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| Theresa May attempts to reassert authority after Johnson's Brexit claim | Theresa May attempts to reassert authority after Johnson's Brexit claim |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Theresa May has insisted her government is being “driven from the front”, as she distanced herself from Boris Johnson’s renewed claim that up to £350m a week extra should be made available for the NHS after Brexit. | Theresa May has insisted her government is being “driven from the front”, as she distanced herself from Boris Johnson’s renewed claim that up to £350m a week extra should be made available for the NHS after Brexit. |
| The foreign secretary had been accused of “back-seat driving” by his cabinet colleague Amber Rudd on Sunday, after he used a 4,000-word article in the Daily Telegraph to repeat the controversial figure, and set out his personal vision for Brexit. | The foreign secretary had been accused of “back-seat driving” by his cabinet colleague Amber Rudd on Sunday, after he used a 4,000-word article in the Daily Telegraph to repeat the controversial figure, and set out his personal vision for Brexit. |
| Speaking to journalists on Monday on the way to Canada, the prime minister sought to reassert her authority, saying: “This government is driven from the front, and we’re all going to the same destination.” But she stopped short of condemning Johnson directly, saying only: “Boris is Boris.” | Speaking to journalists on Monday on the way to Canada, the prime minister sought to reassert her authority, saying: “This government is driven from the front, and we’re all going to the same destination.” But she stopped short of condemning Johnson directly, saying only: “Boris is Boris.” |
| The claim that Britain “sends the EU £350m a week” is wrong because: | The claim that Britain “sends the EU £350m a week” is wrong because: |
| The rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher is removed before anything is paid to Brussels. In 2014, this meant Britain actually “sent” £276m a week to Brussels; in 2016, the figure was £252m. | The rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher is removed before anything is paid to Brussels. In 2014, this meant Britain actually “sent” £276m a week to Brussels; in 2016, the figure was £252m. |
| Slightly less than half that sum – the money that Britain does send to the EU – either comes back to the UK to be spent mainly on agriculture, regional aid, research and community projects, or gets counted towards the country’s international aid target. | Slightly less than half that sum – the money that Britain does send to the EU – either comes back to the UK to be spent mainly on agriculture, regional aid, research and community projects, or gets counted towards the country’s international aid target. |
| Regardless of how much the UK “saves” by leaving the EU, the claim that a future government would be able to spend it on the NHS is highly misleading because: | Regardless of how much the UK “saves” by leaving the EU, the claim that a future government would be able to spend it on the NHS is highly misleading because: |
| It assumes the government would choose to spend on the NHS the money it currently gets back from the EU (£115m a week in 2014), thus cutting funding for agriculture, regional development and research by that amount. | It assumes the government would choose to spend on the NHS the money it currently gets back from the EU (£115m a week in 2014), thus cutting funding for agriculture, regional development and research by that amount. |
| It assumes the UK economy will not be adversely affected by Brexit, which many economists doubt. | It assumes the UK economy will not be adversely affected by Brexit, which many economists doubt. |
| “We are all agreed as a government about the importance that we get the right deal for Brexit – the right withdrawal arrangements but also the right deep and special partnership between the United Kingdom and the European Union in the future. And we’re all optimistic about what we can be achieving as the United Kingdom in the future,” the prime minister said. | “We are all agreed as a government about the importance that we get the right deal for Brexit – the right withdrawal arrangements but also the right deep and special partnership between the United Kingdom and the European Union in the future. And we’re all optimistic about what we can be achieving as the United Kingdom in the future,” the prime minister said. |
| May also refused to endorse the £350m-a-week figure – or the idea that any extra resources freed up by Brexit should be earmarked upfront for health spending. | May also refused to endorse the £350m-a-week figure – or the idea that any extra resources freed up by Brexit should be earmarked upfront for health spending. |
| “The issue about money going into the EU and then coming back to the UK: the reality is, year on year, the amount of money that the UK pays into the EU changes, for a whole variety of factors – but what I do know is that looking ahead, year on year on year, once we leave the EU, we will not be paying huge sums into the EU, and that will, of course, give us the opportunity as a government to decide how money that is available is then spent.” | “The issue about money going into the EU and then coming back to the UK: the reality is, year on year, the amount of money that the UK pays into the EU changes, for a whole variety of factors – but what I do know is that looking ahead, year on year on year, once we leave the EU, we will not be paying huge sums into the EU, and that will, of course, give us the opportunity as a government to decide how money that is available is then spent.” |
| When pressed on whether the NHS should be the top priority for additional funds, she insisted: “That will be a decision that will be taken at the time, and will be taken by the government.” | When pressed on whether the NHS should be the top priority for additional funds, she insisted: “That will be a decision that will be taken at the time, and will be taken by the government.” |
| Johnson later backed May’s leadership telling reporters: “As far as backseat driving honesty there is only one driver in this car and it is Theresa. What I am trying to do is sketch out is the incredibly exciting landscape of the destination ahead.” | |
| May’s Lancaster House speech in January set out her approach to Brexit, including the need to leave the single market and the customs union, and to agree transitional arrangements to prevent a “cliff edge”.But since the Tories lost their majority at the general election in June, there has been a simmering dispute in cabinet about the right way forward. | May’s Lancaster House speech in January set out her approach to Brexit, including the need to leave the single market and the customs union, and to agree transitional arrangements to prevent a “cliff edge”.But since the Tories lost their majority at the general election in June, there has been a simmering dispute in cabinet about the right way forward. |
| Johnson was rebuked by the statistics watchdog, David Norgrove, after reusing the £350m figure, which was emblazoned on the side of Vote Leave’s red battlebus during last year’s referendum campaign. | Johnson was rebuked by the statistics watchdog, David Norgrove, after reusing the £350m figure, which was emblazoned on the side of Vote Leave’s red battlebus during last year’s referendum campaign. |
| It represents gross contributions to the EU without taking account of the UK’s rebate – or the large sums of EU money spent in the UK each year, including on regeneration projects and farm subsidies. | It represents gross contributions to the EU without taking account of the UK’s rebate – or the large sums of EU money spent in the UK each year, including on regeneration projects and farm subsidies. |
| Johnson’s aides initially suggested Norgrove had only taken issue with the article’s headline, not the substance of the argument. But the chief statistician denied that, and stood by a strongly worded letter condemning the foreign secretary’s use of the misleading statistic. Johnson hit back with his own letter. | Johnson’s aides initially suggested Norgrove had only taken issue with the article’s headline, not the substance of the argument. But the chief statistician denied that, and stood by a strongly worded letter condemning the foreign secretary’s use of the misleading statistic. Johnson hit back with his own letter. |
| Privately, No 10 was exasperated by Johnson’s piece, which was not cleared in advance and came as May is preparing to deliver a major speech on Brexit in Florence on Friday. | Privately, No 10 was exasperated by Johnson’s piece, which was not cleared in advance and came as May is preparing to deliver a major speech on Brexit in Florence on Friday. |
| Johnson subsequently insisted he was supportive of May, and allies suggested the article had been intended to bolster the government’s position. But it was widely read at Westminster as a challenge to the prime minister’s authority. | Johnson subsequently insisted he was supportive of May, and allies suggested the article had been intended to bolster the government’s position. But it was widely read at Westminster as a challenge to the prime minister’s authority. |
| Some senior party figures, including the Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, also suggested Johnson had been insensitive in publishing the article on the day of the Parsons Green attack. | Some senior party figures, including the Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, also suggested Johnson had been insensitive in publishing the article on the day of the Parsons Green attack. |
| In her speech in Italy, May is expected to try to bring renewed impetus to the Brexit talks in Brussels, which are due to resume later this month, by setting out more details of a potential transitional arrangement. | In her speech in Italy, May is expected to try to bring renewed impetus to the Brexit talks in Brussels, which are due to resume later this month, by setting out more details of a potential transitional arrangement. |
| She repeatedly said the Brexit secretary, David Davis, was “doing great work” in the talks, during which he has clashed publicly with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. | She repeatedly said the Brexit secretary, David Davis, was “doing great work” in the talks, during which he has clashed publicly with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. |
| May was speaking to journalists on her RAF Voyager plane en route to Ottawa, where she was expected to discuss trade with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, before flying on to New York to attend the UN general assembly, where she is due to hold a series of bilateral meetings with other world leaders. | May was speaking to journalists on her RAF Voyager plane en route to Ottawa, where she was expected to discuss trade with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, before flying on to New York to attend the UN general assembly, where she is due to hold a series of bilateral meetings with other world leaders. |
| May and Trudeau were expected to discuss the trade dispute between US aerospace manufacturer Boeing and its Canadian rival Bombardier, which employs 4,500 workers in Northern Ireland; and the pair are expected to agree to open talks on a UK-Canadian trade deal, using the framework of the recently concluded CETA deal between Canada and the EU. | May and Trudeau were expected to discuss the trade dispute between US aerospace manufacturer Boeing and its Canadian rival Bombardier, which employs 4,500 workers in Northern Ireland; and the pair are expected to agree to open talks on a UK-Canadian trade deal, using the framework of the recently concluded CETA deal between Canada and the EU. |