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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jul/20/germany-uk-brexit-theresa-may-angela-merkel-politics-live
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| UK must 'act quickly' on Brexit, says German foreign minister – politics live | UK must 'act quickly' on Brexit, says German foreign minister – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.26am BST | |
| 08:26 | |
| Nick Clegg, having weighed in to demand a general election before Brexit actually happens, begins his new job today as the Liberal Democrats’ official spokesman for Brexit. Well, on Brexit. The Lib Dems are not “for”. | |
| Here’s what Clegg – who didn’t take a frontbench role in Tim Farron’s team after stepping down as leader last year – has to say about his new role: | |
| Theresa May says Brexit means Brexit but no one actually knows what that means. Will we be in the single market or cut off from it, with all the implications that has for British jobs and our economy? What does it mean for immigration? What about the Brits who live abroad and the Europeans who have made our country their home? How will we co-operate with our neighbours to tackle terrorism, cross-border crime and climate change? | |
| With no meaningful opposition from the Labour party, no exit plan from the government, Whitehall unprepared for the Brexit negotiations, and above all, Theresa May’s refusal to seek a mandate from the people for what is in effect a new government, there is a real risk that she and her Brexit ministers won’t be subject to the scrutiny and accountability which voters deserve. | |
| Whatever your views on Brexit, it is in everyone’s interest to make sure what happens next is debated openly and scrutinised properly. So I want to make clear that we will work openly and collaboratively with people of all parties and none who believe that Britain must remain an open economy and a tolerant, outward-looking nation. | |
| 8.16am BST | |
| 08:16 | |
| My colleague Kate Connolly offers this perspective from Berlin on today’s meeting between Theresa May and Angela Merkel: | |
| When Merkel made her first visit to the UK as newly elected German chancellor in 2005, she was quickly referred to as Germany’s Margaret Thatcher. No one makes such a comparison any more. Instead May is referred to as Britain’s Merkel and it has even been suggested has modelled herself on her German counterpart, not least in her maiden speech in which she expressed her wish to ‘make Britain a country that works for everyone’, which had strong echoes of Merkel’s social market tendencies … | |
| In a nod to the potential convivial relationship the two women might have, as well as their unlikely rises through the ranks of male-dominated conservative parties, a Berliner Zeitung cartoon depicted them drinking cups of tea, with Merkel telling May ‘Simply let the men get on with their thing …’ and May, fresh from taking over from David Cameron, finishing her sentence with ‘… and then you end up getting their jobs!’. | |
| (That noise you can hear is my eyebrow hitting my hairline at that “their jobs” comment.) | |
| Read the full article here: | |
| Related: May meets Merkel: historic encounter dominated by Brexit | |
| 8.10am BST | |
| 08:10 | |
| Seeing as we’re talking about Owen Smith’s 2005 comments, here’s one from Jeremy Corbyn in 2003, courtesy of Private Eye: | |
| From Private Eye: Jeremy Corbyn gets his wish at last pic.twitter.com/C9U06SZ6fx | |
| 7.59am BST | 7.59am BST |
| 07:59 | 07:59 |
| Smith says if elected, he would offer Jeremy Corbyn a job: a role as president or chairman of Labour, he suggests would suit him. But he’s just not a leader, Smith insists. | Smith says if elected, he would offer Jeremy Corbyn a job: a role as president or chairman of Labour, he suggests would suit him. But he’s just not a leader, Smith insists. |
| 7.58am BST | 7.58am BST |
| 07:58 | 07:58 |
| Questioning turns to Smith’s time as a lobbyist for pharmaceutical firms including Pfizer. | Questioning turns to Smith’s time as a lobbyist for pharmaceutical firms including Pfizer. |
| He says its “clearly not true” that he wanted private providers to take over more of the NHS. He did not commission the report in question, he maintains. | He says its “clearly not true” that he wanted private providers to take over more of the NHS. He did not commission the report in question, he maintains. |
| I’ve never advocated privatisation of the NHS … | I’ve never advocated privatisation of the NHS … |
| There are already many services in the NHS provided by the private sector, adding that the last Labour government made a mistake with its steps towards privatisation, introducing a “Trojan horse” for the Tory government to take it further. | There are already many services in the NHS provided by the private sector, adding that the last Labour government made a mistake with its steps towards privatisation, introducing a “Trojan horse” for the Tory government to take it further. |
| 7.55am BST | 7.55am BST |
| 07:55 | 07:55 |
| Owen Smith on the Today programme | Owen Smith on the Today programme |
| Owen Smith has now made his way on to the Today programme. | Owen Smith has now made his way on to the Today programme. |
| We do need a radical, left Labour party that has a clear sense of what it’s about … I will provide that because those are my politics. | We do need a radical, left Labour party that has a clear sense of what it’s about … I will provide that because those are my politics. |
| But he says they need to provide “powerful opposition” and to be a government-in-waiting: that’s not what voters see right now, he says. | But he says they need to provide “powerful opposition” and to be a government-in-waiting: that’s not what voters see right now, he says. |
| That’s why people have lost faith in Jeremy … Jeremy’s been great at identifying some of the questions, some of the challenges, but he’s not been great at the answers. | That’s why people have lost faith in Jeremy … Jeremy’s been great at identifying some of the questions, some of the challenges, but he’s not been great at the answers. |
| Anti-austerity, Smith says, is just a slogan at the moment. He proposes a £200bn investment programme, funded through the government, to build infrastructure including schools, railways, 300,000 houses a year. | Anti-austerity, Smith says, is just a slogan at the moment. He proposes a £200bn investment programme, funded through the government, to build infrastructure including schools, railways, 300,000 houses a year. |
| Jeremy Corbyn’s never spelt out what he wants to spend … It’s time for Labour to start offering more than slogans. | Jeremy Corbyn’s never spelt out what he wants to spend … It’s time for Labour to start offering more than slogans. |
| 7.42am BST | 7.42am BST |
| 07:42 | 07:42 |
| The Telegraph reports that Theresa May will move into Downing Street this week – having begun her tenure at No 10 by commuting in each day: | The Telegraph reports that Theresa May will move into Downing Street this week – having begun her tenure at No 10 by commuting in each day: |
| Mrs May agreed a timetable with David Cameron after she took over the residence following Andrea Leadsom’s unexpected decision to stand down from the leadership race. | Mrs May agreed a timetable with David Cameron after she took over the residence following Andrea Leadsom’s unexpected decision to stand down from the leadership race. |
| It is thought that the speed of the change meant Mr Cameron and his family needed more time to pack their belongings and removal vans were spotted in the street over the weekend. | It is thought that the speed of the change meant Mr Cameron and his family needed more time to pack their belongings and removal vans were spotted in the street over the weekend. |
| May will, in fact, live in No 11, while chancellor Philip Hammond takes the smaller (it’s all relative) No 10 residence, following the pattern set by the Camerons and Osbornes. | May will, in fact, live in No 11, while chancellor Philip Hammond takes the smaller (it’s all relative) No 10 residence, following the pattern set by the Camerons and Osbornes. |
| 7.30am BST | 7.30am BST |
| 07:30 | 07:30 |
| A confession: I can’t see Owen Smith on ITV’s Good Morning Britain right now, but I assume – and hope – that this question was asked in relation to Smith’s past employment at Pfizer: | A confession: I can’t see Owen Smith on ITV’s Good Morning Britain right now, but I assume – and hope – that this question was asked in relation to Smith’s past employment at Pfizer: |
| NEW: Have you tried viagra? "I haven't, I've never needed it" @OwenSmith_MP, man who wants to be next Labour Leader talking to @PiersMorgan. | NEW: Have you tried viagra? "I haven't, I've never needed it" @OwenSmith_MP, man who wants to be next Labour Leader talking to @PiersMorgan. |
| 7.27am BST | 7.27am BST |
| 07:27 | 07:27 |
| Labour challenger Owen Smith is hurtling from studio to studio this morning, and right now he’s on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. | Labour challenger Owen Smith is hurtling from studio to studio this morning, and right now he’s on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. |
| He did once, he admits, when working as a researcher on the BBC’s Today programme, call 999 to get a comment from the police on a story: “We all do daft things when we’re young.” | He did once, he admits, when working as a researcher on the BBC’s Today programme, call 999 to get a comment from the police on a story: “We all do daft things when we’re young.” |
| Owen Smith tells @GMB on calling 999 to get a comment from police: "There was a bit of a culture of bullying, I made a very silly decision." | Owen Smith tells @GMB on calling 999 to get a comment from police: "There was a bit of a culture of bullying, I made a very silly decision." |
| 7.01am BST | 7.01am BST |
| 07:01 | 07:01 |
| Morning briefing | Morning briefing |
| Claire Phipps | Claire Phipps |
| Good morning and welcome to our daily politics live blog. Here’s your morning briefing to wake you up and switch you on to the day’s key news, before the live blog guides you through it all. | Good morning and welcome to our daily politics live blog. Here’s your morning briefing to wake you up and switch you on to the day’s key news, before the live blog guides you through it all. |
| Do come and share thoughts and questions in the comments below, or find me on Twitter: @Claire_Phipps. | Do come and share thoughts and questions in the comments below, or find me on Twitter: @Claire_Phipps. |
| The big picture | The big picture |
| After a break-up she didn’t want, Theresa May heads to Berlin today to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the divorce terms. They’ll talk Brexit negotiations and the delicate timetabling of article 50, after which we’ll be treated to pictures of their shoes and analyses of their jackets or some such rubbish. | After a break-up she didn’t want, Theresa May heads to Berlin today to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the divorce terms. They’ll talk Brexit negotiations and the delicate timetabling of article 50, after which we’ll be treated to pictures of their shoes and analyses of their jackets or some such rubbish. |
| Still, let’s cheer ourselves up with the prospect of a top-level political meeting that passes the Bechdel test. | Still, let’s cheer ourselves up with the prospect of a top-level political meeting that passes the Bechdel test. |
| May will be taking her Brexit-means-Brexit banner with her to the meeting with Merkel, and on Thursday with French president François Hollande: | May will be taking her Brexit-means-Brexit banner with her to the meeting with Merkel, and on Thursday with French president François Hollande: |
| I am determined that Britain will make a success of leaving the European Union and that’s why I have decided to visit Berlin and Paris so soon after taking office. | I am determined that Britain will make a success of leaving the European Union and that’s why I have decided to visit Berlin and Paris so soon after taking office. |
| I do not underestimate the challenge of negotiating our exit from the EU and I firmly believe that being able to talk frankly and openly about the issues we face will be an important part of a successful negotiation. | I do not underestimate the challenge of negotiating our exit from the EU and I firmly believe that being able to talk frankly and openly about the issues we face will be an important part of a successful negotiation. |
| Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier – who’ll be on his way to Washington as May goes to Berlin – is urging haste along with that frankness and openness: | Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier – who’ll be on his way to Washington as May goes to Berlin – is urging haste along with that frankness and openness: |
| I think we can expect that Britons will act as quickly as possible to end this period of uncertainty in Britain and in Europe. | I think we can expect that Britons will act as quickly as possible to end this period of uncertainty in Britain and in Europe. |
| Despite Brexit, we need the cooperation with Britain in our international relations, particularly in these times of crisis. | Despite Brexit, we need the cooperation with Britain in our international relations, particularly in these times of crisis. |
| Those personalities that campaign for Brexit are now obligated and responsible to make the decision a reality. | Those personalities that campaign for Brexit are now obligated and responsible to make the decision a reality. |
| Here’s one of those personalities, the new foreign secretary Boris Johnson, not feeling obligated to make amends for previous statements about “the part-Kenyan president’s ancestral dislike of the British empire” (that’s Barack Obama, by the way) or likening Hillary Clinton to “a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital”. Diplomacy is such a yawn, isn’t it? | Here’s one of those personalities, the new foreign secretary Boris Johnson, not feeling obligated to make amends for previous statements about “the part-Kenyan president’s ancestral dislike of the British empire” (that’s Barack Obama, by the way) or likening Hillary Clinton to “a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital”. Diplomacy is such a yawn, isn’t it? |
| Oh my. AP reporter Brad Klapper lays it in to Boris Johnson. Quite the question. https://t.co/jd638DmDfx | Oh my. AP reporter Brad Klapper lays it in to Boris Johnson. Quite the question. https://t.co/jd638DmDfx |
| Meanwhile, back at Westminster | Meanwhile, back at Westminster |
| May will host her first PMQs at noon against – *checks news* – Jeremy Corbyn, still the leader of the opposition, despite the efforts of his own opposition. | May will host her first PMQs at noon against – *checks news* – Jeremy Corbyn, still the leader of the opposition, despite the efforts of his own opposition. |
| That unity candidate has been chosen now, and it’s Owen Smith, who secured the backing of more MPs and MEPs than challenger number one, Angela Eagle – 90 for Smith v 72 for Eagle, according to Guardian calculations. Eagle has stepped out but insists she remains “in lockstep together” with Smith to oust Corbyn. | That unity candidate has been chosen now, and it’s Owen Smith, who secured the backing of more MPs and MEPs than challenger number one, Angela Eagle – 90 for Smith v 72 for Eagle, according to Guardian calculations. Eagle has stepped out but insists she remains “in lockstep together” with Smith to oust Corbyn. |
| Smith, perhaps having decided that “I am normal” isn’t the most inspiring of rallying cries, made a fresh appeal: | Smith, perhaps having decided that “I am normal” isn’t the most inspiring of rallying cries, made a fresh appeal: |
| I want to say to all members of the Labour party tonight, young and old, longstanding and new members: I can be your champion. I am just as radical as Jeremy Corbyn. | I want to say to all members of the Labour party tonight, young and old, longstanding and new members: I can be your champion. I am just as radical as Jeremy Corbyn. |
| But, ask some, how radical was Smith when he worked as a lobbyist in the pharmaceutical industry before becoming an MP in 2010? That depends on your definition of radical, perhaps, with the Times reporting today: | But, ask some, how radical was Smith when he worked as a lobbyist in the pharmaceutical industry before becoming an MP in 2010? That depends on your definition of radical, perhaps, with the Times reporting today: |
| In October 2005, commenting on a Pfizer-backed report into offering patients a choice between NHS services and private-sector healthcare providers, Mr Smith said: ‘We believe that choice is a good thing and that patients and healthcare professionals should be at the heart of developing the agenda.’ | In October 2005, commenting on a Pfizer-backed report into offering patients a choice between NHS services and private-sector healthcare providers, Mr Smith said: ‘We believe that choice is a good thing and that patients and healthcare professionals should be at the heart of developing the agenda.’ |
| Smith’s campaign responded: | Smith’s campaign responded: |
| Owen has been crystal clear that he is 100% committed to a fully publicly owned NHS, free at the point of use. He has repeatedly argued passionately for this. | Owen has been crystal clear that he is 100% committed to a fully publicly owned NHS, free at the point of use. He has repeatedly argued passionately for this. |
| Would-be Labour influencers have until 5pm Wednesday to register (and shell out £25) to vote in the leadership bout. | Would-be Labour influencers have until 5pm Wednesday to register (and shell out £25) to vote in the leadership bout. |
| You should also know: | You should also know: |
| Diary | Diary |
| Read these | Read these |
| The latest in the Guardian’s Europe after Brexit series shines a light on France, where the far-right has seen an opportunity in the UK’s vote to leave the EU. | The latest in the Guardian’s Europe after Brexit series shines a light on France, where the far-right has seen an opportunity in the UK’s vote to leave the EU. |
| Sam Bright, writing in the New Statesman, says the major parties ought to keep an eye on a refreshed Ukip: | Sam Bright, writing in the New Statesman, says the major parties ought to keep an eye on a refreshed Ukip: |
| Farage’s doom-mongering about repressed wages, overwhelmed public services and burgeoning crime is being supplanted by a positive message focused on opportunity and success. Ukip is casting off its petulant whinging and is starting to evolve into a grown-up political party. | Farage’s doom-mongering about repressed wages, overwhelmed public services and burgeoning crime is being supplanted by a positive message focused on opportunity and success. Ukip is casting off its petulant whinging and is starting to evolve into a grown-up political party. |
| Yet, even as it crafts a more professional, forward-thinking image, Ukip will retain its hero status as the anti-establishment victor of the referendum. Thus, if the Tories’ centre-ground pitch proves to be a rhetorical illusion, Ukip will surely entice those who are attracted by the promise of social mobility, but are fed up with the backsliding of mainstream politicians. | Yet, even as it crafts a more professional, forward-thinking image, Ukip will retain its hero status as the anti-establishment victor of the referendum. Thus, if the Tories’ centre-ground pitch proves to be a rhetorical illusion, Ukip will surely entice those who are attracted by the promise of social mobility, but are fed up with the backsliding of mainstream politicians. |
| More of a “saving you from reading” choice, as Sarah Vine’s return to her Daily Mail column swerves the only issue we want to hear about, but offers this harrumph: | More of a “saving you from reading” choice, as Sarah Vine’s return to her Daily Mail column swerves the only issue we want to hear about, but offers this harrumph: |
| An infuriating new cliche has entered the vernacular: ‘life chances’. It crops up everywhere, from interviews with politicians to reports by charities, and has no meaning other than to ostentatiously display the user’s social conscience. | An infuriating new cliche has entered the vernacular: ‘life chances’. It crops up everywhere, from interviews with politicians to reports by charities, and has no meaning other than to ostentatiously display the user’s social conscience. |
| All I can say is this: the next person who says it to me may find theirs drastically curtailed. | All I can say is this: the next person who says it to me may find theirs drastically curtailed. |
| Would it be churlish to point Vine in the direction of this speech by Michael Gove, when education secretary? | Would it be churlish to point Vine in the direction of this speech by Michael Gove, when education secretary? |
| The essence of this attack is a belief that teaching cannot actually make that much of a difference to the life chances of children. | The essence of this attack is a belief that teaching cannot actually make that much of a difference to the life chances of children. |
| And from the same speech: | And from the same speech: |
| Why do these schools succeed, transforming poor children’s lives and life chances, for good? | Why do these schools succeed, transforming poor children’s lives and life chances, for good? |
| Hmmm of the day | Hmmm of the day |
| “Politics is not a game,” May told her new cabinet on Tuesday, sitting next to the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. | “Politics is not a game,” May told her new cabinet on Tuesday, sitting next to the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. |
| Celebrity parallel-drawing of the day | Celebrity parallel-drawing of the day |
| Ralph Fiennes, currently appearing as Richard III at London’s Almeida theatre, sees some modern-day reflections of Shakespeare’s scheming king: | Ralph Fiennes, currently appearing as Richard III at London’s Almeida theatre, sees some modern-day reflections of Shakespeare’s scheming king: |
| Michael Gove is closest. Because all those protestations about ‘I could never lead, it’s not in my DNA to lead’ – that’s classic Richard. | Michael Gove is closest. Because all those protestations about ‘I could never lead, it’s not in my DNA to lead’ – that’s classic Richard. |
| Director Rupert Goold admitted he’d originally had a different character in mind: | Director Rupert Goold admitted he’d originally had a different character in mind: |
| I thought Boris is this figure who is physically strange and yet sexually predatory and potent, inherently comic, outside the rules, of questionable motives, ultimately ambitious. It was going to be very crude ... Milibands as princes in the tower. | I thought Boris is this figure who is physically strange and yet sexually predatory and potent, inherently comic, outside the rules, of questionable motives, ultimately ambitious. It was going to be very crude ... Milibands as princes in the tower. |
| The day in a tweet | The day in a tweet |
| The Big Brother contestants found out that Theresa May is our PM last night. It went as well as you would expect. pic.twitter.com/ivWvWJRi0I | The Big Brother contestants found out that Theresa May is our PM last night. It went as well as you would expect. pic.twitter.com/ivWvWJRi0I |
| If today were a GCSE German question | If today were a GCSE German question |
| It would be wie komme ich am besten zum Brexit, bitte? | It would be wie komme ich am besten zum Brexit, bitte? |
| And another thing | And another thing |
| Would you like to wake up to this briefing in your inbox? Sign up here. | Would you like to wake up to this briefing in your inbox? Sign up here. |