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EU referendum live: Warsi swaps sides over 'nudge-nudge xenophobia'
EU referendum live: Warsi swaps sides over 'nudge-nudge xenophobia'
(35 minutes later)
10.05am BST
10:05
Sayeeda Warsi has retweeted some of the vicious and racist tweets she has received since she announced she was backing Remain as examples of the “politics of hate”.
The vile reaction of people unhappy with my decision to leave #leave .Politics of hate must stop #uniteagainsthate pic.twitter.com/A86f4Dpyol
9.39am BST
09:39
Here’s a Guardian video with Richard Branson making the case for Remain.
9.35am BST
09:35
The Times broke the story about Sayeeda Warsi last night, but it changed its front page after the first edition to tone down the headline. The second version is more accurate.
From turmoil and defection to division and walkout: how the Times rowed back on its Warsi scoop between editions pic.twitter.com/cXnf1b1UPF
9.28am BST
9.28am BST
09:28
09:28
Here is another quote from Sayeeda Warsi on the Today programme earlier explaining why she is now backing Remain. She said:
Here is another quote from Sayeeda Warsi on the Today programme earlier explaining why she is now backing Remain. She said:
This kind of nudge-nudge, wink-wink xenophobic racist campaign may be politically savvy or politically useful in the short term, but it causes long-term damage to communities.
This kind of nudge-nudge, wink-wink xenophobic racist campaign may be politically savvy or politically useful in the short term, but it causes long-term damage to communities.
The vision that me and other Brexiters who have been involved right from the outset, who had a positive outward-looking vision of what a Brexit vote might mean, unfortunately those voices have now been stifled and what we see is the divisive campaign which has resulted in people like me and others who are deeply Eurosceptic and want to see a reformed relationship feel that they now have to leave Leave.
The vision that me and other Brexiters who have been involved right from the outset, who had a positive outward-looking vision of what a Brexit vote might mean, unfortunately those voices have now been stifled and what we see is the divisive campaign which has resulted in people like me and others who are deeply Eurosceptic and want to see a reformed relationship feel that they now have to leave Leave.
9.23am BST
9.23am BST
09:23
09:23
This is what John Longworth, the former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce and now a Vote Leave campaigner, told the Today programme in response to the news that the bosses of the car firms Toyota UK, Vauxhall, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW have backed Remain. Longworth said:
This is what John Longworth, the former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce and now a Vote Leave campaigner, told the Today programme in response to the news that the bosses of the car firms Toyota UK, Vauxhall, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW have backed Remain. Longworth said:
The auto industry is different from the rest of industry in the sense that it has a 10% tariff for cars from outside the EU.
The auto industry is different from the rest of industry in the sense that it has a 10% tariff for cars from outside the EU.
The biggest power in the EU - Germany - exports way more cars to the UK than we do to them, so they are not going to allow the erection of tariffs because they would damage their own industry and shoot themselves in the foot.
The biggest power in the EU - Germany - exports way more cars to the UK than we do to them, so they are not going to allow the erection of tariffs because they would damage their own industry and shoot themselves in the foot.
Even if in a moment of madness they did, what’s the worst that can happen? German cars would become a little bit more expensive, we would buy a few less and would end up buying more British-produced cars.
Even if in a moment of madness they did, what’s the worst that can happen? German cars would become a little bit more expensive, we would buy a few less and would end up buying more British-produced cars.
Updated
Updated
at 9.23am BST
at 9.23am BST
9.18am BST
9.18am BST
09:18
09:18
Farage also repeated his claim that Sayeeda Warsi’s shift to Remain was a “put-up job”. He said that she had only ever called for a change in Britain’s relationship with the EU, not for full withdrawal. When Daniel Hannan, the Tory MEP, tried to get her to publicly back Leave, she refused, Farage said. (See 7.35am.)
Farage also repeated his claim that Sayeeda Warsi’s shift to Remain was a “put-up job”. He said that she had only ever called for a change in Britain’s relationship with the EU, not for full withdrawal. When Daniel Hannan, the Tory MEP, tried to get her to publicly back Leave, she refused, Farage said. (See 7.35am.)
9.15am BST
9.15am BST
09:15
09:15
On LBC Nigel Farage has just claimed that when he launched his “Breaking Point” poster on Thursday there was “no controversy at all”. He suggested it only became controversial after the killing of Jo Cox.
On LBC Nigel Farage has just claimed that when he launched his “Breaking Point” poster on Thursday there was “no controversy at all”. He suggested it only became controversial after the killing of Jo Cox.
He is wrong. Before Cox was killed Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said the poster was “disgusting”. It was also condemned before the attack on Cox by the Green party and by Britain Stronger in Europe.
He is wrong. Before Cox was killed Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said the poster was “disgusting”. It was also condemned before the attack on Cox by the Green party and by Britain Stronger in Europe.
9.05am BST
9.05am BST
09:05
09:05
And on Twitter Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, claims that Sayeeda Warsi’s shift is a Downing Street-inspired stunt.
And on Twitter Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, claims that Sayeeda Warsi’s shift is a Downing Street-inspired stunt.
Baroness Warsi 'defection' is a typical Number 10 put-up job. She never wanted to leave the EU.
Baroness Warsi 'defection' is a typical Number 10 put-up job. She never wanted to leave the EU.
Farage is now starting a half-hour phone-in on LBC.
Farage is now starting a half-hour phone-in on LBC.
Updated
Updated
at 9.15am BST
at 9.15am BST
9.03am BST
9.03am BST
09:03
09:03
Andrew Sparrow
Andrew Sparrow
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire.
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire.
On Twitter the Tory Leave backlash against Sayeeda Warsi continues. Here are more tweets about her from Conservative MPs.
On Twitter the Tory Leave backlash against Sayeeda Warsi continues. Here are more tweets about her from Conservative MPs.
Surprised to hear that Baroness Warsi has so called defected to the in campaign; didn't realise she was #brexit. Never seen her do anything!
Surprised to hear that Baroness Warsi has so called defected to the in campaign; didn't realise she was #brexit. Never seen her do anything!
I think it's fair to say that most people are wetting themselves laughing at the Warsi 'defection' that never is 😂 #VoteLeave
I think it's fair to say that most people are wetting themselves laughing at the Warsi 'defection' that never is 😂 #VoteLeave
Remember Sayeeda Warsi has a history of resigning.She quit the Government over Middle East policy.
Remember Sayeeda Warsi has a history of resigning.She quit the Government over Middle East policy.
From my experience working with her Sayeeda Warsi is self obsessed and never a team player. She's running out of things to flounce out of
From my experience working with her Sayeeda Warsi is self obsessed and never a team player. She's running out of things to flounce out of
8.45am BST
8.45am BST
08:45
08:45
Libby Brooks
Libby Brooks
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme this morning.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme this morning.
She dismissed the suggestion that there was any contradiction between her positions on the independence referendum in 2014 and the EU referendum:
She dismissed the suggestion that there was any contradiction between her positions on the independence referendum in 2014 and the EU referendum:
That argument rests on the assumption that Scotland in the UK is somehow the same as the UK in Europe.
That argument rests on the assumption that Scotland in the UK is somehow the same as the UK in Europe.
She also insisted that the SNP has been “an enthusiastic campaigner for Scotland and the UK to remain in Europe”, despite criticisms that their campaign has been lukewarm at best.
She also insisted that the SNP has been “an enthusiastic campaigner for Scotland and the UK to remain in Europe”, despite criticisms that their campaign has been lukewarm at best.
She added that her message to supporters who saw this referendum as a means of triggering a second independence referendum was clear: vote remain.
She added that her message to supporters who saw this referendum as a means of triggering a second independence referendum was clear: vote remain.
What I’ve also said to independence supporters is that if they are making a judgment on what makes a second independence referendum more likely, that will only arise if Scotland is taken out of the EU against its will.
What I’ve also said to independence supporters is that if they are making a judgment on what makes a second independence referendum more likely, that will only arise if Scotland is taken out of the EU against its will.
Asked about her view on Turkey’s membership of the EU, she said it was “pie in the sky” that the country was in a position to join and that this was “one of the serious dishonest its at the heart of the Leave campaign”:
Asked about her view on Turkey’s membership of the EU, she said it was “pie in the sky” that the country was in a position to join and that this was “one of the serious dishonest its at the heart of the Leave campaign”:
I don’t see a situation arising in the near future where I would welcome Turkey joining the EU.
I don’t see a situation arising in the near future where I would welcome Turkey joining the EU.
8.36am BST
8.36am BST
08:36
08:36
Graeme Wearden
Graeme Wearden
The London stock market is rallying this morning, as investors react to the opinion polls showing the Remain campaign regaining ground.
The London stock market is rallying this morning, as investors react to the opinion polls showing the Remain campaign regaining ground.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index has jumped by 134 points, or over 2%, during Nigel Farage’s interview.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index has jumped by 134 points, or over 2%, during Nigel Farage’s interview.
That’s its highest level in 10 days, recovering the losses it suffered after polls put the Leave campaign ahead.
That’s its highest level in 10 days, recovering the losses it suffered after polls put the Leave campaign ahead.
Bank shares are leading the rally, with Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group both up 6%. Financial stocks had suffered recently from fears that Britain’s economy would suffer a Brexit-shock of the public vote to leave.
Bank shares are leading the rally, with Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group both up 6%. Financial stocks had suffered recently from fears that Britain’s economy would suffer a Brexit-shock of the public vote to leave.
The pound has hit a two-week high this morning; up two cents against the US dollar to $1.4591.
The pound has hit a two-week high this morning; up two cents against the US dollar to $1.4591.
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets believe that the polls show a “pull to the status-quo’.
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets believe that the polls show a “pull to the status-quo’.
Our business liveblog has more details:
Our business liveblog has more details:
Related: Pound and shares soar as Brexit fears ease – business live
Related: Pound and shares soar as Brexit fears ease – business live
8.32am BST
08:32
Farage said the playing-out of the campaign had obscured the reason behind it:
This referendum is almost becoming as if there’s a manifesto on one side and a manifesto on the other side … We lose what this referendum is really all about …
This comes down to one thing: confidence. Do we believe we’re good enough to run our own country?
If Britain votes to stay, he said, it would still beckon the end of the EU:
If this proposition gets rejected, we will not be the first country to leave the European Union: the Danes or the Swedes or the Dutch will beat us to it.
8.30am BST
08:30
Farage did not seem concerned at negative reactions to the poster:
Even discussing immigration for some people is deeply offensive … but the point is this we’re members of a political union that is failing.
He would prefer to see net migration at around 30,000-50,000 people, he told the BBC, with flexible work permits to cope with shortages in the labour market.
Brexit would not be a huge shock to the economy, Farage insisted:
I would accept that economically its about even-steven.
I know how trade works and what makes it happen … The negotiation with Europe is very, very simple: we are your biggest trading partner in the world, you need us more than we need you.
No deal is better than the deal we currently have.
Updated
at 8.35am BST
8.24am BST
08:24
Nigel Farage Today programme interview
Nigel Farage is now on the Today programme to talk about, among other things, that anti-immigration poster. He denied it was misleading:
This poster, which shows what happened in Europe … after Mrs Merkel made one of the most irresponsible decisions in modern times.
He was bullish when pressed on the fact that Britain’s exemption from Schengen rules meant none of the refugees pictured in the image would be coming to the UK:
The EU is failing us all … there’s been too little debate in this referendum about this issue.
Why would we wish to be a member of the union … where fences are going up everywhere … Why would we want to be part of this failing club?
I didn’t invent the picture – that picture was real … This poster was designed for the day. It was unfortunate timing that within a couple of hours this terrible tragic murder took place.
Updated
at 8.25am BST
8.01am BST
08:01
Sky News political editor Faisal Islam points out – further to the tweets in my morning briefing below – that Warsi had previously made plain her support for Britain leaving the EU.
Yorkshire Post article where Warsi confirmed support for Brexit. Low key, yes, but a clear lie to say she did not.. https://t.co/CBdyb8hpE7
The Yorkshire Post article, from May this year, reads:
Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury, who made history in 2010 when she became the first Muslim to serve in the Cabinet, declined to comment on the tone of the referendum campaign.
However the peer, who resigned in 2014, did confirm that she was supporting Britain’s exit from the European Union.
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
06:58
Morning briefing
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.
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 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”.
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.
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:
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
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!
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
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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.
You should also know:
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 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:
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:
Hungary takes out a full page advert in the Daily Mail.Will France, Germany and the rest follow? pic.twitter.com/LOx0c2Lmk7
Diary
Read these
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.
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.
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:
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.
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
And another thing
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