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.
Theresa May arrives in Berlin for Brexit talks with Merkel - live
Theresa May arrives in Berlin for Brexit talks with Merkel - live
(35 minutes later)
5.33pm BST
17:33
Merkel May presser about to start, watch on @bbcnews - not just 1st press Conf of 2 together, new PM's first as well
Or you can watch on the feed at the top of this blog (although it crashed a moment ago - hopefully temporarily).
5.28pm BST
17:28
There is a live feed of the press conference at the top of this blog.
5.26pm BST
17:26
These are from Channel 4 News’ Michael Crick.
I'm told about 150,000 people have paid £25 to sign up as Labour Party "registered supporters" with votes in the leadership ballot.
That's an extra £4 million for Labour coffers. They should hold one of these elections every year as Jeremy Corbyn once argued.
150,000 figure for new Labour "registered supporters" now confirmed by second source. More than any other party has in total members
5.21pm BST
17:21
Rowena Mason
Angela Merkel’s press conference with Theresa May is due to start soon.
Here is Rowena Mason’s preview story.
Related: Theresa May to Angela Merkel: UK will need time to prepare for Brexit
5.10pm BST
17:10
Back in the House of Commons, Labour has just lost a vote on an opposition motion saying the government should exempt supported housing from the planned housing benefit cuts.
256 - 290 Tory MPs refuse to exempt supported housing from their planned housing benefit cuts. Majority 34 pic.twitter.com/WCFS84QbR0
MPs are now debating a motion saying the government should withdraw the charter for budget responsibility. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, is opening the debate. But there are not many Labour MPs in the chamber to support him - something the Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop attributes to what McDonnell said about anti-Corbyn Labour MPs last week.
This is what happens when you call your colleagues "f***ing useless" John #kinderpolitics pic.twitter.com/Ijiv3cRvAU
4.59pm BST
4.59pm BST
16:59
16:59
Here are some more pictures from the Merkel/May reception in Berlin.
Here are some more pictures from Theresa May’s arrival in Berlin.
Updated
at 5.01pm BST
4.43pm BST
4.43pm BST
16:43
16:43
Here is more on Theresa May’s arrival in Berlin.
Here is more on Theresa May’s arrival in Berlin.
Theresa May to Angela Merkel: "Thank you very much for that spectacle." Europe's two most powerful women meet in Berlin.
Theresa May to Angela Merkel: "Thank you very much for that spectacle." Europe's two most powerful women meet in Berlin.
The world's two most powerful women meet. "Thank you very much for that spectacle, splendid," May tells Merkel. pic.twitter.com/9n5GaVzLW4
The world's two most powerful women meet. "Thank you very much for that spectacle, splendid," May tells Merkel. pic.twitter.com/9n5GaVzLW4
PM and Merkel inspecting the military pic.twitter.com/J08TQcc23w
PM and Merkel inspecting the military pic.twitter.com/J08TQcc23w
4.42pm BST
4.42pm BST
16:42
16:42
Stewart Wood, who worked as Gordon Brown’s foreign policy adviser, says Theresa May is following in the footsteps of Brown.
Stewart Wood, who worked as Gordon Brown’s foreign policy adviser, says Theresa May is following in the footsteps of Brown.
PM Gordon Brown's first trip abroad was also to see Chancellor Merkel. It was a sign of our commitment to Europe... https://t.co/P0JxnJA5wU
PM Gordon Brown's first trip abroad was also to see Chancellor Merkel. It was a sign of our commitment to Europe... https://t.co/P0JxnJA5wU
4.39pm BST
4.39pm BST
16:39
16:39
This is from the BBC’s Gavin Hewitt.
This is from the BBC’s Gavin Hewitt.
Germany says there will be no pre-negotiations on Brexit between Merkel and PM May but that doesn't prevent them discussing it#Brexit
Germany says there will be no pre-negotiations on Brexit between Merkel and PM May but that doesn't prevent them discussing it#Brexit
4.36pm BST
4.36pm BST
16:36
16:36
Here is footage of the arrival.
Here is footage of the arrival.
Theresa May arrives for crucial meeting with Angela Merkel on #Brexit pic.twitter.com/JIoE5IsEQE
Theresa May arrives for crucial meeting with Angela Merkel on #Brexit pic.twitter.com/JIoE5IsEQE
4.33pm BST
4.33pm BST
16:33
16:33
Angela Merkel has welcomed Theresa May to Berlin.
Angela Merkel has welcomed Theresa May to Berlin.
4.21pm BST
4.21pm BST
16:21
16:21
Theresa May arrives in Berlin
Theresa May arrives in Berlin
Theresa May has arrived in Berlin for her meeting with Angela Merkel. She is about to get a ceremonial welcome.
Theresa May has arrived in Berlin for her meeting with Angela Merkel. She is about to get a ceremonial welcome.
This is from my colleague Rowena Mason who is there.
This is from my colleague Rowena Mason who is there.
Military procession to welcome what the German press are calling May Day. The PM just about to arrive pic.twitter.com/cU8c81pJHU
Military procession to welcome what the German press are calling May Day. The PM just about to arrive pic.twitter.com/cU8c81pJHU
4.16pm BST
16:16
YouGov has published its first state of the parties poll since Theresa May became prime minister. It gives the Tories an 11-point lead.
3.43pm BST
15:43
Owen Smith sets three tests for Brexit
Owen Smith, the Labour leadership contender, has announced that he is setting three tests by which Labour should judge the success of the Brexit negotiations. They are:
1 - Do the plans for the UK’s future as a trading nation protect prosperity, growth and jobs in key economic sectors?
2 - Will workers’ rights be protected and extended?
3 - Have EU nationals been given the right to remain?
He also said he would appoint a full-time shadow Brexit secretary if he became leader. Jeremy Corbyn has appointed a shadow brexit secretary, but Emily Thornberry is combining the role with being shadow foreign secretary. (See 2.28pm.) Smith said:
Labour isn’t on the pitch at the moment. We need an effective opposition to scrutinise every line of every piece of Brexit legislation the Tories push through.
That’s why I’ll appoint a full-time shadow Brexit Secretary as soon as I’m elected. Brexit is the biggest political process of our generation, and it’s not good enough to make scrutiny of this vital brief a jobshare.
Under my leadership, my shadow Brexit Secretary will be full time and their task will be to ensure this Tory government can’t get away with stripping vital protections and support from the British people.
He also repeated his call for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal.
Once that deal has been finalised, the Labour Party I lead will demand the British people are trusted to have the opportunity to sign that deal off.
Updated
at 3.44pm BST
3.20pm BST
15:20
Burnham calls for Orgreave inquiry to be launched now
Andy Burnham has accused the government of trying to shunt a proposed inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave “into the long grass” and demanded it is launched “today”, the Press Association reports,
But newly appointed home secretary Amber Rudd said she is not going to “rush it” and will consider the evidence over the summer.
The comments come after the House of Lords was last week told the Home Office will not launch an inquiry into police actions in the clash with miners until all Hillsborough investigations are concluded.
Around 10,000 strikers and 5,000 police officers clashed at the coking plant in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in June 1984.
In a Commons urgent question on this, Burnham said:
Might it not help build the right climate if [Rudd] today corrects the misleading impression given to Parliament that the IPCC had advised against the establishment of an inquiry at this time?
Does she accept that there is no reason why ongoing investigations should delay an inquiry, and that in similar situations it is commonplace for protections to be put in place to manage any risks?
Can she see why the government’s actions look like a Home Office manoeuvre to shunt a controversial issue into the long grass?
This, one of the final decisions of the former home secretary, was announced as she stood on the steps of Downing Street promising to fight injustice.
People may remember another Tory prime minister quoting Francis of Assisi outside No 10 and the subsequent gap that emerged between her fine words and her deeds.
To ensure history doesn’t repeat itself, will the Home Secretary do the right thing and restore damaged trust of people who have already waited more than 30 years for the truth and today order a public inquiry into Orgreave?
Rudd said the issue of whether to order a public inquiry into Orgreave was “one of the most important issues in my in-tray” and said that she will be considering the facts “very carefully” over the summer. She told Burnham:
You will know that this Government has not been slow in looking at historical cases. There have been Labour governments and there have been Conservative governments since 1984, but it is this Government that is taking the campaign very seriously.
I will not resile from that. I have told the campaign that I will look at the evidence that I have; they submitted it at the end of last year - it is a substantial file.
It is because I take it so seriously that I am not going to rush it. It would be a mistake to do it today.
What I am going to do is look at it over the summer and meet with the campaign group in September, and reach a decision after that.
2.57pm BST
14:57
Jessica Elgot
Angela Eagle’s local party in Wallasey has been suspended after allegations of bullying and intimidation at constituency meetings.
There has been growing hostility between the local party and Eagle in the weeks since the EU referendum. Wallasey CLP, whose chair, vice-chair and secretary are all newly elected, has denied claims by Eagle that the MP was subjected to homophobic bullying at the AGM on June 24, as well as sustained intimidation since she announced her bid to be Labour leader.
Paul Davies, the local vice-chair who is a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, said he would willingly pay for a lie detector test to prove there had been no homophobic language or other bullying in the party, saying several members of the CLP were gay themselves or had gay relatives.
He called the allegations a “smear” and said he had only found out about the suspension from the media. “We expected [the suspension] since the day we said we would not support Angela Eagle, because that’s what the Labour party in London does,” he told the Guardian.
“I want to challenge those who make the allegations to come with me and take a lie detector test. We can sort this out quickly, but there are lies, there’s no grey here. It’s outrageous. If there was any homophobic or racist abuse I would grab hold of them.”
Davies said he expected to be expelled from the party, having previously been suspended in the 1980s and then re-instated. “I can say anything now, I have nothing to fear, but what I do fear is lack of truth,” he said. “This is binary, someone is telling lies.”
A North West Labour spokesperson confirmed the branch had been suspended while an investigation was carried out said: “Any complaints of bullying or intimidation and allegations of misconduct are always taken very seriously. ”
Local meetings have been banned during the Labour leadership election because of the climate of hostility between the Corbyn and anti-Corbyn factions in the party.
Eagle’s CLP held an informal meeting instead of their official event, where a vote of no confidence in the MP was passed by 54 votes to nine. Corbyn later addressed some of the members on speakerphone in the local pub.
2.48pm BST
14:48
Kim Willsher
A survey carried out by French pollsters Ifop showed that 53% of French want their country to remain in Europe and 26% wish to leave.
On Brexit, the poll found mixed feelings between understanding the move and total incomprehension, but generally the French gave a shrug and considered Britain’s departure as “not so serious” as thought. The consecutive resignations of pro-Brexit campaign leaders - including Nigel Farage and- was seen as an important facture in halting the spread of Euro-scepticism in Europe.
“The Brexit contagion that was supposed to happen hasn’t and pro-European sentiments have increased,” Ifop reported.
A similar poll in Germany, Italy and Spain showed a majority in each country wish to remain in the EU.
2.28pm BST
14:28
Emily Thornberry to become shadow Brexit secretary
Labour has announced that Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, will also take the post of shadow Brexit secretary. And Barry Gardiner, the shadow energy secretary, will take the extra post of shadow international trade secretary.
A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn said the Labour leader had neither ruled out nor endorsed proposals for a second EU referendum after the Brexit negotiations are complete. The spokesman said:
That has to be dealt with later. There needs to be some form of democratic accountability for what is negotiated. People voted in the referendum, but didn’t have a clear sense of what package was involved. But what form that accountability should take should be settled later.
Updated
at 3.43pm BST
2.17pm BST
14:17
The House of Commons photographer, Jessica Taylor, was allowed into the Commons chamber to take pictures of PMQs. Apparently this is only the second time this has happened. Here are three of her pictures.
Updated
at 2.21pm BST
2.12pm BST
14:12
Kate Connolly
There’s much excitement in Berlin ahead of Theresa May’s visit to the German capital in a few hours’ time, with media widely dubbing the event “May Day”. It is unclear whether this is a reference to the international distress signal or the spring holiday celebrations – or perhaps a touch of German irony that the visit has a whiff both of disaster and mirth about it. On the one hand, there is the deep German disappointment that Britain is to leave the EU, on the other, an uplifting mood that this is a historic encounter between the first female leaders Germany and Britain have had simultaneously.
Whilst the flagship news programme Tagesschau poses the pressing question that “having worn red pumps for her visit to Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, what shoes will she wear in Berlin?”, Bild Zeitung is leading with the headline “Bombshell Ahead of May’s Maiden Visit” after Britain announced it would not take up the rotating presidency of the EU in 2017.
Tagesschau points out that the two women have never met before, and have only telephoned once, a week ago, with Merkel calling to congratulate May and invite her to Berlin.
It stresses again the extent to which the two women have quite a bit in common, which can only be of benefit to their working relationship, including the fact they are of the same generation – Merkel is 62, May 59 – both have held the position of general secretary of their respective parties, and both took over leadership when their parties were in crisis. (Merkel after a party donor scandal that marked the end of her predecessor Helmut Kohl’s political career). That’s not to mention the oft-dredged up pastor daughter/childless similarities.
Tagesschau says that a huge number of journalists have accredited for the press conference to be held in the cuboid chancellery in Berlin late this afternoon “and surely not just because everyone wants to know what shoes Theresa May is wearing today”.
Just in case anyone has any doubt that she is also a serious politician, Deutsche Welle says that “alongside her wardrobe, May is also known for her police reform and surveillance measures and she is considered to be a tough but polite negotiating partner”.
Updated
at 3.12pm BST
1.35pm BST
13:35
PMQs - Verdict from the Twitter commentariat
This is what political journalists and commentators are saying about PMQs on Twitter.
The general view is that it was a triumph for Theresa May.
From the Spectator’s James Forsyth
Theresa May wipes the floor with Jeremy Corbyn at her first PMQs: https://t.co/FVb05vNSD7 pic.twitter.com/0Lj2Dx7kWB
From the Sun’s Craig Woodhouse
#PMQs verdict from @craigawoodhouse:Tezza blows Jezza away in emphatic first skirmish win https://t.co/usVIFvCbyc pic.twitter.com/Js0jRgM88g
From the Guardian’s Polly Toynbee
Seen May thrash Corbyn on PMQs? Only a few hours left for https://t.co/GYzehSIrkp Call everyone you know - or face Tory austerity forever
From the Mirror’s Jason Beattie
Snap verdict on PMQs: Maggie May leaves Corbyn at seahttps://t.co/duyVwD0EgD pic.twitter.com/RTbbG1BvHl
From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg
1st impressions from May's PMQs - years of experience at despatch box really shows, and she's absolutely willing to taunt + mock Corbyn
From the Telegraph’s Michael Deacon
.@MichaelPDeacon wonderfully captures the exact moment @theresa_may went all Thatchery at #PMQs https://t.co/ZXjo7g4kOo
From the Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn
Impressive #PMQs debut from Theresa May, from remembering MPs' birthdays to utterly filleting Jeremy Corbyn. She may be around for a while.
From the Sunday Times’ Tim Shipman
And we're off. One PMQs down. And it's 1-0 to May.
From Steve Richards
May more effective at PMQs than Cam because she's got to the top after more much more experience. Cam copied Blair. She can be herself.
From the Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff
Based on that #pmqs may become a bit more boring, less angry (but not less aggressive), & Tory backbench Qs are going to get interesting
From the BBC’s Norman Smith
Is someone putting something in Theresa Mays tea ? First she culls the cabinet. Now she goes on the warpath at #PMQs
From the Sun’s Steve Hawkes
Thumping first PMQs from Theresa May's. What will cheer Labour MPs up no end is the fact she will only get better as she relaxes into it
From the Evening Standard’s Joe Murphy
Golly, Theresa May continues to exceed expectations. Lots of happy Tory MPs after PMQs
From the Guardian’s Peter Walker
I'm less convinced than some by May at PMQs. Playing to jeers/cheers of Tory MPs goes well in Commons, but think can jar to watching public
From politics.co.uk’s Adam Bienkov
The worst thing about that #pmqs for Corbyn is that was actually one of his better performances.
From the Scottish Mail on Sunday’s Michael Blackley
Very impressive first #PMQs from Theresa May - and she barely looked at her notes.
Updated
at 1.36pm BST
1.15pm BST
13:15
PMQs - Verdict
PMQs - Verdict: When George Osborne first stood in for David Cameron at PMQs, even though he had spent five years as chancellor, he displayed a palpable nervousness. Everyone who has ever taken PMQs says it is a huge challenge, quite unlike anything else parliamentarians have to do, and Osborne seemed a little worried. The most important takeaway from Theresa May’s performance today was that she sounded confident and assured and prime ministerial (in the sense of up to the job). She was chosen as Tory leader primarily for her competence and today it was on display.
But she was not selected for her comedy skills, and that made her Thatcher moment rather odd. Tory MPs seemed to like it, but it sounded a little too contrived and perhaps May would be better advised to stick to dull and boring (dull and boring is hugely underrated in politics). Her “mine is bigger than yours” dig at Tim Farron (see 12.39pm) also sounded a little crass.
May did not use her first PMQs to announce anything new and in many ways it sounded like business as usual. Perhaps she is more inclined to address questions than David Cameron was, but on the basis of just one performance it is hard to be sure.
The Commons goes into recess at the end of this week and so we will not get another PMQs until September. By that time May’s honeymoon may be over, and the Labour leadership contest will be nearly over. Politics may look very different by then.
