This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jul/05/brexit-live-tory-leadership-tom-watson-unions-jeremy-corbyn

The article has changed 28 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 9 Version 10
Brexit live: Farage 'disgusted' at May's refusal to promise EU nationals they can stay in UK Brexit live: Farage 'disgusted' at May's refusal to promise EU nationals they can stay in UK
(35 minutes later)
12.57pm BST
12:57
Richard Adams
The Tory leadership race is dragging politics into primary school test results, with Labour and the Lib Dems using today’s key stage two Sats statistics as an weapon to bash contender Michael Gove and his backer Nicky Morgan.
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, said: “These Sats results show starkly that they are gambling the futures of these young people on Michael Gove’s misty-eyed world view where every school is a prep or grammar school, students are robotic and teachers skip around teaching past participles and antonyms by rote to 7 year olds. It sounds more like an Enid Blyton book than reality.”
And then there’s this from Lucy Powell, who resigned from Labour’s front bench last week: “Nicky Morgan should spend less time sucking up to Tory leadership candidates and more time trying to sort out the mess they have created. There’s no dressing these results up - there has been a big drop in results and standards have fallen due to the chaos and confusion in assessment created by Tory Ministers past and present.”
The new-look Sats show a bigger gap in attainment in reading and maths than in previous years, which the DfE and Morgan attribute to the new tougher Sats.
Updated
at 12.57pm BST
12.53pm BST
12:53
Kate Connolly
Time was when British commentators loved to compare Angela Merkel, when she first came into office over a decade ago, to Margaret Thatcher. Merkel was going to be Germany’s Eiserne Frau or Iron Lady. No one makes that comparison any more. Instead, German commentators are right now struck by the strong resemblances between Theresa May and their own leader, Angela Merkel, writes our Berlin correspondent, Kate Connolly.
In a commentary for the German TV station NTV, Wolfram Weimer writes: “The home secretary has the best chance. With her, London would get a duplicate of the German chancellor.”
Reflecting on the fact that it has in the past not infrequently been a woman who has steered Britain out of a crisis, listing Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria and Margaret Thatcher as examples, Weimer says, now it could well be May’s turn to take up the role. He describes the 59-year-old as “something like the Angela Merkel of England. A pastor’s daughter who operates in an aloof and sober way, but who always knows exactly what she wants. Like Merkel, May was also the general secretary of her party during a time of crisis, like Merkel she applied ointment to the wound, like Merkel, May has managed to assert herself against all manner of macho men, with a cool determination.”
She is also “ambitious just like her German prototype … and in London they talk of her having the ‘stamina of a German’,” he notes.
And, he adds, just as Merkel got her party back on track following the fall of (Helmut) Kohl over a spending affair which engulfed her Christian Democrats, “so too Theresa May could become the big reconciler of the deeply split Tories.”
Die Welt calls May the “Ingenious survivor of the Brexit Drama”, drawing again on pastor’s daughter comparisons, and calling both women sober decision-makers, neither of whom are showy or keen for the limelight.
Both are part of a new ‘femokratie’ it says, coming to “clean up the mess created by the men”, in the guise of “postmodern Elektras in trouser suits with rubber gloves”. Like Merkel, it considers May to be “businesslike, technocratic, a safe, calm hand, who one can trust to steer the party and the country in a calm and collected manner”.
The broadcaster Deutschlandfunk says it is no surprise that May is “often compared to the German chancellor. She too is the daughter of a pastor and is married but with no children”.
Like Merkel she is “indomitable, strict, extremely hard-working and astute. But also unapproachable, serious, and rather shy … she is not jovial, she doesn’t talk until she’s blue in the face”. Her somewhat sober image only intensified during her time in office as home secretary, it adds. But a major difference between the two, the broadcaster points out, is that unlike Merkel, May has not tended to stand up for immigration.
Updated
at 12.59pm BST
12.47pm BST
12:47
Alistair Burt to resign as health minister
Jeremy Corbyn is not the only party leader losing frontbenchers. The health minister, Alistair Burt, has just told MPs that he will leave the government when the new prime minister takes over. This is from the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith.
Alistair Burt, Tory health minister, just announced he will step down from front bench when new leader is installed.
I have not seen a more detailed explanation yet for his move.
Updated
at 12.49pm BST
12.41pm BST
12:41
Boris Johnson explains why he's not backing Gove
And, talking of Boris Johnson, he has just been speaking to Sky News about why he is backing Andrea Leadsom. It is because she is very experienced and “very, very capable” and because she will build a good team, he said.
And why aren’t you backing Michael Gove, he was asked. Johnson smiled, and replied:
Because Andrea Leadsom, I think, has all the qualities that you need at the moment. She’s got a lot of zap, a lot of drive, and all the experience. Plus I think she can articulate what’s needed at the moment, which is a bit of an antidote to some of the gloom and negativity and misunderstanding about what the Brexit vote means. Because some people think that it’s the end of the world. It’s not. On the contrary, it’s a massive opportunity for this country.
At least, that’s the anodyne answer. An honest reply would have been a lot more interesting.
Updated
at 12.43pm BST
12.31pm BST
12:31
Speaking in the European parliament this morning, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European parliament, described Boris Johnson, the leading Tory Vote Leave campaigner, and Nigel Farage, the outgoing Ukip leader, as “retro-nationalists”.
12.19pm BST12.19pm BST
12:1912:19
Crispin Blunt accuses Cameron of 'dereliction of duty' over failure to prepare for BrexitCrispin Blunt accuses Cameron of 'dereliction of duty' over failure to prepare for Brexit
Crispin Blunt, the Conservative MP who chairs the foreign affairs committee, told Oliver Letwin that it was a “dereliction of duty” for David Cameron not to make any contingency planning for a Brexit vote. There were only two possible outcomes from the referendum, he said. And, since Cameron said he was planning to remain as prime minister whatever the result, he should have planned for a leave vote, he said.Crispin Blunt, the Conservative MP who chairs the foreign affairs committee, told Oliver Letwin that it was a “dereliction of duty” for David Cameron not to make any contingency planning for a Brexit vote. There were only two possible outcomes from the referendum, he said. And, since Cameron said he was planning to remain as prime minister whatever the result, he should have planned for a leave vote, he said.
UpdatedUpdated
at 12.22pm BSTat 12.22pm BST
12.14pm BST12.14pm BST
12:1412:14
Letwin says that his unit is preparing a series of option papers for the next government. He wants to have them ready for 9 September, when the new prime minister is elected.Letwin says that his unit is preparing a series of option papers for the next government. He wants to have them ready for 9 September, when the new prime minister is elected.
Those option papers will not include recommendations, he says.Those option papers will not include recommendations, he says.
He says they will cover issues like how the UK could maintain policing and security cooperation with EU countries after Brexit.He says they will cover issues like how the UK could maintain policing and security cooperation with EU countries after Brexit.
12.11pm BST12.11pm BST
12:1112:11
Oliver Letwin gives evidence to the foreign affairs committee on BrexitOliver Letwin gives evidence to the foreign affairs committee on Brexit
Oliver Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister who is overseeing preparations for the EU withdrawal negotiations, is giving evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee now. You can watch the hearing here.Oliver Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister who is overseeing preparations for the EU withdrawal negotiations, is giving evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee now. You can watch the hearing here.
I will be monitoring it closely, and posting any highlights, but without covering it in full.I will be monitoring it closely, and posting any highlights, but without covering it in full.
Letwin started by saying that his team would not be taking decisions about the terms of withdrawal. That was a matter for the next prime minister, he said.Letwin started by saying that his team would not be taking decisions about the terms of withdrawal. That was a matter for the next prime minister, he said.
And he said he was not starting the withdrawal negotiations.And he said he was not starting the withdrawal negotiations.
But what he and the team of civil servants are doing is making preparations for those negotiations, he said.But what he and the team of civil servants are doing is making preparations for those negotiations, he said.
For example, they need to pull together a cadre of experts specialist in trade negotations.For example, they need to pull together a cadre of experts specialist in trade negotations.
And they want to pull together as much information as possible, he said.And they want to pull together as much information as possible, he said.
12.05pm BST12.05pm BST
12:0512:05
Michael Dougan, professor of European law at the University of Liverpool, has been giving evidence to the Commons Treasury committee this morning about Brexit. My colleague Patrick Wintour has some of the highlights.Michael Dougan, professor of European law at the University of Liverpool, has been giving evidence to the Commons Treasury committee this morning about Brexit. My colleague Patrick Wintour has some of the highlights.
Prof. Michael Dougan: EFTA countries can be taken to EFTA court by EFTA surveillance authority. Judgements are binding in international law.Prof. Michael Dougan: EFTA countries can be taken to EFTA court by EFTA surveillance authority. Judgements are binding in international law.
This means that if the UK adopted a Norway-style arrangement that involved membership of EFTA (the European Free Trade Association) it would still be subject to the decisions of a foreign court.This means that if the UK adopted a Norway-style arrangement that involved membership of EFTA (the European Free Trade Association) it would still be subject to the decisions of a foreign court.
Dougan on withdrawal:"main worry is it is a job that cannot be done by parliament alone, requires enormous delegation of power to executive"Dougan on withdrawal:"main worry is it is a job that cannot be done by parliament alone, requires enormous delegation of power to executive"
Dougan to Treas Sel Comm. French legal service has told French govt is that it would be possible for UK to trigger Art 50, and then revoke.Dougan to Treas Sel Comm. French legal service has told French govt is that it would be possible for UK to trigger Art 50, and then revoke.
Dougan: To secure an EEA agreement, UK must avoid a veto by Swiss, 3 EFTA countries, 27 EU countries and European Parliament. 32 vetoes.Dougan: To secure an EEA agreement, UK must avoid a veto by Swiss, 3 EFTA countries, 27 EU countries and European Parliament. 32 vetoes.
The EEA is the European Economic Area, which comprises all EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.The EEA is the European Economic Area, which comprises all EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Many experts (boo) to Treasury Sel Comm say national elections in France and Germany mean no sense in triggering Art 50 until late 2017,Many experts (boo) to Treasury Sel Comm say national elections in France and Germany mean no sense in triggering Art 50 until late 2017,
UpdatedUpdated
at 12.08pm BSTat 12.08pm BST
11.52am BST11.52am BST
11:5211:52
Here is Sky News’ latest tally on how many declared MP supporters each candidate in the Tory leadership contest has.Here is Sky News’ latest tally on how many declared MP supporters each candidate in the Tory leadership contest has.
Latest on MPs from @SkyNews in Tory leadership contest MAY:122CRABB:25GOVE:27FOX:8LEADSOM:40Latest on MPs from @SkyNews in Tory leadership contest MAY:122CRABB:25GOVE:27FOX:8LEADSOM:40
11.48am BST11.48am BST
11:4811:48
Labour is going to hold an emergency debate in the Commons tomorrow on the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, says.Labour is going to hold an emergency debate in the Commons tomorrow on the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, says.
Shadow Cabinet has agreed to hold an emergency debate tomorrow on EU nationals living in UK. Please ask your MP to support Labour motion. RTShadow Cabinet has agreed to hold an emergency debate tomorrow on EU nationals living in UK. Please ask your MP to support Labour motion. RT
11.44am BST
11:44
Jeremy Corbyn is due to announce the full details of his new shadow cabinet, the BBC’s Vicki Young reports.
Final Shadow Cab line up will be announced later. Asked about junior posts Corbyn spokesman says "Rome wasn't built in a day." #labour
11.41am BST
11:41
In the House of Lords peers have just started a debate on the EU referendum. More than 100 peers are due to speak and you can see who will be speaking, and when, on the speakers’ list on the Lords whips office website.
I will not be covering the debate in detail, but I will try to flag up any highlights.
You can watch the debate here.
11.36am BST
11:36
Lib Dems says Bank of England report shows leave campaigners have been lying about impact of Brexit
The Liberal Democrats are saying that today’s Bank of England financial stability report (see 11.28am) shows that the leaders of the leave campaign have been lying to the public about the economic consequences of Brexit. This is from Susan Kramer, the Lib Dems’ Treasury spokesperson.
The leaders of the Brexit campaign, including Andrea Leadsom, have been quick to claim that any hit to our economy was a minor blip and already in the past. The Bank of England’s report shows that those who lied during the campaign are continuing to treat the public like fools even now. They need to stop pretending all is well and start acting in the interests of the country.
The FPC’s report confirmed that our economy is now in serious danger as business confidence evaporates. Every single job lost, every deal cancelled and every home foreclosed will be on the hands of those who promised the earth but offer no clear picture for our future relationship with Europe.
Cutting the capital buffers is a sensible move, but we need central government to act as aggressively as the Bank of England. That means opening up a line of credit via the British Business Bank to support those high innovation businesses who will now struggle to get bank lending, overdraft facilities and financing.
11.28am BST
11:28
Bank of England says 'some market and economic volatility' expected after Brexit vote
The Bank of England has published its financial stability report today. You can read it here.
And here is an extract from the executive summary.
There will be a period of uncertainty and adjustment following the result of the referendum. It will take time for the United Kingdom to establish new relationships with the European Union and the rest of the world. Some market and economic volatility is to be expected as this process unfolds.
The degree of uncertainty and nature of adjustment is evident in financial market prices, which have moved sharply following the referendum. Between 23 June and 1 July, the sterling exchange rate index fell by 9% and short-term volatility of sterling against the dollar rose to its highest level in the post-Bretton Woods era. Equity prices of UK banks have fallen on average by 20%, with UK-focused banks experiencing the largest falls. Equity prices of domestically focused companies have fallen by 10%. The ten-year UK government bond yield fell by 52 basis points. These moves reflect an increase in risk premia on UK assets, a perceived weaker growth outlook, and anticipation of some future deterioration in the United Kingdom’s terms of trade and supply capacity.
11.21am BST
11:21
Sterling falls to new lows against dollar and euro
The pound is continuing to fall in value in the light of the Brexit vote, the Press Association reports.
Sterling plunged to new lows against both the dollar and the euro on Tuesday as the UK’s decision to leave the European Union continues to batter investor confidence in the country.
The pound plunged to 1.3117 dollars, down 12% since the Brexit vote and hitting a 31-year low. Sterling also fell to its weakest level against the euro since 2013 at 1.1787 euros.
The currency was dented after data showed Britain’s dominant services sector slipped back last month as Brexit uncertainty intensified.
The closely-watched Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) recorded a worse-than-expected 52.3 in June, down from 53.5 in May and below economist expectations of 52.8.
Measures by the Bank of England to help prop up the British economy, which include relaxing funding rules for banks to boost lending by up to £150bn, failed to buoy the pound.
Updated
at 11.23am BST
11.15am BST
11:15
Bank of England relaxes bank lending rules to help limit risk of Brexit damaging the economy
Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, has just announced that it is easing its bank lending rules to help limit the risk of Brexit damaging the economy.
My colleague Graeme Wearden is covering Carney’s press conference in detail on his business live blog.
Related: Mark Carney eases bank lending rules to fight Brexit crisis as pound hits 31-year low - live updates
And here’s an extract.
Mark Carney confirms that the Bank of England has decided to cut the ‘counter-cyclical capital buffer’ on UK banks.
This means banks need to keep less capital on their books, and can pump up to £150bn more into the economy.
This will “immediately” give banks greater flexibility to lend to UK businesses and households, declares the BoE governor.
11.11am BST
11:11
The Guardian’s account of how the five Tory leadership candidates performed at the private hustings for MPs last night is here.
Others have good accounts too.
Emily Ashton at BuzzFeed says Andrea Leadsom performed badly.
One cabinet minister said she was asked three times about her backing from Ukip and Leave.EU. “When you’re asked to say you’re not Ukip at a hustings to be leader of the Conservative party, you’re in trouble,” he said. “It was a car crash.”
Another MP said her pitch was a “fucking shambles”, adding: “She babbled on about the importance of the frontal cortex for emotional development, said she’d trigger article 50 immediately – and then that she wouldn’t. She was good for the first three minutes though.”
Owen Bennett, at the Huffington Post, says Leadsom’s performance was described as a “car crash”.
James Forsyth, at the Spectator, says Liam Fox seemed to be auditioning for the job of foreign secretary, not prime minister.
Unlike Gove, he devoted most of his 15 minutes to giving a speech. He emphasised his experience and his ability to take decisive decisions. He said that he would ringfence the mental health budget and increase defence spending. He talked about the dangers of cyber-terrorism and won smiles when he warned the 2010 and 2015 intakes not to believe the job offers that candidates make to them.
The view of Tory MPs afterwards was that Fox was, most likely, auditioning to be foreign secretary rather than prime minister. Hence, the global focus of the speech.
Updated
at 11.18am BST
10.56am BST
10:56
Priti Patel, the employment minister and a lead figure in the Vote Leave campaign, has written an article for the Telegraph setting out what qualities she is looking for in the next Conservative leader. She does not say who she is backing, but she says the party needs someone who is “tried and tested, capable of making tough decisions and can lead a team negotiating with EU institutions” but who can also “bring together, both the entire Conservative party and our country”.
Although Patel does not say which of the five candidates best meets these criteria, a source in the Theresa May camp has been emailing a link to the interview to journalists – so perhaps we can draw our own conclusions.
Updated
at 11.19am BST
10.41am BST
10:41
The crisis in Labour is generating increased interest in the possibility of a split, and the formation of a new party. In the Times today Rachel Sylvester says a growing number of MPs and peers are interested in creating a new party of the centre left. (See 6.49am.) And in the Financial Times Janan Ganesh says these Labour splitters should not be deterred by the memory of what happened to the Social Democratic party in the 1980s.
The trauma of Limehouse has paralysed Labour moderates. But if they are going to be cowed by history, they should get that history right. In the end, the SDP won, and won big. The past four prime ministers – John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron – have tried to blend a free economy, a substantial state, cultural looseness and EU membership. Jenkins sensed where the country was going, just too early. Last month’s eruption has broken his consensus but it still commands half of Britons. A new party must speak for them.
Interestingly two Labour MPs, Clive Lewis and Jonathan Reynolds, have written a joint article for LabourList saying the party should embrace proportional representation because of the increasingly fragmented nature of the electorate. They argue:
The Brexit referendum showed what happens when the electorate are given a vote that counts – they take it and use it – packing so much frustration into a decision that was nominally about Europe but clearly about so much more, not least the effects of globalisation on their lives. The contrast could not have been greater with general elections in the UK. Because of the First Past the Post voting system only a few swing voters in a few swing seats are listened to and many voices are never heard.
This combined with the increasingly diverse nature of the UK’s political landscape means that a shift to a proportional voting system is now an urgent imperative. The era of just two big parties representing the vast bulk of the country is over and we now see the pent up consequences of pretending that is still the case. We urge the Labour party to lead the country towards a new politics of the 21st century by embracing proportional representation (PR).
Lewis is a Corbyn supporter and Reynolds is on the right of the party. The clear implication of their article is that Labour should split, although it does not say whether the Corbyn/Momentum/membership faction should be the one that leaves and sets up a new organisation from scratch or the “moderate”/rightwing/PLP one. But the two MPs do envisage the two successor Labour parties working together. They go on:
We welcome the formation of a progressive alliance of parties that understand without PR a more equal, democratic and sustainable society is less likely.
Updated
at 10.45am BST
10.17am BST
10:17
Richard Adams
The vice chancellors of Britain’s leading universities say they are “concerned by reports of increasing xenophobic incidents” and have issued a pledge to protect staff and students from attacks in the wake of the EU referendum result.
The Russell Group of leading UK research universities is in the frontline of Brexit fallout, vulnerable to uncertainty over research funding, staff and student recruitment from Europe.
David Greenaway, vice-chancellor of the University of Nottingham and the group’s chair, and Wendy Piatt, the group’s director-general, have announced that they are already in talks with the government “to ensure the best possible outcome from upcoming negotiations”.Here’s an extract from the full Russell Group statement.
Leaving the EU will have a profound effect on our universities, who have long thrived on global collaboration and international interaction – be it through European staff and students coming to our universities, or when our best researchers work with colleagues across Europe to tackle big social and scientific challenges.
Our universities have, therefore, always warmly welcomed people from different cultures, ethnicities and beliefs. Embracing this very diversity is vital to our success, fundamental to our values and enriches life on campus. So we are especially concerned by reports of increasing xenophobic incidents and how this could impact on our communities. We simply will not tolerate abuse of this sort and any student or staff member who experiences racism or xenophobia on or off our campuses can be assured this will be taken extremely seriously. Now more than ever we should ensure our campuses are places where diversity is welcomed, cherished and respected.