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Cabinet Brexiters 'hope to get May to renegotiate backstop' - Politics live Cabinet Brexiters 'hope to get May to renegotiate backstop' - Politics live
(35 minutes later)
This is from the BBC’s Iain Watson.
Theresa May will be pleased that a special meeting of the #cbi policy committee has said her draft deal represents 'hard won progress' And has urged politicians not to 'go backwards'
Margot James, a culture minister, won’t be incurring the wrath of Nicholas Soames. (See 2.44pm.)
The only letter I'll be signing today - my objection to the development on Saltwells Nature Reserve. pic.twitter.com/n78FQ23Lzb
According to a story (paywall) by the Financial Times’s Mehreen Khan, at his meeting with EU ambassadors today Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said the EU was going to take a tough line with the UK on security in the next stage of the talks (ie, the ones firming up the future relationship, after the UK leaves in March 2019). Khan said:
Mr Barnier dismissed the UK’s demand to maintain access to the EU’s internal security system, including its passenger name recognition database, Europol and Eurojust. He said no other country outside the Schengen free travel area enjoyed such a level of access. ‘The UK does not accept all the consequences of its status as a third country,’ Mr Barnier said, according to the note.
Grant Shapps, the former Conservative party chairman who led a doomed attempt to get rid of Theresa May as leader after last year’s party conference, has told Sky he is not submitting a letter calling for a no confidence vote “for now”. This is from Sky’s Aubrey Allegretti.
Grant Shapps, who led a lone call for the PM to go last year, tells @SkyNewsPolitics: "I'm not putting in a letter - for now."
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, told EU ambassadors today that the EU should not compromise its principles just because the UK government is in difficulties, the BBC’s Adam Fleming reports.Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, told EU ambassadors today that the EU should not compromise its principles just because the UK government is in difficulties, the BBC’s Adam Fleming reports.
BRUSSELS LATEST: @MichelBarnier paid tribute to @theresa_may in a meeting of EU27 ambassadors today but said that the EU shouldn't compromise its principles even if there's a difficult political situation in the UK. (1)BRUSSELS LATEST: @MichelBarnier paid tribute to @theresa_may in a meeting of EU27 ambassadors today but said that the EU shouldn't compromise its principles even if there's a difficult political situation in the UK. (1)
He added: even though the EU wants to secure a Withdrawal Agreement, it shouldn't engage in bargaining. In the discussion on the text of the political declaration on the future relationship member states mentioned services, aviation, security and (of course) FISH. (2)He added: even though the EU wants to secure a Withdrawal Agreement, it shouldn't engage in bargaining. In the discussion on the text of the political declaration on the future relationship member states mentioned services, aviation, security and (of course) FISH. (2)
Ambassadors are standing by to meet again on Sunday, ahead of the General Affairs Council on Monday which will prepared for the summit 25th Nov. Strictly that will be at 27 but officials looking at how Theresa May will be included. (3)Ambassadors are standing by to meet again on Sunday, ahead of the General Affairs Council on Monday which will prepared for the summit 25th Nov. Strictly that will be at 27 but officials looking at how Theresa May will be included. (3)
And @OllyRobbins and Sir Tim Barrow are in town today. UK and EU negotiators will work on the text of the political declaration over the weekend. (4)And @OllyRobbins and Sir Tim Barrow are in town today. UK and EU negotiators will work on the text of the political declaration over the weekend. (4)
Finally, everyone's sleep-deprived, meal-deprived, getting colds, attending a lot of meetings, reading a lot of papers and glued to the news from Westminster. That's all. (5)Finally, everyone's sleep-deprived, meal-deprived, getting colds, attending a lot of meetings, reading a lot of papers and glued to the news from Westminster. That's all. (5)
Sir Nicholas Soames, the Conservative former minister and one of the unlikely Twitter maestros on the Tory backbenches, has hit out at those MPs who have been publicising their letters calling for a no confidence vote in Theresa May.Sir Nicholas Soames, the Conservative former minister and one of the unlikely Twitter maestros on the Tory backbenches, has hit out at those MPs who have been publicising their letters calling for a no confidence vote in Theresa May.
I am truly dismayed at the dismal behaviour of some of my Colleagues parading their letters to Graham Brady on TV in a vulgar and pathetic display of inferior virtue signalling #getagripwhatabouttheNationalInterestI am truly dismayed at the dismal behaviour of some of my Colleagues parading their letters to Graham Brady on TV in a vulgar and pathetic display of inferior virtue signalling #getagripwhatabouttheNationalInterest
In an interview with BBC2’s Politics Live, Steve Baker, deputy chair of the European Research Group, which represents Tory MPs pushing for a harder Brexit, admitted he had sent a WhatsApp message to colleagues earlier saying that by his count more than 48 letters had been submitted demanding a no confidence vote in Theresa May, with around a dozen probables. But he conceded the number was probably inaccurate. He said:In an interview with BBC2’s Politics Live, Steve Baker, deputy chair of the European Research Group, which represents Tory MPs pushing for a harder Brexit, admitted he had sent a WhatsApp message to colleagues earlier saying that by his count more than 48 letters had been submitted demanding a no confidence vote in Theresa May, with around a dozen probables. But he conceded the number was probably inaccurate. He said:
People have been ringing me and they are telling me that they are putting letters in. I have spoken to colleagues as well and I think we are probably not far off. I think it is probably imminent.People have been ringing me and they are telling me that they are putting letters in. I have spoken to colleagues as well and I think we are probably not far off. I think it is probably imminent.
But only Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, knew the true number, Baker said.But only Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, knew the true number, Baker said.
My number will be inaccurate because people will withdraw letters, they will tell me they have put letters in when they haven’t, they will take them out and not tell you they have taken them out.My number will be inaccurate because people will withdraw letters, they will tell me they have put letters in when they haven’t, they will take them out and not tell you they have taken them out.
Liam Fox, the Brexiter international trade secretary, has urged Tory MPs to take a “rational and reasonable” view of the PM’s deal with Brussels. He said:Liam Fox, the Brexiter international trade secretary, has urged Tory MPs to take a “rational and reasonable” view of the PM’s deal with Brussels. He said:
I hope that we all take a rational and reasonable view of this.I hope that we all take a rational and reasonable view of this.
We are not elected to do what we want. We are elected to do what’s in the national interest.We are not elected to do what we want. We are elected to do what’s in the national interest.
Ultimately I hope that across parliament we’ll recognise that a deal is better than no deal.Ultimately I hope that across parliament we’ll recognise that a deal is better than no deal.
Businesses do require certainty and confidence as they go forward for their planning and there are those around the world who are waiting to get certainty also to begin to discuss trade agreements with the UK. It is in our national interest.Businesses do require certainty and confidence as they go forward for their planning and there are those around the world who are waiting to get certainty also to begin to discuss trade agreements with the UK. It is in our national interest.
The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg says Theresa May could appoint a remain-voter as the new Brexit secretary (which would mean I was wrong about it being a leaver fiefdom - see 12.25pm.)The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg says Theresa May could appoint a remain-voter as the new Brexit secretary (which would mean I was wrong about it being a leaver fiefdom - see 12.25pm.)
2. Hear there are Remainer names as well as Brexiteer names on the list to become the next Brexit Secretary - if it's a Remainer then I wonder if that would mean more letters emerge2. Hear there are Remainer names as well as Brexiteer names on the list to become the next Brexit Secretary - if it's a Remainer then I wonder if that would mean more letters emerge
The Conservative MP Marcus Fysh has submitted a letter calling for a no confidence vote in Theresa May, the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope reports.The Conservative MP Marcus Fysh has submitted a letter calling for a no confidence vote in Theresa May, the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope reports.
Marcus Fysh MP puts his letter in: "I do think the PM needs to resign as she is no longer honouring the Referendum result, the manifesto on which she and I stood, her promises to the House of Commons .. She proposes to give up our country's independence and she is unfit to lead"Marcus Fysh MP puts his letter in: "I do think the PM needs to resign as she is no longer honouring the Referendum result, the manifesto on which she and I stood, her promises to the House of Commons .. She proposes to give up our country's independence and she is unfit to lead"
Fysh voted leave, and has signed the #StandUp4Brexit pledge.Fysh voted leave, and has signed the #StandUp4Brexit pledge.
David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, has reportedly complained about Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister refusing to meet him in Edinburgh today.David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, has reportedly complained about Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister refusing to meet him in Edinburgh today.
She has described the accusation as “”outrageous”, saying she was only offered a meeting at the last minute.She has described the accusation as “”outrageous”, saying she was only offered a meeting at the last minute.
This is outrageous. My office got a call around 6pm last night to offer a meeting this morning - purpose not clear. I wasn’t prepared to cancel my constituency commitments at such short notice for @scotgov to yet again have to hear empty platitudes rather than be listened to. https://t.co/8QGwEKp5MzThis is outrageous. My office got a call around 6pm last night to offer a meeting this morning - purpose not clear. I wasn’t prepared to cancel my constituency commitments at such short notice for @scotgov to yet again have to hear empty platitudes rather than be listened to. https://t.co/8QGwEKp5Mz
Mark Field, the Foreign Office minister, has appealed for MPs to stop “squabbling” and get behind Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Speaking on the World at One, he said:Mark Field, the Foreign Office minister, has appealed for MPs to stop “squabbling” and get behind Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Speaking on the World at One, he said:
I think just to watch MPs squabbling is not a very edifying scene.I think just to watch MPs squabbling is not a very edifying scene.
I would also say, not just to my own party but across the political divide to Labour MPs, please, please put the national interest first.I would also say, not just to my own party but across the political divide to Labour MPs, please, please put the national interest first.
The idea of playing politics on such an important issue when the option is a no deal which would be pretty calamitous, not just for us but the rest of Europe as well, this is not a sensible way forward and I can well understand why business despairs.The idea of playing politics on such an important issue when the option is a no deal which would be pretty calamitous, not just for us but the rest of Europe as well, this is not a sensible way forward and I can well understand why business despairs.
Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister and deputy chair of the European Research Group, has just told the BBC that he thinks Sir Graham Brady will probably not receive the 48 letters needed to trigger a vote of no confidence until next week. He says he thinks he and his fellow Brexiters who want a vote are close to getting that number, but that some MPs will want to reflect over the weekend before they take the final decision to sign a letter.Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister and deputy chair of the European Research Group, has just told the BBC that he thinks Sir Graham Brady will probably not receive the 48 letters needed to trigger a vote of no confidence until next week. He says he thinks he and his fellow Brexiters who want a vote are close to getting that number, but that some MPs will want to reflect over the weekend before they take the final decision to sign a letter.
In the Commons yesterday, when Theresa May was giving her statement on the Brexit deal, many Labour MPs explicitly called for a second referendum on Brexit, or a “people’s vote” as they put it. In his interview on the Today programme this morning John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, was asked if this meant that the party leadership, which is much less enthusiastic about a second referendum, was out of touch with the views of its MPs. McDonnell dismissed this claim, and said the backbenchers were just articulating Labour policy. He told the programme:
They were properly reflecting Labour party policy as it stands, because of a conference decision. They were literally voicing what party conference decision took place which was; yes, we want to respect the referendum; if we can’t get a deal that does reflect and at the same time protect jobs and the economy, our priority is for a general election; if we can’t get that, yes a people’s vote remains on the table. They were reflecting that quite properly.
In fact, Labour’s policy is much less specific than McDonnell implied. The motion agreed at Labour conference just says: “If we cannot get a general election Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote.” Retaining a second referendum as an option is not the same as actively committing to one as policy. The “all options” wording is non-committal. (Funnily enought, it is so non-committal that it could even cover Labour MP Laura Smith’s call for a general strike, although after she proposed this in a controversial speech, no one in the party defended her on the grounds that her plan was consistent with party policy.)
There is also an implied contradiction in the Labour stance. If there were an election, it is assumed that the party would go into it promising to implement Brexit. But if there were a second referendum, many of those in the party backing this option hope that this could be an opportunity to stop Brexit. (The Times columnist and Tory peer Daniel Finkelstein put this argument well in a column here.)
Nevertheless, Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader, does think recent events have made a second referendum more likely. This is what he said in an interview for the House magazine that has just been published.
We’ve been saying [a second referendum] is on the table for a year-and-a-half. At that time, it seemed very unlikely that there would be a people’s vote, that was the insurance option at the end of a series of unlikely events.
It seems to me that it is more likely given the weakness of Theresa May’s position. She leads a government without a majority, it now looks like she leads a cabinet without a majority as well. Given the weakness of her own government, I think it is more likely that we could get there.
Having opted to remain in the government, Michael Gove will work with other Brexit-backing cabinet ministers to urge the prime minister to seek to go back to Brussels and renegotiate – in particular over the Irish backstop, Whitehall sources say.
The Commons leader, Andrea Leadsom, is expected to convene a meeting early next week with Gove, Liam Fox, Penny Mordaunt and Chris Grayling, and potentially others who share their views. They are then expected to press Theresa May to try to improve the details of the withdrawal agreement that deal with exiting the backstop.
Asked if pizza would be served, one source said: “Maybe less pizza, more getting down to business.”
May conceded in her three-hour Commons grilling on Thursday that she shared some of her colleagues’ concerns about the backstop. But negotiators on both sides are adamant it is the best Britain could have got.
It appears there is a group of (mainly) loyal ministers which has formed in May’s cabinet. Some reports have suggested that the now-staying Michael Gove, along with Andrea Leadson, Liam Fox, Penny Mordaunt and Chris Grayling have decided to not quit and push ahead with getting a workable Brexit deal. This is correct, we are told.
For all the potential worries of a group-within-a-group working together in cabinet, this should help ensure May doesn’t suffer more high-profile resignations.
Chris Green, the Conservative MP for Bolton West and Atherton, has announced that he has also submitted a letter demanding a vote of no confidence in Theresa May.
Many constituents have contacted me enquiring as to whether or not I have put my letter of no confidence in with Sir Graham Brady MP. With a heavy heart, I confirm that I have put my letter in calling for a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister, Theresa May.
In the run up to, during and following the 2016 EU Referendum, I held numerous public meetings and spoke with a great many constituents. The referendum result and those conversations make it clear to me what the will of the people of Bolton West and Atherton is.
My constituents want a clean break from the European Union, taking back control of our laws, our borders, our money and our trade. The withdrawal proposal from the Prime Minister will not help deliver that result.
Green voted leave in the EU referendum and he is one of the 52 Tories who has signed the #StandUp4Brexit pledge to oppose the Chequers plan.
The Spanish government made very clear its support for May’s troubled Brexit deal during its weekly press conference on Friday afternoon. Isabel Celaá, the education minister who also serves as the spokeswoman for the governing socialist party, said:
After very, very long negotiations, it seems that we have the beginnings of a deal on the table when it comes to Brexit. Like any deal, it’s obviously not perfect, but it still represents a success for the European Union and for the United Kingdom - if it comes off. The Spanish government would much rather have seen the UK stay inside the EU, but putting aside that regret, it’s far better to end up with a deal than with a split.
The Spanish government is also very satisfied with the inclusion of the protocol on Gibraltar, which is the result of bilateral negotiations between the UK and Spain, together with EU negotiators. We see it as a positive result when it comes to both the national interest and the Spanish citizens and workers in the Campo de Gibraltar area.
In an interview on Sunday, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, had called for Theresa May to hold a second Brexit referendum. “If I was Theresa May, I would call a second referendum – no doubt,” Sánchez told Politico in an interview.
Sánchez said the UK’s exit from the EU would be a mutually painful affair and urged May’s government to hold another vote to enable re-entry in the future. He said:
It’s true that we’re now on the verge of signing a transition deal.
[But] I’d like to see the British government calling a second referendum. I don’t mean now, but in the future, so that it can come back to the EU. In another way, but back into the EU.
A few media rumours heading into the weekend. Theresa May has seen the Daily Mail; expect an interview in Saturday’s edition in what has become the prime minister’s most reliable supporter in Fleet Street, following the recent change of editor. Dominic Raab is giving an interview to the Sunday Times, which is likely to be eagerly read, although the former Brexit secretary has said previously that he does not want May to go.
Meanwhile, the beleaguered prime minister is likely to do some TV interviews on Sunday, including possibly Andrew Marr, although Downing Street sources said the situation with broadcasters “is a bit fluid at the moment”.
Theresa May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington, is in Edinburgh today, talking to Scottish business leaders about the proposed Brexit deal, insisting that the package offers “really good prospects” and making clear that EU leaders, such as the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French prime minister, Edouard Philippe, “are not going to go back after the months that have been spent negotiating this compromise to reopen this and start again”.
Here are the main points.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon should “put the interests of Scottish business and of living standards and prosperity in Scotland first and support this deal”, Lidington said.
May’s deal was no threat to the union because there were already regulatory differences between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, Lidington said. He also said people recognised that Scotland and Northern Ireland were different, because NI has the UK’s only land border with the EU and because of its history of conflict. He was responding to SNP claims that it was unfair for NI to be able to stay in the single market under the backstop, but not Scotland.
And, anyway, the answer to complaints about the backstop was to ensure that it never gets used, Lidington said. “There’s a real determination on all sides to ensure that it remains in the filing cabinet,” he said.
He has been reassuring businesses that there are contingency plans in place should the deal be voted down in the Commons. He said:
As a government we are doing everything we are able to do within our jurisdiction. What we cannot do is to be certain how other governments will act. We can say at Dover, in the event of that crisis, we would apply a continuity principle and say we know that EU goods meet the same standards as ours, so for the time being we will let things through as if we were still an EU member.
But he said the government could not rely on the EU27 to do likewise.
We can’t guarantee the same thing will happen at Calais. And at the moment the commission is saying to member state governments: ‘Don’t talk to the British about this.’
He said he was amazed by Theresa May’s personal resilience.
I sometimes wonder what it is that makes her get up in the morning and face the disobliging headlines and cartoons, and what it is is a very old-fashioned sense of public service.
He urged the Tory MPs plotting against May to support her. He said:
I would say to people who are plotting against her: this is a woman who is intensely patriotic and dutiful, who is doing her utmost for families and businesses across the country. They haven’t got a better alternative plan available, and they should rally behind her because that’s in the national interest.
Katarina Barley, the German justice minister, has called for a second referendum in the UK. She told the German broadcaster ARD.
If ... the government falls apart, if the lower house doesn’t consent, I would think it right to give the people the chance to speak again.
No one could have guessed it would turn out like this.
Sie "leider noch immer unter der Grundentscheidung, überhaupt rauszugehen", sagt @katarinabarley und fordert, dass die Briten in einem zweiten #Referendum nochmals über den #Brexit entscheiden darf. pic.twitter.com/a0Wkabys3p
Liam Fox, the Brexiter international development secretary, has also expressed his support for the prime minister. Speaking in Bristol, he said:
I have full confidence in the prime minister. I think she is taking us forward with confidence and - I have to say - with resilience, and I very much agree with Michael Gove that what we need now is stability.
Liam Fox must be a strong candidate to replace Dominic Raab as Brexit secretary - assuming that Theresa May does replace him, and doesn’t decide instead to wind down the Brexit department (which was only meant to be temporary anyway) on the grounds that the deal has been negotiated.
In certain countries posts in government are allocated along religious or tribal lines. (Lebanon is the most commonly cited example, but Northern Ireland is not entirely dissimilar.) The same principle now seems to apply, unofficially, in the Tory cabinet, where DExEU is a leaver fiefdom. With Michael Gove turning the post down, Fox is the next most senior member of the Brexiter tribe in government, so the job could be his.
Anushka Asthana, who presents the Guardian’s new Today in Focus podcast, was in Westminster yesterday to cover the latest developments in the Brexit crisis. You can hear her “Day of Brexit Chaos” episode here.