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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/oct/27/labour-to-warn-theresa-may-against-bankers-brexit-politics-live
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| Labour warns Theresa May against 'bankers' Brexit' - Politics live | Labour warns Theresa May against 'bankers' Brexit' - Politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.14pm BST | |
| 14:14 | |
| Jeremy Corbyn has called for the details of any government deal with Nissan to be made public. On a visit to Blackburn to see motor mechanic apprentices, he said (quotes via PA): | |
| It must be made public, because it is public money that will be used if there are any inducements that have been offered and quite obviously, if you are offering big inducements to one industry or one manufacturer, then all the others will quite reasonably say, ‘Well, what about us?’ | |
| We are only a few months into Brexit and we don’t know what the terms of the agreement are between Nissan and the government. | |
| I’m pleased there’s going to be continued investment in Sunderland that protects those jobs and obviously helps to develop manufacturing industry, but the concerns are still there. We have to have market access in Europe in order to keep British engineering industries going. | |
| 2.10pm BST | |
| 14:10 | |
| In a political endorsement that Zac Goldsmith might not entirely welcome, Ukip has backed the now-former MP for Richmond Park over his opposition to the expansion of Heathrow. | |
| Ukip has also decided to not stand a candidate against Goldsmith, who is seeking re-election as an independent. The Ukip candidate took 4.2% of the vote in the 2015 election, finishing fifth. | |
| You’ll remember that some Labour MPs called for their party to not oppose the Lib Dems in seeking to re-take the seat, but were rebuffed. The Greens, meanwhile – who got 6% of the vote in 2015 – are reportedly thinking about withdrawing their candidate to help the Lib Dems. | |
| A Ukip spokesman said: | |
| Zac Goldsmith has resigned on a matter of principle and Ukip admire him for having the courage to do so. Ukip have always believed that Gatwick was a preferred option to Heathrow. | |
| Recognising Zac as a principled man, who was fully committed to helping get Britain out of the European Union, Ukip Leader Nigel Farage, in conjunction with our national executive committee, have agreed that we will not be fielding a candidate in the upcoming by-election for Richmond Park. | |
| 1.53pm BST | |
| 13:53 | |
| It’s a bit delayed, but I’ve finally got a full copy of John McDonnell’s speech on Brexit. Here’s a few sections from it: | |
| The EU is a flawed institution, but we judged it better to fight for its reform than to leave. By a majority, the referendum shows that the British people made a different choice. | |
| Britain voted to leave the EU, and that decision should be and must be respected. We have to now think about what Britain after Brexit will be like. | |
| As the negotiations get underway, we will face a series of choices. “Hard” versus “soft” Brexit does not cover it. We will need to decide on our openness to trade, investment, and migration. | |
| Labour will always prioritise supporting jobs, growth, and the public finances in making those choices. | |
| But this is not only about getting the best possible deal for the British people in any negotiations. It is about our values, and who we are as a society. It is about our identity, as much as it is about the kind of economy we live in. | |
| And: | |
| There ought to be a political consensus on finding a deal that protects jobs, prosperity, and the public finances. Yet there is a minority Tory opinion that favours a scorched earth approach. They are making the running in the government’s own Brexit negotiations. | |
| The government is hurtling towards a chaotic Brexit that will damage our economy, and hurt the poorest and most vulnerable most of all. By pulling up the drawbridge and tearing up longstanding ties to Europe, we will inflict huge and unnecessary pain on our society. | |
| Yet a hard-line Tory minority believe that if we allow market forces to tear through our society in the wake of Brexit, we will emerge a more productive society. It is the fantasy of turning our whole country into a giant offshore tax haven, with rock-bottom wages and no public services.... | |
| Let me be clear: those who voted Conservative in 2015 are not the same as the Tory establishment. Like me, you will have friends who have voted Conservative. They don’t want a bankers’ Brexit any more than I do. | |
| The simple truth is that the Tory establishment cannot be trusted to make a success of Brexit. They want to take control for themselves, not the many. They want to turn Britain into a Singapore of the north Atlantic. | |
| And: | |
| We are also committed to making sure that Brexit works for everyone not an elite few. The Tories want to cut special deals for bankers, and cut taxes for big multinationals. | |
| Labour would work with our European neighbours to protect our key industries like steel, and negotiate deals with the EU to make sure big multinationals like Google pay their fair share in tax. | |
| Labour will take back the economic levers of power currently in the hands of the EU, such as state aid rules, and return them to the people. | |
| Not a bankers’ Brexit for the lucky few, but a people’s Brexit for the many. | |
| 1.39pm BST | 1.39pm BST |
| 13:39 | 13:39 |
| Business secretary refuses to say if Nissan was granted special deal | |
| The business secretary, Greg Clark, has just treated listeners of BBC Radio 4’s World at One to a masterclass in political waffling. By my count, host Martha Kearney asked him six times whether the government had struck some sort of deal with Nissan over potential post-Brexit tariffs to persuade the carmaker to build new models in its Sunderland plant. | |
| Each time Clark answered an entirely different question, and at great length. Not a man afraid of numerous sub-clauses in a sentence, he at times resembled a contestant on another Radio 4 show, Just a Minute, seeking to run down the clock without actually saying anything of note. | Each time Clark answered an entirely different question, and at great length. Not a man afraid of numerous sub-clauses in a sentence, he at times resembled a contestant on another Radio 4 show, Just a Minute, seeking to run down the clock without actually saying anything of note. |
| To give you a flavour, here’s Clark’s first two answers, in full: | To give you a flavour, here’s Clark’s first two answers, in full: |
| I think we’ve established a clear understanding of the seriousness of the government’s intention to make sure that the car manufacturing industry not only retains its competitiveness, but actually, through our commitment through the industrial strategy we’re developing for investment in research and innovation and science – especially on very important technologies like electric vehicles – that we are going to be even more a magnet for investment in the future. | |
| And over the weeks that I’ve been having conversations with Nissan, and indeed other companies, I think we do have mutual confidence that this is going to be a very exciting place to invest, and that’s what we agreed. | And over the weeks that I’ve been having conversations with Nissan, and indeed other companies, I think we do have mutual confidence that this is going to be a very exciting place to invest, and that’s what we agreed. |
| And: | And: |
| We talked about the Brexit negotiation and obviously it is something that was in their minds, but the first thing we were able to show was that we are absolutely determined to do a good deal with our European friends and neighbours. | We talked about the Brexit negotiation and obviously it is something that was in their minds, but the first thing we were able to show was that we are absolutely determined to do a good deal with our European friends and neighbours. |
| There’s strong mutual interest in the automotive sector in particular, where there is mutual exporting from one country to another, and from Britain to the rest of the EU, supply chains are quite integrated. So we not only have the ambition and the intention but actually good grounds for looking forwards to a good relationship here. | |
| A bit later, Clark came close to an actual answer on one point, saying there had not been a specific deal on compensation over possible tariffs, but that was as precise as it got: | A bit later, Clark came close to an actual answer on one point, saying there had not been a specific deal on compensation over possible tariffs, but that was as precise as it got: |
| There’s no question of financial compensation over tariffs, because we’ve said that what is necessary is that we are going to maintain the competitiveness of the sector. | There’s no question of financial compensation over tariffs, because we’ve said that what is necessary is that we are going to maintain the competitiveness of the sector. |
| Updated | |
| at 1.44pm BST | |
| 1.05pm BST | 1.05pm BST |
| 13:05 | 13:05 |
| I’m still lacking a copy of John McDonnell’s Brexit speech, but here are some more full quotes from it via PA: | I’m still lacking a copy of John McDonnell’s Brexit speech, but here are some more full quotes from it via PA: |
| Labour are not about to make cynical promises like the Conservatives on reducing migrant numbers, knowing full well they can’t be met on the scale, or timescale, with the methods they propose. | Labour are not about to make cynical promises like the Conservatives on reducing migrant numbers, knowing full well they can’t be met on the scale, or timescale, with the methods they propose. |
| It is not migrants [who are] to blame for low pay and insecurity at work, or the high cost of housing, it is the failure of our whole economic model, which is not supplying the investment in work, or in housing, that people need. We have to change the model. | It is not migrants [who are] to blame for low pay and insecurity at work, or the high cost of housing, it is the failure of our whole economic model, which is not supplying the investment in work, or in housing, that people need. We have to change the model. |
| What we experienced during the referendum ... people voted on a whole range of issues, one of which was their concern about the low standard of living. They actually looked at migration being exploited by employers and others to undermine that standard of living. | What we experienced during the referendum ... people voted on a whole range of issues, one of which was their concern about the low standard of living. They actually looked at migration being exploited by employers and others to undermine that standard of living. |
| What we will negotiate is a future with Europe that protects people’s standards of living, that doesn’t allow migration to be used and exploited in that way. And in that way I believe we can build a coherent, cohesive Britain in the future. | What we will negotiate is a future with Europe that protects people’s standards of living, that doesn’t allow migration to be used and exploited in that way. And in that way I believe we can build a coherent, cohesive Britain in the future. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.18pm BST | at 1.18pm BST |
| 1.02pm BST | 1.02pm BST |
| 13:02 | 13:02 |
| Gove predicts UK will leave EU single market and customs union | Gove predicts UK will leave EU single market and customs union |
| Michael Gove, who has in the last couple of days sat on more sofas than a new homeowner touring Ikea, has just been on BBC2’s Daily Politics, where he faced a slightly less bruising time than he did earlier on Sky News. | Michael Gove, who has in the last couple of days sat on more sofas than a new homeowner touring Ikea, has just been on BBC2’s Daily Politics, where he faced a slightly less bruising time than he did earlier on Sky News. |
| Asked about his attitude to how the UK should manage Brexit, Gove said he was certain this would involve quitting the EU’s single market, as well as probably leaving the bloc’s customs union: | Asked about his attitude to how the UK should manage Brexit, Gove said he was certain this would involve quitting the EU’s single market, as well as probably leaving the bloc’s customs union: |
| I don’t have the same degree of 100% certainty I do about the single market, but I think it’s pretty clear we should be outside the customs union too. | I don’t have the same degree of 100% certainty I do about the single market, but I think it’s pretty clear we should be outside the customs union too. |
| Gove argued that leaving the single market would be “a liberation”, and pointed to today’s news about Nissan, describing this as “the best news Sunderland has had since Paolo di Canio was sacked”. | Gove argued that leaving the single market would be “a liberation”, and pointed to today’s news about Nissan, describing this as “the best news Sunderland has had since Paolo di Canio was sacked”. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.19pm BST | at 1.19pm BST |
| 12.42pm BST | 12.42pm BST |
| 12:42 | 12:42 |
| Jessica Elgot | Jessica Elgot |
| I’m still awaiting the full text of John McDonnell’s speech – perhaps it’s being sent in the post – but in the interim, my colleague Jessica Elgot has sent some details of what the shadow chancellor said about today’s Nissan announcement in a post-address Q&A: | I’m still awaiting the full text of John McDonnell’s speech – perhaps it’s being sent in the post – but in the interim, my colleague Jessica Elgot has sent some details of what the shadow chancellor said about today’s Nissan announcement in a post-address Q&A: |
| John McDonnell, Labour’s shadow chancellor, criticised the deal done with Nissan as a “chaotic” strategy. In a speech where he had criticised the government for appearing to prioritise financial services over manufacturing and small businesses, said there had been no public discussion of the deal hashed out for the car maker. | John McDonnell, Labour’s shadow chancellor, criticised the deal done with Nissan as a “chaotic” strategy. In a speech where he had criticised the government for appearing to prioritise financial services over manufacturing and small businesses, said there had been no public discussion of the deal hashed out for the car maker. |
| “We know nothing about it,” he said. “Are they literally going to decide factory by factory which one gets support? We have to have a comprehensive plan, and this is chaos at the moment.” | “We know nothing about it,” he said. “Are they literally going to decide factory by factory which one gets support? We have to have a comprehensive plan, and this is chaos at the moment.” |
| “We are trying to get a consensus and heal the divisions the referendum brought and we cannot do that with secret deals behind closed doors. It will divide our country once more. | “We are trying to get a consensus and heal the divisions the referendum brought and we cannot do that with secret deals behind closed doors. It will divide our country once more. |
| “The first deal looked like it would be protecting financial services, paid for by others. And now with Nissan, other manufacturers are saying what are we going to get? We have to have a comprehensive plan. What we need is more openness and transparency and accountability.” | “The first deal looked like it would be protecting financial services, paid for by others. And now with Nissan, other manufacturers are saying what are we going to get? We have to have a comprehensive plan. What we need is more openness and transparency and accountability.” |
| However, Labour’s mayor of London Sadiq Khan is set to call on the government to prioritise the City’s EU passporting rights at a speech at the City of London Corporation’s annual dinner tonight. | However, Labour’s mayor of London Sadiq Khan is set to call on the government to prioritise the City’s EU passporting rights at a speech at the City of London Corporation’s annual dinner tonight. |
| McDonnell said he was also determined to protect financial services, but would not prioritise a “bankers’ Brexit” over other industries. “It sends out messages to the rest of our economy that special deals are being cooked up. We will fight for every job in financial services sector, but it cannot be done in a chaotic way.” | McDonnell said he was also determined to protect financial services, but would not prioritise a “bankers’ Brexit” over other industries. “It sends out messages to the rest of our economy that special deals are being cooked up. We will fight for every job in financial services sector, but it cannot be done in a chaotic way.” |
| 12.29pm BST | 12.29pm BST |
| 12:29 | 12:29 |
| David Mundell, the Scottish secretary, has appeared before a committee at Scotland’s devolved parliament, and told them there will be no “special deals” for different parts of the country under Brexit. | David Mundell, the Scottish secretary, has appeared before a committee at Scotland’s devolved parliament, and told them there will be no “special deals” for different parts of the country under Brexit. |
| Questioned by MSPs on Holyrood’s Europe committee, Mundell said: | Questioned by MSPs on Holyrood’s Europe committee, Mundell said: |
| What is envisaged ... is there would be a single agreement for the whole of the United Kingdom. | What is envisaged ... is there would be a single agreement for the whole of the United Kingdom. |
| That doesn’t mean that within that agreement there can’t be specific issues that would relate to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. There won’t be a Scotland-only agreement, or a Wales-only agreement, or a Northern Ireland-only agreement. | That doesn’t mean that within that agreement there can’t be specific issues that would relate to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. There won’t be a Scotland-only agreement, or a Wales-only agreement, or a Northern Ireland-only agreement. |
| There will be a United Kingdom agreement, but that agreement can include differential arrangements in different parts of the United Kingdom if, as part of the negotiation process, that is seen to be the best way forward. | There will be a United Kingdom agreement, but that agreement can include differential arrangements in different parts of the United Kingdom if, as part of the negotiation process, that is seen to be the best way forward. |
| There are very specific issues to specific industries but there won’t be special deals, and it is absolutely wrong to characterise a suggestion that certain areas of parts of the country will get a special deal and Scotland will not. | There are very specific issues to specific industries but there won’t be special deals, and it is absolutely wrong to characterise a suggestion that certain areas of parts of the country will get a special deal and Scotland will not. |
| This is a growing issue for the Brexit process. Earlier in the week, Nicola Sturgeon was pretty damning about a meeting in London involving Theresa May and the leaders of the devolved administrations, saying she was frustrated by the apparent vagueness of government plans so far. | This is a growing issue for the Brexit process. Earlier in the week, Nicola Sturgeon was pretty damning about a meeting in London involving Theresa May and the leaders of the devolved administrations, saying she was frustrated by the apparent vagueness of government plans so far. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.41pm BST | at 12.41pm BST |
| 12.13pm BST | 12.13pm BST |
| 12:13 | 12:13 |
| David Owen, the former Labour foreign secretary and SDP leader, as well as a campaigner for Brexit, has warned that the UK must press ahead with negotiating trade deals or risk being “pushed over a cliff” economically. | David Owen, the former Labour foreign secretary and SDP leader, as well as a campaigner for Brexit, has warned that the UK must press ahead with negotiating trade deals or risk being “pushed over a cliff” economically. |
| At a speech in Switzerland Lord Owen said (quotes again via PA): | At a speech in Switzerland Lord Owen said (quotes again via PA): |
| The UK has to be able to start negotiating international trade agreements before exit. This is a non-negotiable issue. So is the UK having full World Trade Organisation membership in our own right. | The UK has to be able to start negotiating international trade agreements before exit. This is a non-negotiable issue. So is the UK having full World Trade Organisation membership in our own right. |
| To fail to have these two issues put into operation and sanctioned under UK law in the European Communities Act legislation would be gross negligence. | To fail to have these two issues put into operation and sanctioned under UK law in the European Communities Act legislation would be gross negligence. |
| Under any of the options for negotiating we must have these safeguards, or we otherwise face being pushed over a cliff edge after waiting for an EU decision in 2018-19 which might prove to be unacceptable. | Under any of the options for negotiating we must have these safeguards, or we otherwise face being pushed over a cliff edge after waiting for an EU decision in 2018-19 which might prove to be unacceptable. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.41pm BST | at 12.41pm BST |
| 11.44am BST | 11.44am BST |
| 11:44 | 11:44 |
| McDonnell is – I assume – still speaking, but I still don’t have a copy of what he has said from his people. | McDonnell is – I assume – still speaking, but I still don’t have a copy of what he has said from his people. |
| In other news, here’s our latest takes on the GDP figures and the Nissan announcement. | In other news, here’s our latest takes on the GDP figures and the Nissan announcement. |
| 11.29am BST | 11.29am BST |
| 11:29 | 11:29 |
| Sky News, the only channel showing the John McDonnell speech live, has cut away from it to bring more reaction to the Nissan deal. You have to wonder if that was deliberate timing on the part of the government. His press people have yet to send me the text of the speech – I’ll give more extracts when I can. | Sky News, the only channel showing the John McDonnell speech live, has cut away from it to bring more reaction to the Nissan deal. You have to wonder if that was deliberate timing on the part of the government. His press people have yet to send me the text of the speech – I’ll give more extracts when I can. |
| My colleague, Jessica Elgot, is there. | My colleague, Jessica Elgot, is there. |
| John McDonnell speech at Institute of Directors - says Tory right pursuing a "scorched earth" policy on Brexit which risks jobs & growth pic.twitter.com/WGkruFvAP9 | John McDonnell speech at Institute of Directors - says Tory right pursuing a "scorched earth" policy on Brexit which risks jobs & growth pic.twitter.com/WGkruFvAP9 |
| McDonnell has also said breakfast instead of Brexit three times which is a bit distracting | McDonnell has also said breakfast instead of Brexit three times which is a bit distracting |
| 11.23am BST | 11.23am BST |
| 11:23 | 11:23 |
| McDonnell: government wants to make UK 'Singapore of the north Atlantic' | McDonnell: government wants to make UK 'Singapore of the north Atlantic' |
| McDonnell is talking about how, he says, many voters felt economically left behind, which in part prompted the Brexit vote. Labour cannot seek to “wind the clock back” to an idyllic pre-referendum past which never existed, he warns. | McDonnell is talking about how, he says, many voters felt economically left behind, which in part prompted the Brexit vote. Labour cannot seek to “wind the clock back” to an idyllic pre-referendum past which never existed, he warns. |
| He then outlines what he calls a “nightmare vision” of some Conservatives who, he says, seek to turn the UK after Brexit into a low-tax, low-regulation economy. | He then outlines what he calls a “nightmare vision” of some Conservatives who, he says, seek to turn the UK after Brexit into a low-tax, low-regulation economy. |
| McDonnell says the government wants to make the UK “a Singapore of the north Atlantic”, and says many Tory voters do not share such aims: | McDonnell says the government wants to make the UK “a Singapore of the north Atlantic”, and says many Tory voters do not share such aims: |
| They don’t want the bankers’ Brexit any more than I do. | They don’t want the bankers’ Brexit any more than I do. |
| In contrast, he says, Labour would seek a “people’s Brexit for the many”. | In contrast, he says, Labour would seek a “people’s Brexit for the many”. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.43pm BST | at 12.43pm BST |
| 11.17am BST | 11.17am BST |
| 11:17 | 11:17 |
| PM calls Nissan announcement 'fantastic news' | PM calls Nissan announcement 'fantastic news' |
| To break off briefly from McDonnell, Theresa May has just released a statement on Nissan’s decision to commit to manufacturing in Sunderland: | To break off briefly from McDonnell, Theresa May has just released a statement on Nissan’s decision to commit to manufacturing in Sunderland: |
| This is fantastic news for the UK. Nissan is at the heart of this country’s strong automotive industry and so I welcome their decision to produce the Qashqai and a new model at their Sunderland plant. | This is fantastic news for the UK. Nissan is at the heart of this country’s strong automotive industry and so I welcome their decision to produce the Qashqai and a new model at their Sunderland plant. |
| It is a recognition that the government is committed to creating and supporting the right conditions for the automotive industry so it continues to grow, now and in the future. | It is a recognition that the government is committed to creating and supporting the right conditions for the automotive industry so it continues to grow, now and in the future. |
| This vote of confidence shows Britain is open for business and that we remain an outward-looking, world-leading nation. | This vote of confidence shows Britain is open for business and that we remain an outward-looking, world-leading nation. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.44pm BST | at 12.44pm BST |