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| EU referendum live: Warsi swaps sides over 'nudge-nudge xenophobia' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 7.48am BST | |
| 07:48 | |
| Historian Antony Beevor writes in the Guardian today that should Britain vote to leave, “we will instantly achieve most-hated nation status, not just in Europe but far beyond”. And he argues that those casting their votes ought to know more about the birth of the European Union and Jean Monnet, one of its founding fathers: | |
| The origins of the EU lie in the second world war, but not in the way many people on both sides of the debate assume. Brexiters try to imply that European unification descends from Napoleon and Hitler, even though membership has hardly been imposed at the point of a bayonet. At the same time, defenders of the EU like to believe that it somehow prevented a third world war, when in fact peace depends rather more on good governance. Proper democracies do not fight each other. | |
| Because Britain was not involved at the start we do not have a clear idea of the EU’s development. Few in this country have even heard of Jean Monnet. He was an extraordinarily important Frenchman who neither went to university nor was ever elected to public office. Born into a family of cognac merchants, Monnet became the greatest behind-the-scenes fixer in modern history. | |
| Read more/do your cramming here: | |
| Related: Brexit would make Britain the world’s most hated nation | Antony Beevor | |
| 7.35am BST | |
| 07:35 | |
| Responding to the leave campaign’s attempts to play down Warsi’s previous commitment to their side, she said some comments – such as this tweet from Tory MEP Daniel Hannan – were “disingenous”. | |
| When I invited Sayeeda Warsi to join the Leave campaign, she declined. Fair enough, obviously. But how is this a "defection"? | |
| The vision that we must present for Brexit … the loud voices should be from moderates who believe Britain has a place in the world. | |
| She said she had had a “clear conversation” with Vote Leave director Dominic Cummings: | |
| I said I had concerns that people were taking the Vote Leave message down a path I was not comfortable with … Those moderate voices have now been stifled … | |
| People like me who are deeply eurosceptic feel like they now have to leave Leave. | |
| Updated | |
| at 7.36am BST | |
| 7.31am BST | |
| 07:31 | |
| Warsi added that politicians “should not be part of an environmnet of hate”, saying the message from leave campaigners had become one of “the rapists are coming, the Turks are coming”. | |
| The Ukip “Breaking Point” poster unveiled by Nigel Farage last week had indeed been a breaking point for her, she said: | |
| How is that poster even defensible? … It is perpetuating lies about who those people are. | |
| She linked it to a wider culture of “divisive, toxic politics”, including the campaign run by fellow Conservative Zac Goldsmith in his failed bid to beat Sadiq Khan to the London mayoralty. Warsi said it was a “relief that campaign did not succeed”. | |
| Warsi also pointed the finger at Michael Gove, labelling his comments on Turkey “a lie”: | |
| To suggest that Turkey is on the verge of joining the EU … they applied decades ago … To suggest that this is somehow imminent was a lie. | |
| She described the tone of the discussion on Turkey as: | |
| This othering of the community … to try and suggest that there is a link between criminality and Turkish communities – it is scaremongering. | |
| Updated | |
| at 7.37am BST | |
| 7.26am BST | |
| 07:26 | |
| Warsi spoke in more detail on the Today programme about her decision to come out in favour of remain, having been a leave supporter (if not, some prominent Brexiteers are saying this morning) a particularly vocal campaigner. | |
| She told Radio 4: | |
| To wake up on Sunday morning … to hear both Michael Gove continue to repeat the lies on Turkish accession to the EU … and Nigel Farage defend his indefensible poster … [it was] impossible to continue supporting leave. | |
| She denied that she had not been a supporter of Brexit, saying she had been working to bring different communities into the debate on Britain’s future in – or outside – the EU: | |
| I was making the case to leave long before Vote Leave had ever been formally established. | |
| The last time I openly spoke for Brexit was about five weeks ago. | |
| Warsi added that she last “did media” for Brexit four weeks ago but had increasingly felt uncomfortable about the tone of the debate: | |
| The vision we needed to present was ‘hello worlders’, an optimistic vision … But unfortunately day after say what we are seeing are lies and xenophobia. | |
| She described herself as someone “instinctively eurosceptic … now feeling we have to leave Leave”. | |
| 7.19am BST | |
| 07:19 | |
| Baroness Warsi on the Today programme | |
| Sayeeda Warsi has just been speaking on the Today programme. I’ll put up a fuller summary imminently, but she has responded to those Brexit campaigners who are saying she was never really for leave: | |
| The last time I openly spoke for Brexit was about five weeks ago. | |
| She said she had been concerned about the direction of the campaign: | |
| Those moderate voices have now been stifled … People like me who are deeply eurosceptic feel like they now have to leave leave. | |
| Updated | |
| at 7.49am BST | |
| 6.58am BST | 6.58am BST |
| 06:58 | 06:58 |
| Morning briefing | Morning briefing |
| Claire Phipps | Claire Phipps |
| Welcome to the final week of the EU referendum campaign, with our daily live blog ready to take you through the hours until we learn whether Britain will stay or go. | Welcome to the final week of the EU referendum campaign, with our daily live blog ready to take you through the hours until we learn whether Britain will stay or go. |
| In a campaign darkened by the killing of MP Jo Cox, and on a day when politicians from across the spectrum return to Westminster to remember her, in many ways – though perhaps not all – this can’t be politics as usual. | In a campaign darkened by the killing of MP Jo Cox, and on a day when politicians from across the spectrum return to Westminster to remember her, in many ways – though perhaps not all – this can’t be politics as usual. |
| The regular morning briefing should set you up for the day ahead and I’ll then be 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 regular morning briefing should set you up for the day ahead and I’ll then be 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 | The big picture |
| Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi has quit the leave campaign, accusing her colleague and leading Brexiteer Michael Gove of spreading “complete lies about Turkey’s accession to the EU”. | Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi has quit the leave campaign, accusing her colleague and leading Brexiteer Michael Gove of spreading “complete lies about Turkey’s accession to the EU”. |
| But it was Nigel Farage and the unofficial leave side’s anti-immigration poster campaign – unveiled last week to a gasp of criticism – that pushed the former Tory party chairwoman to remain, she tells the Times: | But it was Nigel Farage and the unofficial leave side’s anti-immigration poster campaign – unveiled last week to a gasp of criticism – that pushed the former Tory party chairwoman to remain, she tells the Times: |
| That ‘breaking point’ poster really was – for me – the breaking point to say, I can’t go on supporting this. | That ‘breaking point’ poster really was – for me – the breaking point to say, I can’t go on supporting this. |
| Are we prepared to tell lies, to spread hate and xenophobia just to win a campaign? For me that’s a step too far. | Are we prepared to tell lies, to spread hate and xenophobia just to win a campaign? For me that’s a step too far. |
| But some leave campaigners expressed … let’s say bafflement at the announcement: | But some leave campaigners expressed … let’s say bafflement at the announcement: |
| Been part of the leave campaign from start. I had no idea that @SayeedaWarsi was part of the leave campaign. News to all of us me thinks. | Been part of the leave campaign from start. I had no idea that @SayeedaWarsi was part of the leave campaign. News to all of us me thinks. |
| I helped set up @vote_leave and she has not been at a single meeting I have attended. "defects" just not accurate! https://t.co/hnaoXv9y5T | I helped set up @vote_leave and she has not been at a single meeting I have attended. "defects" just not accurate! https://t.co/hnaoXv9y5T |
| However, although it seems clear Warsi was never driving that Vote Leave battlebus, she had expressed pro-Brexit views before the defection came to light: | However, although it seems clear Warsi was never driving that Vote Leave battlebus, she had expressed pro-Brexit views before the defection came to light: |
| For those of us committed to @vote_leave this unholy alliance between small minded little islanders & optimistic hello worlders is a strain! | For those of us committed to @vote_leave this unholy alliance between small minded little islanders & optimistic hello worlders is a strain! |
| And ITV News’ Chris Ship points out that Warsi made the case for leave at an event in August 2015: | And ITV News’ Chris Ship points out that Warsi made the case for leave at an event in August 2015: |
| . @chrisshipitv , it was a great event. The early days of the campaign when the moderates were making the case for #Brexit | . @chrisshipitv , it was a great event. The early days of the campaign when the moderates were making the case for #Brexit |
| The news will no doubt be welcomed by David Cameron, who conceded in a one-on-one Question Time with David Dimbleby last night that a more positive case for remain still needed to be made: | The news will no doubt be welcomed by David Cameron, who conceded in a one-on-one Question Time with David Dimbleby last night that a more positive case for remain still needed to be made: |
| I’ve got four days to go. I want to do better at getting this argument across. | I’ve got four days to go. I want to do better at getting this argument across. |
| To me, it comes down to a simple point about the economy, but also what sort of country do we want to be? I want to be a country that does want to work with others. What I’ve learned in six years is that there is no problem in the world that isn’t better addressed with your allies, your friends and your neighbours. | To me, it comes down to a simple point about the economy, but also what sort of country do we want to be? I want to be a country that does want to work with others. What I’ve learned in six years is that there is no problem in the world that isn’t better addressed with your allies, your friends and your neighbours. |
| The themes – for those who follow the spirals of this campaign – were familiar: | The themes – for those who follow the spirals of this campaign – were familiar: |
| Check out Andrew Sparrow’s summary of Cameron’s interview here, and the verdict of a panel of Guardian columnists here. | Check out Andrew Sparrow’s summary of Cameron’s interview here, and the verdict of a panel of Guardian columnists here. |
| Cameron, of course, also spoke about the killing of Jo Cox, in whose memory MPs will return to parliament today for a special session. He told the BBC: | Cameron, of course, also spoke about the killing of Jo Cox, in whose memory MPs will return to parliament today for a special session. He told the BBC: |
| I think the most important thing for the politicians is to remember what [Cox] was all about, which was service, community, tolerance. These are values we should all try to live by and promote, in order to remember her. | I think the most important thing for the politicians is to remember what [Cox] was all about, which was service, community, tolerance. These are values we should all try to live by and promote, in order to remember her. |
| I don’t think we know why exactly this happened or what the motivation was and we have to wait for the police investigation before we do that. | I don’t think we know why exactly this happened or what the motivation was and we have to wait for the police investigation before we do that. |
| But I think what we do know is wherever we see intolerance, hatred, division, we should try and drive it out of our communities, out of our public life. | But I think what we do know is wherever we see intolerance, hatred, division, we should try and drive it out of our communities, out of our public life. |
| Speeches in the Commons will begin at 2.30pm and will, of course, be covered in this live blog. | Speeches in the Commons will begin at 2.30pm and will, of course, be covered in this live blog. |
| It has emerged that Cox was working on a report about attacks on Muslims before her death. A memorial fund for charities she supported has now surpassed £800,000. | It has emerged that Cox was working on a report about attacks on Muslims before her death. A memorial fund for charities she supported has now surpassed £800,000. |
| Thomas Mair, the man accused of murdering Cox, appears in court again today. | Thomas Mair, the man accused of murdering Cox, appears in court again today. |
| You should also know: | You should also know: |
| Poll position | Poll position |
| The weekend polls – some of which were carried out after Jo Cox was killed – have shown a gentle swing back towards remain. We can’t know why that is. So I’ll just deal with the numbers here: | The weekend polls – some of which were carried out after Jo Cox was killed – have shown a gentle swing back towards remain. We can’t know why that is. So I’ll just deal with the numbers here: |
| The FT poll of polls now pegs remain and leave on 44% apiece. | The FT poll of polls now pegs remain and leave on 44% apiece. |
| And as for the rest of the EU? As my colleague Philip Oltermann reports, most would like the UK to remain – but only just: | And as for the rest of the EU? As my colleague Philip Oltermann reports, most would like the UK to remain – but only just: |
| The survey of 10,992 European citizens, carried out by Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation, shows that while a majority of continental Europeans across all age groups are in favour of Britain remaining a member of the EU, the support is not overwhelmingly high, at 54%. | The survey of 10,992 European citizens, carried out by Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation, shows that while a majority of continental Europeans across all age groups are in favour of Britain remaining a member of the EU, the support is not overwhelmingly high, at 54%. |
| The (hardline right-wing, anti-immigration) prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is certainly more than lukewarm on Britain’s UK membership, if this full-page ad in today’s Daily Mail is anything to go by: | The (hardline right-wing, anti-immigration) prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is certainly more than lukewarm on Britain’s UK membership, if this full-page ad in today’s Daily Mail is anything to go by: |
| Hungary takes out a full page advert in the Daily Mail.Will France, Germany and the rest follow? pic.twitter.com/LOx0c2Lmk7 | Hungary takes out a full page advert in the Daily Mail.Will France, Germany and the rest follow? pic.twitter.com/LOx0c2Lmk7 |
| Diary | Diary |
| Read these | Read these |
| In what is probably a first, the Telegraph thinks the Labour leader is “absolutely right” on something: | In what is probably a first, the Telegraph thinks the Labour leader is “absolutely right” on something: |
| Jeremy Corbyn has faults almost too numerous to count, but, in one regard at least, dishonesty is not among them. Interviewed about Britain’s place in the European Union and the immigration that stems from it, Mr Corbyn was asked about the limit on European immigration that some of his party colleagues have recently suggested. ‘I don’t think you can have one while you have the free movement of labour,’ he replied. He was absolutely right. | Jeremy Corbyn has faults almost too numerous to count, but, in one regard at least, dishonesty is not among them. Interviewed about Britain’s place in the European Union and the immigration that stems from it, Mr Corbyn was asked about the limit on European immigration that some of his party colleagues have recently suggested. ‘I don’t think you can have one while you have the free movement of labour,’ he replied. He was absolutely right. |
| Parvathi Menon in the Hindu wonders what Brexit will mean for India – and for Indian people living in the UK: | Parvathi Menon in the Hindu wonders what Brexit will mean for India – and for Indian people living in the UK: |
| India remains deeply vested in the outcome of the referendum for two reasons. The first concerns the welfare of a nearly three-million strong diaspora of Indian-origin UK citizens, while the second concerns the interests of a large moving population of Indians who come to Britain ever year as tourists, business people, professionals, students, spouses, parents and relatives. | India remains deeply vested in the outcome of the referendum for two reasons. The first concerns the welfare of a nearly three-million strong diaspora of Indian-origin UK citizens, while the second concerns the interests of a large moving population of Indians who come to Britain ever year as tourists, business people, professionals, students, spouses, parents and relatives. |
| Will Brexit change the rules of doing business, or of access to higher education? Further, will it create new barriers for work visas or the visitation rights of relatives who have families here? | Will Brexit change the rules of doing business, or of access to higher education? Further, will it create new barriers for work visas or the visitation rights of relatives who have families here? |
| Steven Erlanger in the New York Times says EU countries are “preparing to retaliate” in the event of a vote to leave: | Steven Erlanger in the New York Times says EU countries are “preparing to retaliate” in the event of a vote to leave: |
| If Britons do vote in a referendum on Thursday to leave the European Union, they can expect a tough and unforgiving response, with capitals across the Continent intent on deterring other countries from following the British example, European officials and analysts said. In other words, Britain will be made to suffer for its choice … | If Britons do vote in a referendum on Thursday to leave the European Union, they can expect a tough and unforgiving response, with capitals across the Continent intent on deterring other countries from following the British example, European officials and analysts said. In other words, Britain will be made to suffer for its choice … |
| Suggestions by British politicians favoring a departure that the rest of the European Union will give Britain more favorable terms in a new trading arrangement will be rejected out of hand by European leaders, who do not want to make further concessions to a country that has rejected them, officials said. This would ensure that the British example discouraged others tempted to seek a special deal for themselves. | Suggestions by British politicians favoring a departure that the rest of the European Union will give Britain more favorable terms in a new trading arrangement will be rejected out of hand by European leaders, who do not want to make further concessions to a country that has rejected them, officials said. This would ensure that the British example discouraged others tempted to seek a special deal for themselves. |
| The day in a tweet | The day in a tweet |
| Jo loved camping. Last night the kids & I camped in her memory& remembered the last time we were all woken by the dawn chorus #MoreInCommon | Jo loved camping. Last night the kids & I camped in her memory& remembered the last time we were all woken by the dawn chorus #MoreInCommon |
| And another thing | And another thing |
| Would you like to wake up to this campaign briefing in your inbox every weekday? Sign up here. | Would you like to wake up to this campaign briefing in your inbox every weekday? Sign up here. |
| Related: EU referendum morning briefing - sign up here | Related: EU referendum morning briefing - sign up here |