offshore trust? So who was David Cameron standing up for when he wrote to the EU in November 2013 opposing proposals transparency into who owns these shady offshore trusts?
From cuts to disability benefits and cuts tax credits, to tax breaks for the super-rich and corporations. We have a government making the wrong choices and sticking up for the wrong people.
Or take another example, a couple of years ago, the EU also came forward with a proposal to restrict bankers’ bonuses and what did George Osborne do? Again he rushed to Brussels within an army of taxpayer-funded lawyers to oppose it and he lost.
11.15am BST
11:15
Corbyn attacks the Tory Brexiteers, saying they have made bogus spending promises and that they are not to be trusted on the NHS.
He criticises the changes introduced by the Tories in the 1980s and early 1990s.
It was those same governments of the 1980s and early 90s that deregulated the labour market so that zero hours contracts could flourish and the share of wealth going to workers fell off a cliff. It is unscrupulous employers and politicians who have allowed temporary contracts, agency and enforced part-time working, and bogus self-employment to mushroom. So blame the politicians who opened the door to rampant job insecurity.
11.13am BST
11:13
Corbyn is speaking at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield.
He says he wants to try to restore some faith in politics.
Not many people are grateful for the work politicians do. I don’t have any difficulty understanding why, the political class has let our country down in so many ways, but today I want to try and restore a bit of faith in politics, and set out how politics done in a different way, can improve our lives and our communities.
Politicians are failing to address the problems facing modern workers, he says.
The insecurity of work the lack of good well-paid jobs, the high cost of housing, whether to rent or to buy, how we adjust to, and pay for, an ageing society, the failure to ensure decent economic growth in all parts of the country and in which we all share.
That is the failure of politicians, not of the EU or of EU migrants for that matter.
Too many voices in this debate are only playing that old trick the blame game. And when politicians play the blame game, it’s usually because they have nothing serious to offer themselves.
11.10am BST
11:10
Jeremy Corbyn's EU speech
Jeremy Corbyn is delivering his EU speech now. There is a live feed at the top of this blog.
11.06am BST
11:06
Poll suggests more people think Brexit will make them better off than worse off after 5 years
Here are some more findings from the Ipsos MORI phone poll reported in the Evening Standard.
The underlying findings are probably even more worrying for Remain than the headline numbers. That is because they show that Remain’s key message - that leaving the EU would be bad for the economy - is failing to make an impact, because people don’t believe they will be worse off.
The poll also shows that, amazingly, people are more likely to believe the Vote Leave claim that EU membership costs £350m than to disbelieve it - even though it is had been comprehensively dismissed as misleading at best, or outright dishonest at worst, by just about every economic authority there is. This finding alone is devastating for the factchecking industry. They must be wondering now what’s the point.
Updated
at 11.10am BST
10.55am BST
10:55
McDonnell says the problems facing the world are international ones that require international solutions.
The live feed has now gone down, but I will post some more from the speech when I get some words.
10.48am BST
10:48
McDonnell says the Leave campaign have taken the debate into the political gutter.
He says some on the Leave side, including Boris Johnson, have decided where they stand on the EU “purely on the basis of their future ambitions”.
The Tory infighting has squeezed out the Labour voice in the campaign, he says.
But he says it is now clear that the Labour family has come together and that it is united in campaigning for Remain.
And it is important to stress that it would be a Tory Brexit, he says. A Tory government would use it as an opportunity to cut rights.
10.45am BST
10:45
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, is speaking now at the Labour rally.
He says he and Gordon Brown last stood on a platform together in 2007, when he wanted to challenge Brown for the Labour leadership.
This week is critical, McDonnell says.
There are 10 or 15% of people who have not made their minds up. And there is another 10/15% who are not sure. So there is “all to play for”, he says.
He says the debate has not matched the importance of what is at stake.
10.37am BST10.37am BST
10:3710:37
Sir Richard Leese, the Labour leader of Manchester city council, is speaking now at the Labour event.Sir Richard Leese, the Labour leader of Manchester city council, is speaking now at the Labour event.
He says the EU has contributed to a new transport scheme in the city.He says the EU has contributed to a new transport scheme in the city.
There has been a revival in the great cities in Britain, he says. He says EU funding has helped to enable this renovation to happen.There has been a revival in the great cities in Britain, he says. He says EU funding has helped to enable this renovation to happen.
10.34am BST10.34am BST
10:3410:34
Brown says the EU has helped to guarantee peace in Europe.Brown says the EU has helped to guarantee peace in Europe.
He talks about the way the EU cooperated when Eastern Europe fell. And think about what more the EU could achieve do deal with the problems facing the world, like hunger and poverty, if it cooperated further, he says in his peroration.He talks about the way the EU cooperated when Eastern Europe fell. And think about what more the EU could achieve do deal with the problems facing the world, like hunger and poverty, if it cooperated further, he says in his peroration.
It was a powerful end to a speech which mostly was a repeat of one that Brown has already made several times over recent weeks on the campaign trail. I will post some quotes soon.It was a powerful end to a speech which mostly was a repeat of one that Brown has already made several times over recent weeks on the campaign trail. I will post some quotes soon.
10.28am BST10.28am BST
10:2810:28
Brown says all his political career he has campaigned for jobs. And there is no route to full employment for the UK that does not involve EU membership, he says.Brown says all his political career he has campaigned for jobs. And there is no route to full employment for the UK that does not involve EU membership, he says.
10.22am BST10.22am BST
10:2210:22
Gordon Brown and John McDonnell speak at Labour In rallyGordon Brown and John McDonnell speak at Labour In rally
Gordon Brown, the Labour former prime minister, and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, are speaking at a Labour In for Britain rally in Manchester now.Gordon Brown, the Labour former prime minister, and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, are speaking at a Labour In for Britain rally in Manchester now.
They are on opposite wings of the party, and McDonnell tried to challenge Brown for the leadership in 2007, although he could not get enough nominations to force a contest. But they are both speaking in favour of Remain.They are on opposite wings of the party, and McDonnell tried to challenge Brown for the leadership in 2007, although he could not get enough nominations to force a contest. But they are both speaking in favour of Remain.
Brown is speaking now.Brown is speaking now.
He says Labour has been saying for years the NHS is under-funded. Now Tories are saying that. And Labour has been saying for years you cannot trust the Tories on the NHS. Now even Tories are saying that.He says Labour has been saying for years the NHS is under-funded. Now Tories are saying that. And Labour has been saying for years you cannot trust the Tories on the NHS. Now even Tories are saying that.
10.04am BST10.04am BST
10:0410:04
Ipsos MORI poll gives Leave a 6-point leadIpsos MORI poll gives Leave a 6-point lead
A new Ipsos MORI poll for the Evening Standard gives Leave a six-point lead. Here’s an extract from the story.A new Ipsos MORI poll for the Evening Standard gives Leave a six-point lead. Here’s an extract from the story.
In a dramatic turnaround since May, some 53 per cent now want to leave and 47 per cent want to stay, excluding don’t knows.In a dramatic turnaround since May, some 53 per cent now want to leave and 47 per cent want to stay, excluding don’t knows.
It is the first time since David Cameron pledged the referendum in January 2013 that Vote Leave have come out ahead in the respected monthly Ipsos MORI telephone survey, which is exclusive to the Evening Standard.It is the first time since David Cameron pledged the referendum in January 2013 that Vote Leave have come out ahead in the respected monthly Ipsos MORI telephone survey, which is exclusive to the Evening Standard.
9.59am BST9.59am BST
09:5909:59
And the Dutch seem to be keen on the UK staying too, if this is anything go to by.And the Dutch seem to be keen on the UK staying too, if this is anything go to by.
Have a read of this and tell me you aren't touched. This appeared in a Dutch newspaper today. A great nation. #EURef pic.twitter.com/xWIy7i1C1WHave a read of this and tell me you aren't touched. This appeared in a Dutch newspaper today. A great nation. #EURef pic.twitter.com/xWIy7i1C1W
9.56am BST9.56am BST
09:5609:56
Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has taken to Twitter this morning to say he wants the UK to stay in the EU.Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has taken to Twitter this morning to say he wants the UK to stay in the EU.
El #Brexit sería un paso atrás en el proceso europeo. Deseamos que Reino Unido continúe en Europa y sigamos reforzando la UE #RajoyenRNEEl #Brexit sería un paso atrás en el proceso europeo. Deseamos que Reino Unido continúe en Europa y sigamos reforzando la UE #RajoyenRNE
According to Google, this translates into English as:According to Google, this translates into English as:
The #Brexit would be a step backwards in the European process. We want UK continue in Europe and continue strengthening the EU #RajoyenRNEThe #Brexit would be a step backwards in the European process. We want UK continue in Europe and continue strengthening the EU #RajoyenRNE
9.52am BST9.52am BST
09:5209:52
Rowena MasonRowena Mason
Boris Johnson was up early this morning to visit a fish processing unit in Lowestoft in Suffolk, where he once again denied having ambitions to be prime minister.Boris Johnson was up early this morning to visit a fish processing unit in Lowestoft in Suffolk, where he once again denied having ambitions to be prime minister.
Flanked by Vote Leave supporters, he held up a salmon and declared the EU was “pinching our fish”.Flanked by Vote Leave supporters, he held up a salmon and declared the EU was “pinching our fish”.
Urged by one worker, John Knights, to become prime minister, he replied: “No that’s not going to happen.”Urged by one worker, John Knights, to become prime minister, he replied: “No that’s not going to happen.”
Speaking outside the factory, George Eustice, the fishing minister and Vote Leave supporter, said he wanted to revert to the international rules that mean the UK would control fishing rights for 200 miles around the coastline.Speaking outside the factory, George Eustice, the fishing minister and Vote Leave supporter, said he wanted to revert to the international rules that mean the UK would control fishing rights for 200 miles around the coastline.
But he acknowledged a new deal would have to be struck to allow reciprocal arrangements with other countries, rather than stopping foreign boats coming into UK waters.But he acknowledged a new deal would have to be struck to allow reciprocal arrangements with other countries, rather than stopping foreign boats coming into UK waters.
“I would see the reestablishment of international law as the starting point for a renegotiation of both access rights and quota allocations,” Eustice said.“I would see the reestablishment of international law as the starting point for a renegotiation of both access rights and quota allocations,” Eustice said.
Both he and Johnson claimed leaving the EU would help rejuvenate coastal towns like Lowestoft, while admitting it would not happen overnight.Both he and Johnson claimed leaving the EU would help rejuvenate coastal towns like Lowestoft, while admitting it would not happen overnight.
Christine Blowers, 63, a Vote Leave activist who had turned out at 7am to greet Johnson, said she would advise her grandchildren to move to Australia if the UK decides to remain.Christine Blowers, 63, a Vote Leave activist who had turned out at 7am to greet Johnson, said she would advise her grandchildren to move to Australia if the UK decides to remain.
“We want another election. To threaten elderly people! We could be threatened but we are not because we’ve lost everything. What else can we lose? We’ve lost livelihoods and our industry. Boris Johnson or Gove, we’re not bothered which. But someone who cares enough to rebuild us,” she said.“We want another election. To threaten elderly people! We could be threatened but we are not because we’ve lost everything. What else can we lose? We’ve lost livelihoods and our industry. Boris Johnson or Gove, we’re not bothered which. But someone who cares enough to rebuild us,” she said.
9.40am BST9.40am BST
09:4009:40
Boris Johnson was up early this morning for a Vote Leave visit to a fish processing factory in Lowestoft.Boris Johnson was up early this morning for a Vote Leave visit to a fish processing factory in Lowestoft.
About a dozen Vote Leave supporters have turned out to cheer Boris arrival at a fish processing factory - at 7.20am pic.twitter.com/qit8vbuJ6eAbout a dozen Vote Leave supporters have turned out to cheer Boris arrival at a fish processing factory - at 7.20am pic.twitter.com/qit8vbuJ6e
I have not seen any words yet from the visit, but the photographs are a treat. If this was a contest about posing for silly pictures, Leave would obviously win by a mile. Ruth Davidson is now slouch in this field, but Johnson seems determined to do better.I have not seen any words yet from the visit, but the photographs are a treat. If this was a contest about posing for silly pictures, Leave would obviously win by a mile. Ruth Davidson is now slouch in this field, but Johnson seems determined to do better.
UpdatedUpdated
at 9.44am BSTat 9.44am BST
9.31am BST
09:31
Alistair Darling, the Labour former chancellor, has accused the Tory MP Bernard Jenkin of trying to muzzle the Bank of England. Responding to the BBC’s story about Jenkin’s letter to the Bank’s governor, Mark Carney (see 9.02am), Darling said in a statement issued by Britain Stronger in Europe:
This is a blatant attempt to muzzle a respected independent voice.
The Bank of England is independent, the governor is independent and he has a duty to say what he thinks.
It is very clear the Leave campaign doesn’t want people to hear what the Bank has to say on the most critical issue facing our generation because they don’t like its conclusions.
9.18am BST
09:18
Here’s a Britain Stronger in Europe spokesman responding to the Telegraph article by Nigel Lawson, Norman Lamont, Michael Howard and Iain Duncan Smith accusing the Treasury and the Bank of England of a “woeful failure” to offer a fair analysis of what might happen in the event of Brexit.
(The online article has just got Howard and Duncan Smith’s bylines on it, but in the paper all four men are credited with authorship.)
A Britain Stronger in Europe spokesman said:
This is yet more fantasy economics from the Leave campaign. The reason they don’t want to listen to economic experts is because they are all agreed that leaving the EU would wreck our economy and hammer family finances.
9.02am BST
09:02
Bank of England governor hits back after Tory MP tries to silence him over Brexit dangers
Andrew Sparrow
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire.
The BBC’s Kamal Ahmed has a good story this morning, about a robust exchange of letters between Bernard Jenkin, the pro-Brexit Tory MP and chair of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee, and Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England.
Jenkin wrote to Carney effectively trying to silence him during the purdah period in the run-up to the referendum, when civil servants are expected to avoid getting involved. Jenkin said:
You are prohibited from making any public comment, or doing anything which could be construed as taking part in the referendum debate.
I have taken legal advice from Speakers’ counsel . . . [and] wanted to take the opportunity to stress the importance of this matter.
I very much hope you will avoid doing anything which could suggest you or the Bank have disregarded parliament’s wishes.
According to Ahmed, the Bank saw the letter as a “threat” and Carney wrote a robust reply. He said that he had not expressed his personal views on the referendum but that the Bank had a duty to present its “evidence-based judgments” to the public. Carney said:
All of the public comments that I, or other Bank officials, have made regarding issues related to the referendum have been limited to factors that affect the Bank’s statutory responsibilities and have been entirely consistent with our remits.
Carney also said the Bank was not covered by purdah rules, but that he had voluntarily agreed to be bound by them.
Pro-Brexit MPs are angry with Carney because he has repeatedly highlighted the Bank’s view that leaving the EU could harm the economy, not least in an interview with Andrew Marr last month (pdf).
8.37am BST
08:37
Cameron visits Gibraltar
It looks as if David Cameron is off to Gibraltar today to make the case for the EU there.
Ashley Fox, the Conservative MEP for south-west England and Gibraltar, says:
In #Gibraltar today with our Prime Minister @David_Cameron and Chief Minister @FabianPicardo . #StrongerIn
Spanish newspaper El Pais says it will be the first visit by a British prime minister since 1968:
Primera visita de un jefe de Gobierno británico al Peñón desde 1968. Cameron defiende en Gibraltar seguir en la UE https://t.co/9PPtvHEhKl
8.26am BST
08:26
Former Conservative party leader Lord (Michael) Howard has been on Sky News, continuing the theme of the letter he, Iain Duncan Smith and Lords Lamont and Lawson have in the Telegraph this morning criticising what they call “a woeful failure on the part of the Bank of England, the Treasury, and other official sources to present a fair and balanced analysis” in the referendum campaign.
Howard told Sky News:
I think it’s a great pity, frankly, that the government have tried to drag the Bank of England into this debate.
It would have been much better if the Bank of England – which after all is going to have to work with a situation whatever it is after the vote – had stood aloof from the debate and remained completely impartial.
But he said he still backed David Cameron as prime minister, and gave George Osborne some tepid support:
I haven’t lost all my admiration for him.
8.18am BST
08:18
If that wasn’t enough Question Time for you, by the way, the regular programme is on this evening – regular in that it’s a panel, rather than a one-on-one with Dimbleby, but not regular in that there will likely be only one theme: the football.
Ha, no: the referendum.
Expect education secretary Nicky Morgan, Labour In lead Alan Johnson and boat-botherer Bob Geldof for remain; economist Ruth Lea, former Labour MP Tom Harris and prolific tweeter Louise Mensch for leave.
Question Time will be back tomorrow night, at 10:50 pm. We'll have a full panel debate in York #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/UVX9NKk0IR
8.06am BST
08:06
Michael Gove, in his BBC Question Time interview last night, pointed the finger at the Guardian, which he said had “tried to put words in [the] mouth” of his father, Ernest Gove.
Gove Snr had earlier told the Guardian’s Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, that he had sold the family’s fish processing firm in Aberdeen – contradicting claims from his politician son that European regulation had forced the company to close:
I saw my father lose his job, I saw his business go to the wall, I saw 24 people who he employed also lose their jobs.
Ernest Gove told the Guardian:
It wasn’t any hardship or things like that. I just decided to call it a day and sold up my business and went on to work with someone else.
Michael Gove insisted yesterday:
My dad was rung up by a reporter from the Guardian who tried to put words into his mouth but my dad has been clear, he was clear to the BBC on Sunday night, he was clear to me when I was a boy, that the business that he invested so much care and time in had to close as a result of the common fisheries policy.
You can read the transcript of the interview with Ernest Gove here.
Updated
at 8.12am BST
7.41am BST
07:41
The prime minister is unimpressed with the latest intervention by two of his predecessors as Tory party leader.
Lord Howard and Iain Duncan Smith, along with former chancellors Lord Lamont and Lord Lawson, said in a letter to the Telegraph:
There has been startling dishonesty in the economic debate, with a woeful failure on the part of the Bank of England, the Treasury, and other official sources to present a fair and balanced analysis.
They have been peddling phoney forecasts and scare stories to back up the attempts of David Cameron and George Osborne to frighten the electorate into voting Remain.
Cameron has hit back this morning:
1/2. It's deeply concerning that the Leave campaign is criticising the independent Bank of England.
2/2. We should listen to experts when they warn us of the dangers to our economy of leaving the European Union.
7.30am BST
07:30
No real surprises here, but we have another handful of press declaring whether they’re for In or Out.
The Spectator is for Brexit: “Out and into the world.”
The New Statesman says remain, as does the Voice, which says a vote to stay in the EU “is a decision to protect the rights of black workers, challenge discrimination and stop families being torn apart”.
And the Financial Times is also for In.
Its editor Lionel Barber told the Today programme:
There will be a political crisis in this country if we vote no – I can’t see David Cameron surviving.
There will be a shock to the economy … but I think people are underestimating the severity of the shock.
6.59am BST
06:59
Morning briefing
Claire Phipps
With just one week to go until voters cast their crosses to stay or go, our daily EU referendum live blog is here to get your morning started.
I’m putting together the morning briefing to set you up for the day ahead and steering the live blog until Andrew Sparrow takes his seat. Do come and chat in the comments below or find me on Twitter @Claire_Phipps.
The big picture
How to describe Wednesday, a day when Nigel Farage and Bob Geldof staged a naval battle on the Thames? My colleague Robert Booth was there and sums up the spectacle neatly:
Before it was over, Farage’s flotilla of angry trawlermen campaigning for leave had drenched Geldof’s boat with hoses and angrily boarded it midstream to the dismay of the river authorities. Geldof’s boat almost shredded the eardrums of those on Farage’s vessel with a high decibel blast of 60s pop music; Geldof called Farage “a fraud” and flicked him the V sign.
The flotilla farrago also had the side-effect of sinking George Osborne’s sounding of the alarm over what he said would be a £30bn black hole in the UK’s public finances post-Brexit. That and the flurry of angry Tory MPs who said they would refuse to back a “punishment” budget that the chancellor threatened could bump up income tax rates and slash spending on schools and hospitals.
In a letter to the Telegraph this morning, former party leaders Lord Howard and Iain Duncan Smith, and former chancellors Lord Lawson and Lord Lamont lambast what they call the “startling dishonesty”, “phoney forecasts” and “ludicrous scaremongering” of remain campaigners on the economy. (It doesn’t mention that £350m figure, mind.)
A separate letter signed by 65 MPs, including six former cabinet ministers – Duncan Smith again, Liam Fox, Owen Paterson, David Jones, John Redwood and Cheryl Gillan – warns:
If the chancellor is serious, then we cannot possibly allow this to go ahead. It would be unnecessary, wrong and a rejection of the platform on which we all stood. If he were to proceed with these proposals, the chancellor’s position would become untenable.
Lead Brexiteer Michael Gove said he wouldn’t sign the letter – but only because he believed such a budget would never happen. In his BBC Question Time interview last night, he told David Dimbleby:
There is no need for an emergency budget. The truth is, if we vote to leave we will be in an economically stronger position.
(For more on Gove on BBCQT, see the Guardian columnists’ verdicts here and Andrew Sparrow’s at-a-glance summary here.)
Some Tories remain with remain, however, and today the home secretary Theresa May – up till now a quiet figure in the campaign – along with cabinet colleagues Nicky Morgan, Liz Truss, Amber Rudd and Justine Greening will argue that female voters can “be the decisive voice in this referendum”. It’s not about so-called women’s issues, though, which – according to the Telegraph – Morgan, for one, has “never believed in”:
We are just as concerned as men about our economy, defence capability and the influence we wield as a nation on the global stage.
Much of the action today leaves London behind – I know! It does happen sometimes – and heads north, where Gordon Brown is speaking in Manchester; and then even further north, where rival rallies are taking place in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Brown, alongside shadow chancellor John McDonnell and former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, will say that the economies of the UK’s 10 biggest cities outside the capital – Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield – are at risk if Britain opts to leave the UK:
European money is necessary for renovation, renewal and regeneration – and right across the north, Scotland and Wales it is still vitally needed now.
And Kinnock will resurrect one of his most notable riffs, albeit in rather less catchy form:
I warn you not to be on low or middle incomes as the disruption brought by Brexit pushes up interest rates and prices, slashes benefits, and causes slump. I warn you not to expect work, as uncertainty causes investment to move to the single market which we would be leaving.
You should also know:
Poll position
A fresh BMG Research poll, commissioned by the Electoral Reform Society, finds only 62% of voters say they will definitely cast a ballot next week. There’s a chasm between wealthier voters (67% say they’ll certainly vote) and poorer ones (just 55%).
It also found that 22% of voters felt “well” or “very well” informed about the referendum. Would it cheer you up if I told you that’s a rise of six percentage points since the same question was polled in February?
The chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, Katie Ghose, said:
These findings are deeply concerning, and show there is a real risk of a low turnout and a demographic divide when voters go to the ballot box …
A poor turnout alongside a close result poses the risk that people will view the decision as inconclusive, and we could see calls for further referendums or questioning of the validity of the result from either side. The last thing anyone wants to see is a contested and challenged outcome.
New poll idea: how many more months of this would you tolerate?
Diary
Read these
How did the referendum campaign go so wrong for Labour, asks George Eaton in the New Statesman:
Inside Labour, the blame is already being liberally distributed. Some identify Corbyn as the chief culprit. Recent polling showed that nearly half of the party’s voters were uncertain of its position on the EU. This, MPs suggest, owes much to the Labour leader’s limited enthusiasm for the cause … Yet there is no truth in the claim that the lifelong Eurosceptic is a secret Brexiter. “I’ve had private conversations with him. He is convinced that voting Remain is the right thing to do,” a shadow cabinet minister told me …
But Corbyn is not the only senior figure blamed for the drift towards Brexit. Alan Johnson, the head of the Labour In campaign, is accused of ‘low energy’ performances. Others cite the media’s fixation with ‘blue-on-blue’ Conservative clashes. One senior MP suggested that the BBC could be ‘in breach of its legal duties’ by ‘focusing on personalities, not issues’.
Jenni Russell in the Times says hard-won freedoms are at stake:
We don’t realise the fragility of our liberal societies and the need to protect them. The European project has been a conscious effort to spread its core values, from democracy to human rights. It has worked; central European and Baltic states could only join once they had adopted them. Walking away from Europe now is akin to storming out of the house you share with your exasperating, difficult relatives …
The cavalier foolishness with which Leavers think they can rip Britain out of Europe and yet trust that everything else they value — trade, intelligence sharing, stability, goodwill — will stay the same amazes me. Privately the Europeans, led by Germany, are explicit that if we go Europe will close ranks against us. They must. They cannot afford to prioritise selling us BMWs above the survival of the union. They have to make clear to other nationalist parties tempted to follow the UK that there will be no preferential treatment, only harsh consequences. If we reject our neighbours, they will have to reject us.
Proving that Brexit knows no boundaries (ironic, I know), here’s the New Zealand Herald’s Griff White with four models of how Britain could look outside the EU.
Baffling claim of the day
The Spectator has a poll on whether we can trust polls and it’s hard to know what to think of that.
Celebrity endorsement of the day
A joyous Twitter thread, this, from Peep Show star Robert Webb (himself for remain), who spent a good few hours figuring out how each of the characters from the show would vote next week. If I posted the whole thread, the “brief” part of this morning briefing would be severely compromised, but do look it up:
Appreciate this but completely wrong. Mark: Remain because it's the cautious thing to do. Mark's Dad: Leave. Jez... https://t.co/Idf4WSdxph
...Jez is Leave (we need to shake shit up) Super Hans: Remain (someone should cure cancer, let's get serious)... https://t.co/Idf4WSdxph
The day in a tweet
Intriguing. Vote Leave has been condemned for its “We send the EU £350m a week – let’s fund our NHS instead” slogan (Angela Eagle called it a “lie”). But a u-turn seems … unlikely. Expect a fightback.
We've bowed to popular demand and repainted our #BattleBus. Pictures to follow... cc: @wdjstraw
If today were a song ...
It would be Craig David’s Seven Days. That’s all we have left of this campaign. And David aficionados will know what they’re supposed to be doing today. Ahem.
And another thing
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