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EU referendum live: Cameron set to make Downing Street statement
EU referendum live: Cameron makes 'Brits don't quit' plea in Downing Street
(35 minutes later)
2.03pm BST
14:03
According to Sky’s Faisal Islam, No 10 are saying David Cameron’s use of Number 10 for his EU referendum statement did not break “purdah” rules.
Downing Street say the PM's appeal to the nation from outside Number 10 does not break purdah rules, and has all been cleared.
2.00pm BST
14:00
Cameron's statement - Analysis
Cameron’s statement - Analysis: Bernard Jenkin will go bonkers. We were told to expect a significant statement from David Cameron. In the event he had nothing to announce at all. The significance lay not in what he was saying, but where he was saying it; he was using the full paraphernalia and architecture of prime ministerial office (the podium, and the front door of Number 10) to give authority to his warns about the risks of Brexit.
I mention Jenkin because is is one of the Tory MPs who has been most exercised about Cameron abusing “purdah” - the rule that says the machinery of government is supposed to stay neutral in the final weeks of the campaign. The Brexiteers will be furious with Sir Jeremy Heywood, the cabinet secretary, for allowing this. (He is already quite high up their list of establishment hate figures.) But too late. No one really cares. And Cameron’s message is out.
As far as the message went, it was more or less the same as the standard stump speech he has been giving at every EU referendum event he has attended. That is not a problem, because a good stump speech should contain a strong message worth repeating. The most memorable passages came when Cameron talked about taking tough security decisions “behind that door” and when he made a direct appeal to the middle-aged and the elderly to think of what’s best for their children and grandchildren.
Will it make any difference? All the polling evidence suggests that, like most other frontline politicians, Cameron is distrusted on Europe. Standing in front of a podium will not on its own be enough to repair that reputational damage. But Remain’s position in the polls did seem to suffer a bit when “purdah” set in, and so, for Cameron, a bit of status flaunting was probably worth a gamble.
Besides, he’s at the point in the campaign where anything is worth a try.
Updated
at 2.10pm BST
1.44pm BST
13:44
Cameron says he wants to speak very directly to people of his generation and older.
He knows Europe is not perfect. But we have the best of both worlds.
Do think about the hopes and dreams of your children and grandchildren.
He says their future rests on this decision.
It cannot be undone. It is irreversible, he says.
He says the conversations will continue over the next two days.
But on Thursday it will be “just you in the polling booth”, he says.
He says he believes very strongly from his years of experience we will be stronger, safer and better off in.
If we leave, it will be a risk to jobs and our children’s future.
He urges people to vote remain.
That’s it.
1.41pm BST
13:41
Cameron says for the last six years he has focused on sorting out the economy.
I know I have not got every decision right.
But, on this he is convinced - and every living former prime minister is convinced - that Britain is better off in the EU.
Leaving the EU would put everything at risk, he says.
People whose job it is to warn prime ministers say leaving would hurt the economy, in the short term, the medium term and the long term.
1.39pm BST
13:39
Cameron says 'Brits don't quit'
He says the UK has always made it influence felt, not by walking away from the world, but engaging with it.
Brits don’t quit.
He says if we left the EU, they would still be making decisions - but without us.
1.38pm BST
13:38
He says the UK is a special country.
If he thought remaining diminishes us, he would recommend leaving.
But it does not. It “amplifies our power”, he says.
With the EU behind us we can take a stronger lead dealing with problems around the world, he says.
1.37pm BST
13:37
He says he has been PM for six years. He wants to say why he feels so strongly about this.
The economy will be stronger if we stay, and weaker if we leave.
And it is also about security.
Some of the most chilling moments “behind that door” are reading intelligence reports. He has to “make the right call” to protect people.
He would not be saying we should stay in the EU if being in makes that harder.
He says leaving would make it harder to keep the nation safe. We are safer in, he says.
1.35pm BST
13:35
Cameron's statement
David Cameron says we are near the end of a frenetic campaign.
He wants to pause and speak to the nation about this decision.
1.32pm BST
1.32pm BST
13:32
13:32
Cameron planning Number 10 statement
Cameron planning Number 10 statement
This is from Sky’s Faisal Islam.
This is from Sky’s Faisal Islam.
The podium is out in Downing Street - PM to make a significant statement shortly pic.twitter.com/cScSTjVtqA
The podium is out in Downing Street - PM to make a significant statement shortly pic.twitter.com/cScSTjVtqA
1.31pm BST
1.31pm BST
13:31
13:31
Nigel Farage has been in Harwich taking the Ukip version of the bacon sandwich test.
Nigel Farage has been in Harwich taking the Ukip version of the bacon sandwich test.
In the latest in politicians eating food on #EUref campaign, Ukip's Nigel Farage opts for whelks in Harwich... pic.twitter.com/jrZiAX29Rs
In the latest in politicians eating food on #EUref campaign, Ukip's Nigel Farage opts for whelks in Harwich... pic.twitter.com/jrZiAX29Rs
1.26pm BST
1.26pm BST
13:26
13:26
JK Rowling and Nadine Dorries row on Twitter over David Beckham
JK Rowling and Nadine Dorries row on Twitter over David Beckham
Nadine Dorries, the pro-Brexit Tory MP, has used Twitter to patronise David Beckham following his pro-Remain statement this morning.
Nadine Dorries, the pro-Brexit Tory MP, has used Twitter to patronise David Beckham following his pro-Remain statement this morning.
So, multi millionaire, multi home owning man who can kick a ball supports remain. It's become a division of the classes. #VoteLeave #EUref
So, multi millionaire, multi home owning man who can kick a ball supports remain. It's become a division of the classes. #VoteLeave #EUref
JK Rowling, who is pro-Remain, has hit back.
JK Rowling, who is pro-Remain, has hit back.
Know your place, successful working class boys. Don't start thinking you can have opinions just because you made it. https://t.co/PySiMixZpA
Know your place, successful working class boys. Don't start thinking you can have opinions just because you made it. https://t.co/PySiMixZpA
That prompted this exchange:
That prompted this exchange:
@jk_rowling Just so you know, I'm L'pool working class council estate till mid adult years
@jk_rowling Just so you know, I'm L'pool working class council estate till mid adult years
@NadineDorriesMP Then you should be applauding and enabling social mobility, not sneering when it happens.
@NadineDorriesMP Then you should be applauding and enabling social mobility, not sneering when it happens.
@jk_rowling That's why I want to protect borders and prevent cheap labour from suppressing the wage of struggling on my estate #VoteLeave
@jk_rowling That's why I want to protect borders and prevent cheap labour from suppressing the wage of struggling on my estate #VoteLeave
@NadineDorriesMP You're selling the desperate a lie. Experts concur Leave will severely impact jobs. Yours will be safe, though, eh? #Remain
@NadineDorriesMP You're selling the desperate a lie. Experts concur Leave will severely impact jobs. Yours will be safe, though, eh? #Remain
1.14pm BST
13:14
1.05pm BST
13:05
Former No 10 policy chief says Hilton's immigration claim is wrong
Here is more from Steve Hilton’s article in the Daily Mail saying David Cameron was told when he was in government that it would be impossible for the government to hit its target of getting net migration below 100,000 while remaining in the EU. Hilton was Cameron’s director of strategy, and this is one of the big stories of the day.
Hilton also said that he personally thought the net migration target should be higher than 100,000 - although that was not something the Mail chose to highlight in its splash story about Hilton’s revelation.
I remember the meetings on immigration towards the end of my time in Downing Street. Everyone around the table, in some way or another, was working hard to try to deliver the government’s commitment ...
We were told, directly and explicitly, that it was impossible for the government to meet its immigration target as long as we remained members of the EU, which, of course, insists on the free movement of people within it ...
In my view, the target itself is set at the wrong level. I would actually like to see more entrepreneurs, engineers, computer scientists — as well as those in genuine need of refuge — welcomed to Britain. I think that would help boost our economy and strengthen, not weaken, our society.
Others might take a different view: you could judge the Prime Minister’s target to be about right. Or too high. That’s what elections are for, to debate things like that.
But the point is, whatever the policy, whatever people vote for, it’s not unreasonable to expect that the Prime Minister of the day is able to deliver it. That is simply not possible in the current, unreformed — and in my view unreformable — EU.
Cameron was asked about this on ITV this morning. He said Hilton was wrong - or at least wrong about the timing of these warnings.
It’s simply not right. When Steve Hilton left Downing Street in 2012, net immigration has actually fallen quite substantially. It had got down to, just after he left, about 154,000, so not far away from the ambition that I set.
Paul Kirby, who was head of policy in Number 10 at the time, has also said Hilton was wrong.
Actually, in 2012 HO Civil Servants advised PM immigration would be down to 105k by 2015. It'd fallen 30% 2010-12 https://t.co/Zs8KBsAkMI
And here is Alan Travis, the Guardian’s home affairs editor, on Hilton’s claim.
It's no secret that Cameron was told in 2010 his net migration target was flawed - everyone was telling him, even me https://t.co/7XhPeHNvmJ
Timing of Steve Hilton's claim doesn't ring true - net migration was down 25% to 183,000 in 2012 and looked possible https://t.co/i6mdqZ2Xlf
12.38pm BST
12:38
Victoria Beckham accuses Leave.EU of misquoting her
Leave.EU has become involved in a bizarre spat with Victoria Beckham. After David Beckham endorsed Remain, it posted this on Twitter.
Should've listened to the missus, David. #LeaveEU pic.twitter.com/wZiiN5Ilqr
It then reposted the same quote after she backed her husband. (See 10.35am.)
Beckham then used her Instagram account to accuse Leave.EU of quoting her out of context. She said:
In response to the @leave.eu campaign who have today tried to put a spin on quotes made 20 years ago about keeping or losing the pound, I have to say strongly my comments were not about this referendum and should not be misused in this way! I believe in my country, I believe in a future for my children where we are stronger together and I support the #remain campaign.
But that only prompted Leave.EU to put out a press notice accusing her of trying to twist the facts.
She was absolutely clear.
We quoted her in her own words on the EU seems that she can also Bend the facts like Beckham.
In social media it may be an uneven contest. Leave.EU has 93,000 followers on Twitter. Beckham has 10.1m.
12.22pm BST
12:22
Here is Boris Johnson responding to the news that David Beckham is backing Remain.
12.20pm BST
12:20
Corbyn criticises tabloid press for denying the public a serious debate about immigration
Jeremy Corbyn’s Q&A is over. Here are two of the best lines.
If the government cannot continue for ever and ends up deciding that it needs to somehow or other navigate around the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in order to have a general election a little sooner, all I can say is we are very, very ready for that.
I also understand the role of some of our popular media in failing to have any serious presentational discussion about the issues either way in this debate.
He appealed to people to think about the issue in a “balanced” way.
What I say to people [is], just think the thing through in a balanced way; the 1m plus British people living in Europe and working there and contributing, the almost 1m more who are living there doing work for a temporary period, and the numbers of European migrants that are living, working, paying taxes in Britain, and helping us run our health service and many, many other services. It is not individuals that we should be blaming because of their nationality or because of the colour of their skin or their ethnicity. It is governments that underfund and under-provide services, and companies that grossly exploit and seek to divide people. I’m just asking for a sense of proportion and a sense of decency about this.
And he repeated his call for the government to restore the migration impact fund to help areas affected by high immigration. He said he would keep raising this point with the government “again and again”.
11.53am BST
11:53
Q: You have been accused of running a lacklustre campaign. Have your messages cut through?
Corbyn says he has visited every major city in the country, and travelled thousands of miles by train. He thinks his message is getting through.
Labour has had a problem with the media being focused on the problems in the Conservative party. They have not engaged with the issues Labour has raised.
There are only 48 hours left, he says, but to misquote Harold Wilson, 48 hour is a very long time in politics.
11.51am BST
11:51
Q: Do you understand why many Labour supporters do not back free movement of labour?
Corbyn says he understands the concerns.
And he understands the way some in the media have presented the issues in such a way as to make a serious debate impossible.
He says he is calling for the reintroduction of a migrant impact fund. He will raise this again and again with the government.
But he urges people to think this through in a balanced way. Think of all the Britons working abroad. And think of all the EU migrants here working and paying taxes. It is not individuals we should be blaming. It is the government that should be funding services.
He says he would like to have a sensible debate on this. If he goes to hospital, he does not care who looks after him and where they come from.
11.48am BST
11:48
Corbyn's Q&A
Corbyn is now taking questions.
Q: In the Guardian today Len McCluskey says the EU and its single market rules have held down wages. Are you worried supporting Remain could cost you the support of some Labour voters.
Corbyn says the proportion of national income going on wages has been reducing. He says Labour will be offering a completely different agenda in 2020, or sooner if there is an election before then.
Q: Are you telling Labour voters they should trust David Cameron and George Osborne more than Boris Johnson and Michael Gove? And could there be a snap election?
Corbyn says it is not for him to intrude on private grief in the Tory party.
If the government cannot continue for ever, and it wants to “navigate around” the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, Labour is “very, very ready for that”.
Q: How seriously do you take the risks of black Friday? And how can you persuade Labour voters, given you are lukewarm about the EU?
Corbyn says he does his best to be persuasive on all occasions.
He says there are dangers to the economy. There could be problems for the pound in the short term. And, in the long term, if a tariff wall were to go up, that would create problems for exporters.
He says he has many criticisms of the EU. But he wants to reform it by linking up with others. He says the Labour party is overwhelmingly in favour of staying in and trying to reform it.
He says if anyone wants a lesson on bad employment practices, they should read the Commons select committee report on Sports Direct when it comes out.
11.40am BST
11:40
Corbyn says that a vote to leave the EU would embolden Nigel Farage and those who support the “disgusting” poster that he produced.
He says prejudice, nastiness and racism never built a house, taught a child or trained a doctor.
Housing is in short supply because governments have not built enough, he says.
He says migrant workers are not a burden on the NHS. They are its saviours. He says you are more likely to be treated by an EU migrant in hospital than to be lying in a bed next to one.
And he says the humanitarian refugee crisis should be dealt with with “humanity”, not “nastiness”.
So let’s unite to try to make the EU a better place, he says.
And that’s it. Corbyn has finished his speech.
11.30am BST
11:30
Jeremy Corbyn starts by talking about Jo Cox. He says he has received messages of support for politicians and trade unionists from all over the world following her killing.
He says he wants to make the Labour position very clear. Labour is in favour of staying in, for jobs and for workers’ rights.
He says a Labour government in the 1970s introduced the Equal Pay Act. But it did not go far enough. Fourteen years later, it was strengthened by an EU directive, ensuring that work of equal value received equal pay.
He says rights to annual leave have been underpinned by the EU. Without that, people would not have the right to 28 days’ paid holiday.
He says he wants Labour to campaign to eliminate zero-hours contracts in the UK and in the EU as a whole. He says many European countries, such as Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Holland, Poland and Spain have already made them illegal.
He says there are employers in the UK would would like to move to the US norm of workers having only two weeks of paid holiday a year, instead of four weeks.
And he says Priti Patel, the Conservative employment minister, says she wants to tear up half of employment regulations if we leave the EU. She needs to tell us which rights she would give up, he says.
