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Brexit: Theresa May refuses to rule out allowing Tory MPs free vote on her deal in LBC phone-in - Politics live Brexit: Theresa May defends deal in LBC phone-in as Gove contemplates resigning - Politics live
(35 minutes later)
Here are three journalists on Theresa May’s LBC performance, with alternative interpretations.
From the Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh
Who is this new conversational prime minister I am hearing on LBC radio, talking about her type one diabetes, asking listeners calling in what jobs they do. Did I fall asleep and miss a general election being called?
From the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush
Why is May doing this? She doesn't do well in this format, it's not going to win her any new friends - a couple of commentators will call her "brave" but brave isn't a vote in the House of Commons....
From BuzzFeed’s Stuart Millar
May did pretty well on LBC. Was engaged and non-defensive, even when accused of being a modern-day Chamberlain. But phone-ins should be an easy format for top politicians. Questions tend to be fairly general, few follow-ups and they pack a lot in.https://t.co/NHnxHo0a0D
This is from Jonathan Isaby, editor of BrexitCentral, who, as you would expect, has good links with Tory Brexiters.
Unconfirmed and from a single (always previously reliable) source - but hearing that the 48 letters are in and Downing Street are preparing for a no confidence motion in Theresa May as Conservative leader...
It turns out that I and other colleagues have been reading too much into how Theresa May answered the question about MPs having a free vote. “It’s not going to be a free vote,” a No 10 source says. In her answer May did talk about “collective responsibility”, that applies to ministers, not backbenchers. She did not give a clear no to Nick Ferrari on the free vote question, which is what set the alarm bells going.
This is from HuffPost’s Paul Waugh.
All Govt whips have just been told to cancel Friday constituency engagements and convene in Parliament today, one source tells me. Make of that what you will?
The final caller tells May she is like Neville Chamberlain. May rejects the comparison.The final caller tells May she is like Neville Chamberlain. May rejects the comparison.
And that’s it. The phone-in is over.And that’s it. The phone-in is over.
I will post a summary soon.I will post a summary soon.
Nick Ferrari asks May about her enthusiasms for Geoffrey Boycott. Does May know what happened on his last first class innings?Nick Ferrari asks May about her enthusiasms for Geoffrey Boycott. Does May know what happened on his last first class innings?
May does not know (or says she doesn’t).May does not know (or says she doesn’t).
Ferrari says she was run out by someone on her team. That player was Jim Love, a Yorkshireman. Is Michael Gove her Jim Love?Ferrari says she was run out by someone on her team. That player was Jim Love, a Yorkshireman. Is Michael Gove her Jim Love?
May says Gove is Scottish.May says Gove is Scottish.
Q: Will the cabinet get a free vote?Q: Will the cabinet get a free vote?
May says they will be looking at the deal when it comes back. There is collective responsibility on this.May says they will be looking at the deal when it comes back. There is collective responsibility on this.
Q: So they won’t get a free vote?Q: So they won’t get a free vote?
May says Nick Ferrari is asking about voting matter. She will bring a deal back to parliament. Then MPs will have to decide what to do.May says Nick Ferrari is asking about voting matter. She will bring a deal back to parliament. Then MPs will have to decide what to do.
Q: So there could be a free vote.Q: So there could be a free vote.
May says there is collective responsibility. The government will put its position to the House of Commons.May says there is collective responsibility. The government will put its position to the House of Commons.
May refuses to rule out allowing Tory MPs a free vote on her Brexit deal.May refuses to rule out allowing Tory MPs a free vote on her Brexit deal.
These questions were prompted by reports that Penny Mordaunt, the Brexiter international development secretary, has been pushing May to allow Tory MPs (and some ministers, apparently) a free vote.These questions were prompted by reports that Penny Mordaunt, the Brexiter international development secretary, has been pushing May to allow Tory MPs (and some ministers, apparently) a free vote.
Q: The EU has got the best out of this deal. Shouldn’t you stand aside and let Jacob Rees-Mogg take over.Q: The EU has got the best out of this deal. Shouldn’t you stand aside and let Jacob Rees-Mogg take over.
May says on some issues the EU has given in.May says on some issues the EU has given in.
But this is a negotiation. In any negotiation, there are compromises.But this is a negotiation. In any negotiation, there are compromises.
Q: Which resignation annoyed you more -Dominic Raab or Esther McVey?Q: Which resignation annoyed you more -Dominic Raab or Esther McVey?
May says she feels sorry when anyone feels they have to leave.May says she feels sorry when anyone feels they have to leave.
Q: How important is it to keep Michael Gove on the team sheet?Q: How important is it to keep Michael Gove on the team sheet?
May says he has been doing a really great job. His department, environment, has probably more Brexit planning to do than any other. He has also done a good job on fishing.May says he has been doing a really great job. His department, environment, has probably more Brexit planning to do than any other. He has also done a good job on fishing.
Q: So you can’t afford to lose him?Q: So you can’t afford to lose him?
May says she hopes he carried on.May says she hopes he carried on.
Q: Do the police need more resources?Q: Do the police need more resources?
We are putting more resources in, says May.We are putting more resources in, says May.
Q: Weren’t you the home secretary who accused the police of crying wolf over police numbers?Q: Weren’t you the home secretary who accused the police of crying wolf over police numbers?
May says she is not sure she did say that. The point she has always made to the police is that there is more to stopping crime than just police numbers.May says she is not sure she did say that. The point she has always made to the police is that there is more to stopping crime than just police numbers.
Q: And you told them to stop using stop-and-search.Q: And you told them to stop using stop-and-search.
May says her argument was that it has to be used properly. She says one quarter of stop-and-searchs were being conducted unlawfully.May says her argument was that it has to be used properly. She says one quarter of stop-and-searchs were being conducted unlawfully.
Q: I work in the NHS. Many people voted for Brexit to get the £350m a week for the NHS. But we don’t hear about that now.Q: I work in the NHS. Many people voted for Brexit to get the £350m a week for the NHS. But we don’t hear about that now.
Nick Ferrari, as a supplementary, asks if the figure was correct.Nick Ferrari, as a supplementary, asks if the figure was correct.
May says there were debates about that figure. But that is not the one to focus on now. She says the government will be putting more money into the NHS.May says there were debates about that figure. But that is not the one to focus on now. She says the government will be putting more money into the NHS.
Q: Was Boris Johnson right to stand by that bus during the campaign?Q: Was Boris Johnson right to stand by that bus during the campaign?
May says the figure for extra money going into the NHS will be £394m a week.May says the figure for extra money going into the NHS will be £394m a week.
Q: So was Boris right?Q: So was Boris right?
May says Johnson was highlighting how, if the UK left the EU, there would be money that could be diverted to the NHS.May says Johnson was highlighting how, if the UK left the EU, there would be money that could be diverted to the NHS.
Q: At cabinet on Wednesday Matthew Hancock, the health secretary, said he could not guarantee no one would die in the event of a no deal Brexit.Q: At cabinet on Wednesday Matthew Hancock, the health secretary, said he could not guarantee no one would die in the event of a no deal Brexit.
May says she does not comment on cabinet discussions, but she is not sure that is what Hancock did say.May says she does not comment on cabinet discussions, but she is not sure that is what Hancock did say.
She feels this personally, she says. She says, as a diabetic, she relies on insulin. Her insulin comes from Denmark.She feels this personally, she says. She says, as a diabetic, she relies on insulin. Her insulin comes from Denmark.
Q: How does the stress of your job affect it?Q: How does the stress of your job affect it?
May says if you are stressed, or have adrenalin in your system, your blood sugar level tends to go up.May says if you are stressed, or have adrenalin in your system, your blood sugar level tends to go up.
Q: It has been reported, from sources close the the DUP leader Arlene Foster, that they will withdraw support from the government unless there is a new leader.Q: It has been reported, from sources close the the DUP leader Arlene Foster, that they will withdraw support from the government unless there is a new leader.
May says she is aware of lots of reports.May says she is aware of lots of reports.
Q: So you have still got their support?Q: So you have still got their support?
Yes, says May.Yes, says May.
Q: So will they back the deal?Q: So will they back the deal?
May says she hopes to persuade all MPs to back the deal.May says she hopes to persuade all MPs to back the deal.
May says, when the deal is finalised, she hopes all MPs consider the need to deliver on the result of the referendum, and also on what is best for their constituents and their jobs.
Q: Northern Ireland will be treated differently, won’t it?
May says she needs to give a lengthy explanation.
One bit of the deal is about what happens as the UK leaves, the withdrawal agreement.
Q: Will the EU be able to impose a different VAT rate on Northern Ireland?
No, says May,
Coming back to her main argument, she says the backstop is about ensuring that the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic stays open.
She says she has negotiated to ensure there will be no customs border down the Irish Sea.
The EU wanted to separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. They wanted a customs border down the Irish Sea. They proposed that in February. May says she rejected that. She says eventually, in October, the EU backed down.
May is now taking a question from a caller.
Q: The deal will commit the UK to a never-ending backstop. We will keep having to pay the EU, and we will have to accept free movement. Why would the EU agree to a new deal when they can keep us in the backstop forever. You are going to struggle to get this through the Commons. So you should stand down as PM and let a Brexiter take the lead.
May says the caller raised a lot of point.
She says the deal will end free movement. There will be no free movement in the backstop, she says. And when the future relationship is in place, free movement will end.
Q: But we don’t know when that will be?
May says everything in the deal is intended to ensure that is in place on 1 January 2021.
Q: What can you achieve in 21 months that you have not been able to negotiate in two years?
May says the negotiation will build on what has been decided already. Parliament will be able to decide, under the future relationship, who comes in and how we spend our money.
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Kate Lyons.
Theresa May is on LBC now, doing a phone-in.
Q: When did you last see Michael Gove?
May says she had a good conversation with him yesterday.
Q: Did you offer him the role of Brexit secretary?
May says she won’t discuss that.
Simon Fraser, the former head of the foreign office has reacted angrily to Davis’ claims in his BBC interview that the EU deliberately delayed negotiations, calling Davis a “terrible Brexit secretary”.
David Davis was a terrible #Brexit Secretary. He could hardly be bothered to go to Brussels & rapidly lost respect there. Preposterous for him now to suggest that EU deliberately delayed negotiations. They spent months waiting for him to engage..
John Whittingdale, former culture secretary, confirms to the BBC that he has sent a letter of no confidence in Theresa May to 1922 chairman Graham Brady.
Michael Gove has left his home, got into his car and said nothing.
Where is he heading? To Downing St to deliver a letter perhaps? We’ll keep you posted.
Former Brexit secretary David Davis spoke to the Today programme from the US, he calls the agreement a “dreadful deal” that is “very, very favourable to [the EU]”.
“It really does not fly by any measure, it doesn’t meet the requirements of the people, it’s not what they voted for, it doesn’t meet the requirements of the Conservative manifesto.”
Davis disagrees with May’s assertion that it is this deal or no deal on Brexit, saying that negotiations are not over, that the UK could reopen the discussion and the EU have “spun this [process] out” to pressure the UK into accepting a bad deal.
Asked what he thinks should happen to Theresa May, Davis said “I do not get into criticism of the prime minister” because he is “sitting in a room in Washington”, saying that a refusal to criticise the PM while out of the country was a “long-standing convention”, something disputed by the BBC interviewer.
“From the beginning I’ve said I want to deal with policy on this matter. The policy is going to be rejected by the House of Commons, then we have to come up with an alternative. We all of us have to accept the House of Commons decision. When they reject it, and they will, she will have to go back to renegotiate. We want a deal that gives us back control of our country and this deal doesn’t do that.”
Davis said that throughout the negotiation process the UK was too willing to accept the EU’s conditions. He doesn’t include himself in this, despite being in charge of the UK negotiating team as Brexit minister for all but a few months of the process, citing his resignation letter as proof.
“The EU has things to lose by not having a deal at the end of this. Simply rolling over and being supine, rolling over and saying we’re frightened of the outcome, is not going to get the outcomes we want.”
A key Scottish Conservative figure has played down fears that Theresa May’s Brexit deal poses a significant threat to the union.
Writing for the Scotsman, the MSP Adam Tomkins, a close ally of Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who is currently on maternity leave, warns against “rushing to judge” whether the differentiated deal for Northern Ireland will play into Scottish nationalist hands and undermine the integrity of the union, as the likes of Raab, McVey and Rees-Mogg suggested in their resignation letters on Thursday.
Tomkins writes: “How much further differentiation between the home nations the Union can accommodate is a question of political judgement,” and urges colleagues: “Let it be taken to the European Council, and let it be subject now to the intense parliamentary and external scrutiny that, among other matters, will draw out precisely where it will leave Northern Ireland and the Union as a whole.”
At First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish parliament on Thursday , Nicola Sturgeon referred to Raab and McVey’s concerns, asking where that left Mundell and Davidson, who wrote to the prime minster in October, warning that “any deal that threatens the integrity of the UK’s internal market” was a red line issue for them.
Mundell later dismissed Raab as a “carpetbagger”, telling the BBC: “I’m not impressed by his latter-day commitment to the union. I’m sure this is more about manoeuvring and leadership.”
While it’s clear that there remains deep unease amongst Scottish Tory ranks about the impact of the Northern Ireland deal on the constitutional debate, Tomkins’ call for a cool head may head off any potential rebellion for now.
And if you wanted to call LBC and see if you can get a question in to the prime minister (who is appearing at 8am), the number to call is: 0345 60 60 973
A reader has shared this cartoon from the front page of Italys’ Corriere della Sera.
@MsKateLyons - Front Page of Italy's Corriere della Sera. pic.twitter.com/iclGhRfsE0